Beyond Refuge: Disability Justice, Refugee Rights, and the Search for Belonging (Episode 66)

Описание: In this episode of the Race and Rights Podcast, guest host Dr. Esaa Mohammad Sabti Samarah sits down with Dr. Mustafa Rfat, a faculty member at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, a scholar of forced migration and disability justice, and the Refugee Congress Delegate representing the state of Missouri, for a conversation examining the intersection of refugee rights, disability, and structural inequality. Drawing from both rigorous scholarship and lived experience as a refugee with a disability, Dr. Rfat explores how immigration systems, social policies, and institutional practices shape the lives of refugees with disabilities long before and long after resettlement.


Together, they examine the historical exclusion of people with disabilities from U.S. immigration and citizenship policy, the barriers refugees encounter when navigating health care, education, employment, and naturalization, and why disability must be understood through a social rather than medical lens alone. The discussion also explores the human consequences of recent refugee and deportation policies, highlighting how inaccessible systems and language exclusion can undermine both disability rights and fundamental human rights.


Throughout the conversation, Dr. Rfat reflects on his own journey from Iraq to the United States, illustrating how personal experience has informed a research agenda dedicated to advancing refugee health equity, participatory research, and disability justice. The episode challenges listeners to reconsider dominant narratives about refugees by centering resilience, dignity, and belonging while emphasizing the responsibility of researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to dismantle structural barriers rather than expecting individuals to overcome them alone.


This episode is essential listening for scholars, practitioners, policymakers, students, and advocates committed to refugee rights, disability justice, health equity, and human rights.


Links to Published Works

• Rfat, M. (2026). Path to Citizenship: Addressing the Needs of Refugees with Disabilities in the Naturalization Process. Journal of Human Rights and Social Work. (https://link.springer.com/article/10....)  
• Rfat, M., Zeng, Y., Yang, Y., Adhikari, K., & Zhu, Y. (2023). A Scoping Review of Needs and Barriers to Achieving a Livable Life among Refugees with Disabilities: Implications for Future Research, Practice, and Policy. Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work. (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/1...)  
• Rfat, M., Zeng, Y., & Trani, J.-F. (2023). Exploring the Intersectionality of Disability and Refugee Statuses: Reflecting on My Refugee Journey. British Journal of Social Work. (https://academic.oup.com/bjsw/article...)  
• Rfat, M., Cureton, A., Mirza, M., & Trani, J.-F. (2025). The Devastating Effect of Abrupt U.S. Refugee Policy Shifts. The Lancet. (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/la...)  
• Rfat, M., Engelman, A., & Seaborn, S. (2026). US Forced Deportation, Language Exclusion, and Disability Justice. The Lancet. (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/la...)  
• Rfat, M., Yang, Y., & Cohen, F. (2025). Benefits and Challenges of Using Participatory Research Among Refugees With Disabilities: A Scoping Review. Health Education & Behavior. (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full...)  

#RefugeeRights #DisabilityJustice #HealthEquity #ForcedMigration #HumanRights #SocialWork #RefugeeHealth #Accessibility #MigrationJustice 


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