Ensamkommande men inte ensamma: TioÄrsuppföljning om ensamkommande asylsökande flyktingbarns livsvillkor och erfarenheter som unga vuxna i Sverige
Ă r: 2009
Typ av text: Doktorsavhandling
Publicerad av: Stockholms universitet
SprÄk: Svenska
Författare: Marie Hessle
Antal sidor: 189
TillgÀnglig pÄ: http://su.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:234312/FULLTEXT01.pdf
Vad texten handlar om
âThe general aim of the study was to develop knowledge about how unaccompanied asylum-seeking children manage their life circumstances and challenges after being granted a residence permit and maturing into adulthood in Sweden. A second aim was to develop knowledge about the life circumstances of these children in their respective countries of origin, what means they used to come to Sweden and what motives lay behind their flight to Swedenâ (s. 152). Studien innehĂ„ller en historisk bakgrund över ensamkommande flyktingbarn i Sverige samt en överblick över ensamkommande flyktingbarns situation internationellt. Studien bygger pĂ„ fyra utgĂ„ngspunkter: ensamkommande flyktingbarns mentala hĂ€lsa samt hantering av stress, vid ankomst och i dagslĂ€get; ensamkommande flyktingbarns erfarenheter av mötet med ett individualiserat samhĂ€llssystem, vilket Hessle benĂ€mner âkulturmöteâ; socialiserings- och etableringsprocesser i Sverige, med fokus pĂ„ medborgarskap, civilstatus, boendesituation, utbildning, sociala nĂ€tverk samt âsamhĂ€llsdeltagandeâ; samt de risker och möjligheter ensamkommande flyktingbarn konfronteras med, frĂ„n barndomen i ursprungslandet, flykten, under asylprocessen samt efter erhĂ„llande av uppehĂ„llstillstĂ„nd.
Viktigaste resultat
– âMore than three-fourths of them have relatives who were already living in Sweden when the unaccompanied children first arrived. Clearly, the family in the country of origin had counted on the childâs being able to live with relatives in Sweden. Furthermore, 30% were able to bring their parents/siblings to Sweden after they themselves had been granted permanent residence. This refers particularly to those who had come from Iraq. One group of 16 children with no family at all in Sweden were assessed to be particularly at risk. They had no relatives who could receive them when they arrived in Sweden and no relatives joined them after they became permanent residents. On a positive note, over 75% of the young adults are engaged in work, studies or in running their own business. Most of the group of 68 had applied and were granted Swedish citizenship. Half of them are now married, most with someone from their country of origin. Those who were completely alone in Sweden have married to a greater extent than those were reunited with their familyâ (s. 158).
– âMost of the informants bear witness to having had a stable and secure childhood, despite the fact that their family may have experienced either specific and long-term persecution or were exposed to sudden political unrest, armed conflict and violence. Parents and other relatives made a decision to send the child out of the country. And regardless of the length of the journey, it appears that the great majority of the children/youths landed in the safe-keeping of their network of family and relatives in Sweden. The utterances that form a pattern in these young peopleâs lives show clearly that the family network is of immense importance â wherever they might be in the world. Worry about the family that remained in the homeland has followed these young people until they made contact with their family or were reunited with them in Sweden, in the country of origin or in a third country. The search for information on what has happened to brothers and sisters and parents they became separated from because of the armed conflict in the homeland continued throughout the years that the young adults have lived in Sweden. Indeed, this pattern of transnational relationships and reunion is one of the main results of the studyâ (s. 159).
– âWhen asked what has been important for their life in Sweden, the young adults mentioned school and obtaining an education; especially important was the engaged involvement and support of individual secondary school teachers. The church and religion were also important. All mentioned as well the importance of the family, friends and their school- and workmates in their social networkâ (s. 159).
– âNone of the informants in the study were ever left to fend for themselves on their own, nor were they abandoned by their kin. There has always been one or more adult relatives (significant others) somewhere in the world â not necessarily in Sweden â who either were given or who took responsibility for the children. The transnational relationships seem to have functioned as an important network during the process of socialisation and establishment in Swedenâ (s. 160).
– âThe contacts they have had with persons from the majority culture who were involved in their lives have almost always been of a formal nature. These contacts have nevertheless been important â personnel in the group homes, psychologists and other professionals in the care apparatus, ministers, priests and other religious officials, and so forthâ (s. 161).
Perspektiv/teoretiska begrepp
Trauma, stress och resiliens, âkulturmöteâ, socialisation, etablering, transnationalism.
Metoden för studien
Uppföljningsstudie bestĂ„ende av en kvalitativ och en kvantitativ del. Den kvantitativa delen bygger pĂ„ sekundĂ€rdata frĂ„n Migrationsverket avseende livssituationen tio Ă„r efter ankomst till Sverige, utifrĂ„n olika âetableringsvariablerâ. 100 ensamkommande flyktingbarn besvarade en enkĂ€t och ett urval av dessa gjordes, baserat pĂ„ bedömning av deras psykiska hĂ€lsotillstĂ„nd. Tio Ă„r senare genomfördes en registerstudie med 68 unga vuxna. DĂ€refter gjordes ett strategiskt urval av 20 personer med vilka kvalitativa intervjuer genomfördes.
Ev förslag för vidare granskning
– âThe strategy of regarding the childrenâs experiences on their journey from their homeland to the country of exile as a sequence of periods has proved to be a fruitful model for generating knowledge. It is recommended that future studies use such a division as a point of departure for seeking knowledge on the unaccompanied child migrantsâ life conditions. Following the children from their homeland to the country of asylum, their life conditions and experiences through the various periods described in this study can give new insights into the childrenâs journey across national borders and their subsequent development as adults in a transnational world. Evidently, more longitudinal studies would also be of great value in this area of researchâ (s. 161).
– âA transnational perspective has been found that deepens our knowledge of these childrenâs/youthâs socio-cultural development and establishment as adults in their new country, and has placed their socio-cultural development and socialisation on a new level of interpretation. The earlier dominant vulnerability theories and resilience theories can be fruitfully supplemented by transnational theory formation in the study of the life conditions of unaccompanied asylum-seeking childrenâ (s. 161).