Faced with Immigration Hurdles - Junior Researcher pursues opportunities abroad
Despite facing numerous challenges throughout his five years of studies, Chafic Najem, a Beirut-born PhD candidate at Stockholm University, successfully crossed the finish line in late February. Shortly thereafter, he was offered a postdoctoral position abroad and received a prestigious award for his groundbreaking dissertation on visual insurgency within Lebanese prisons.
PUBLISHED: July 14, 2023
UPDATED: July 14, 2023
Chafic Najem will be leaving Sweden next week and embark on a 2-year postdoctoral journey at the Northwestern University in Qatar.
"It's amazing that I will be able to expand on my previous research," Chafic Najem told a Stockholm University website a few weeks ago.
"After finishing the dissertation I realized that I had barely scratched the surface - in terms of material and theoretical analysis of digital illegal activities behind bars," he added.
After leaving Stockholm, Chafic Najem will head directly to the Qatari capital Doha to process his residence papers.
"I will start working at Northwestern in mid-August," he said.
As he was unsure whether the Swedish Migration Agency would allow him to extend his stay in Sweden after graduation, he decided to keep as many doors open as possible. It didn't take long before it was revealed to be a wise decision.
"My application for a residence permit in Sweden was finally rejected in March," Chafic Najem said.
An unexpected email
In early May, Chafic Najem received an unexpected email from the International Communication Association (ICA), informing him that he had been awarded the Outstanding Dissertation Award 2023. It caught him off guard as he had not anticipated receiving such a prestigious accolade.
"It's an international recognition of my research - a stamp of approval from the people that nominated me and leading researchers in the field," he said.
Due to current migration law restrictions, he was unable to go to Canada to receive the prize in person. However, his former supervisor, professor Kari Andén-Papadopoulos, accepted the award on his behalf at the ICA conference in Canada in late May.
"And I conveyed a 30-second acceptance speech, via a video message," Chafic Najem added.
Stricter residency regulations impacted PhD Candidates adversely
In June 2021, the Swedish parliament adopted new amendments to the Aliens Act (Utlänningslagen), and the tightened residence permit rules posed new challenges for Chafic Najem, who had already been in the country since 2018.
"That changed the lives of many people from outside of the EU," Chafic Najem said.
"Suddenly, you would need to have a permanent contract or at least an 18-month fixed-term contract after your doctoral graduation to be able to obtain permanent residency," he said, pointing out that it is still "nearly impossible" to secure such employment that soon. These conditions were not a requirement when he first moved to Sweden to do his PhD.
According to Chafic Najem, this forces some newly graduated researchers who are eager to stay in the country to leave academia and find other jobs.
"These long waiting times really kill one's motivation, drive, and hope to pursue anything in Sweden," he said, adding that it obviously affected the PhD work and contributed to more stress.
Nevertheless, Chafic Najem managed to defend his thesis, secure a postdoc position and receive an ICA award.
"We don't have any other choice but to move on," he said, adding that it is also "important to acknowledge the help of my supervisors, colleagues and people at the department who recognized the significance of my work."
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Facts
On February 24, 2023, Chafic Najem successfully defended his PhD thesis at Stockholm University. His PhD project conceptualized illicit digital media practices behind bars through the images and videos that prisoners produce using smuggled cell phones and illegally acquired internet connections.
In March 2023 Chafic Najem accepted a 2-year postdoctoral position at the The Institute for Advanced Study in the Global South, at Northwestern University's Qatar campus. Northwestern is one of the US' leading private research and teaching universities, located in Evanston, Illinois.
On May 25, 2023, Chafic Najem was awarded the ICA Activism, Communication & Social Justice Outstanding Dissertation Award 2023 for his dissertation "Smuggle, Frame, Shoot: Illicit Media Practices and Visual Insurgency from Lebanese Incarceration".
Chafic Najem's supervisors, professor Kari Andén-Papadopoulos and professor Malin Wahlberg, as well as professor Ane Kaun, Södertörn University, the external reviewer at his defense, had nominated him to the award.
As Qatar hosted the FIFA Men's World Cup in 2022, international media and rights groups shed light on concerns over human rights and the working conditions for migrant workers.
Last updated: July 14, 2023
Source: Department of Media Studies