Controversies in qualitative research: Hyab Yohannes and Tesfalem Yemane on refugee-led scholarship

Why are there limited voices from sanctuary seekers in qualitative research about migrant health? Tesfalem Yemane and Hyab Yohannes bring a vital perspective on 'refugee-led scholarship', dissecting the challenges and significance of broadening the scholarly space to include those who have first-hand experience seeking sanctuary. They discuss how dominant political agendas and interests influence the kind of questions we’re able to ask around migration and mental health, as well as how we might be able to ask them.

Tesfalem Yemane works as a Post-doctoral Research Associate at the University of Liverpool. He works on an ESRC funded Channel Crossings research project that aims at examining and understanding the small boat crossings in the English Channel. Tesfalem completed his PhD at the University of Leeds. For his PhD research, Tesfalem built on postcolonial and decolonial scholarship on migration and examined the case of Eritrean refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.  

Hyab Yohannes is a research associate with the UNESCO RILA team at the University of Glasgow. His work involves conducting research and synthesising findings to provide insights into theoretical, methodological, and policy-related questions. Hisresearch interests include (b)ordering (physical, onto-epistemic, spatio-temporal, juridico-political, etc.), (de)coloniality, and political theories. Recently, he co-edited a Special Issue on Intercultural Knowledge Production for the Journal of Language and Intercultural Communication. He is also currently co-editing a Handbook of Cultures of Sustainable Peace for Multilingual Matters. Additionally, he have signed a book contract with Routledge for his upcoming publication entitled ‘The Refugee Abyss‘.