Brazil, a country for all?

The faces of hostility in the narratives of university student refugees

Abstract

The present article aims to analyze the formation of the experience of cultural differences and the acceptance difficulties faced by refugee students in a federal public university. The study adopts a qualitative and exploratory approach, using individual narrative interviews with the refugee students themselves. From the collected narratives, it is observed that conditioned hospitality emerges as a significant obstacle in the refugees’ journey, intertwined with memories that highlight the persistent presence of structural racism and xenophobia. The presence of migrants in the Brazilian territory, although in some cases facilitated by university access policies, is affected by feelings such as guilt, shame, and fear, which directly impact their strategies for adaptation and survival in the country. These challenges extend to the realms of work, education, and health. The constant threat of extradition remains latent, both in the racist discourses and attitudes that permeate Brazilian daily life and in institutional practices that segregate bodies considered “foreign”.