ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces a theoretical background on the issue of refugee stereotyping and then reviews some of the negative stereotyping models and prejudices that refugees encounter when resettling in Armenia. It focuses on debunking the ‘myth’ of homogeneity in relation to the refugee and local Armenian groups and demonstrates the diversity of everyday practices and experiences among their sub-groups. The position of the majority of refugee families is inherently precarious even after 28 years of resettlement because of the trauma of exclusion from their initial community as well as their exclusion from the host community and its social structure. The conventional stereotyping and negative attitudes towards the refugees are based on the common notion of ‘imagined communities’ that implies the myth of cultural homogeneity of the nation. In light of the matrimonial relationship the multifaceted stereotyping of both groups reveals the trajectory of the changing social boundaries, from neutrality to total exclusion, or gradual involvement.
