Ensamkommande ungdomars migration - en studie utifrån ungdomars perspektiv
(2013) SOAM21 20131School of Social Work
- Abstract
- Unaccompanied children's migration - a study from the perspective of children
The aim of the study was to examine unaccompanied children’s migration from their perspective. The questions that were formulated were those about resources and strategies that child migrants use in their everyday lives and the extent to which these resources and strategies can be considered transnational. I also examined how child migrants maintain transnational ties as they begin to establish themselves in Sweden and which role these transnational ties play in children’s lives. Subsequently I examined and analysed how child migrants create transnational social spaces. The empirical data was based on thematic and semi-structured interviews with eight children... (More) - Unaccompanied children's migration - a study from the perspective of children
The aim of the study was to examine unaccompanied children’s migration from their perspective. The questions that were formulated were those about resources and strategies that child migrants use in their everyday lives and the extent to which these resources and strategies can be considered transnational. I also examined how child migrants maintain transnational ties as they begin to establish themselves in Sweden and which role these transnational ties play in children’s lives. Subsequently I examined and analysed how child migrants create transnational social spaces. The empirical data was based on thematic and semi-structured interviews with eight children who migrated to Sweden. Snowball technique constituted the study sample and the children were aged between 16 and 19 years old. The theoretical approach I used was transnational social spaces. Transnational social spaces refer to the lasting ties of geographically mobile individuals, networks and organizations that cross over several nation states. These global spaces of flows not only encompass the physical movement of people, but also several transactions of ideas, remittances, goods, symbols and cultural norms. The analysis was based on a perception that child migrants are actors. Their agency is realized by the conditions that occur in their lives and in the strategies, which they develop to cope with these conditions during the entire migration process. When child migrants feel excluded and misunderstood, undermined and blocked they instead seek inclusion, understanding and fellowship with others who live in similar conditions. They relate to and contact family and new relationships they acquired during the trip, which they maintained through various communication channels. Then they develop persistent flows of moral and economic support, information, symbols and gifts, which consolidate transnational social spaces between children and their contacts. The transnational reciprocity and solidarity flows between children’s social network and create a consensus, which develop into new social units/entities and networks that cross the borders of nation-states. This dynamism, with its bonds and benefits, is precisely because of the relations in the space of origin and destination countries, and it is the child migrants who create, consolidate and develop these social spaces. This is due to the migration, shared problems and experiences and the everyday life in the country of arrival. To gain knowledge about child migrant’s everyday strategies assumes that social workers incorporate the transnational mind-set. New relationships and transnational social spaces question conventional/local interventions. Inferring the nation state as the obvious basis for interventions prevent social workers from understanding child migrant’s strategies and everyday life. There is also a danger that we in our approach block the children’s resources, assets and capabilities. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/4016879
- author
- Hansson, Viktoria LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- SOAM21 20131
- year
- 2013
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Children and migration, unaccompanied children’s agency, transnational migration, transnational social spaces, transnational social work
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 4016879
- date added to LUP
- 2013-10-04 15:01:38
- date last changed
- 2013-10-04 15:01:38
@misc{4016879,
abstract = {{Unaccompanied children's migration - a study from the perspective of children
The aim of the study was to examine unaccompanied children’s migration from their perspective. The questions that were formulated were those about resources and strategies that child migrants use in their everyday lives and the extent to which these resources and strategies can be considered transnational. I also examined how child migrants maintain transnational ties as they begin to establish themselves in Sweden and which role these transnational ties play in children’s lives. Subsequently I examined and analysed how child migrants create transnational social spaces. The empirical data was based on thematic and semi-structured interviews with eight children who migrated to Sweden. Snowball technique constituted the study sample and the children were aged between 16 and 19 years old. The theoretical approach I used was transnational social spaces. Transnational social spaces refer to the lasting ties of geographically mobile individuals, networks and organizations that cross over several nation states. These global spaces of flows not only encompass the physical movement of people, but also several transactions of ideas, remittances, goods, symbols and cultural norms. The analysis was based on a perception that child migrants are actors. Their agency is realized by the conditions that occur in their lives and in the strategies, which they develop to cope with these conditions during the entire migration process. When child migrants feel excluded and misunderstood, undermined and blocked they instead seek inclusion, understanding and fellowship with others who live in similar conditions. They relate to and contact family and new relationships they acquired during the trip, which they maintained through various communication channels. Then they develop persistent flows of moral and economic support, information, symbols and gifts, which consolidate transnational social spaces between children and their contacts. The transnational reciprocity and solidarity flows between children’s social network and create a consensus, which develop into new social units/entities and networks that cross the borders of nation-states. This dynamism, with its bonds and benefits, is precisely because of the relations in the space of origin and destination countries, and it is the child migrants who create, consolidate and develop these social spaces. This is due to the migration, shared problems and experiences and the everyday life in the country of arrival. To gain knowledge about child migrant’s everyday strategies assumes that social workers incorporate the transnational mind-set. New relationships and transnational social spaces question conventional/local interventions. Inferring the nation state as the obvious basis for interventions prevent social workers from understanding child migrant’s strategies and everyday life. There is also a danger that we in our approach block the children’s resources, assets and capabilities.}},
author = {{Hansson, Viktoria}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Ensamkommande ungdomars migration - en studie utifrån ungdomars perspektiv}},
year = {{2013}},
}