Children and Families’ Experiences with Document Portability, Security and Verification During Forced Migration

Michael Ungar; Nilüfer Kuru; Oksana Tashkinova

doi:10.25071/1920-7336.41796

Authors

Michael Ungar Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada
Nilüfer Kuru Siirt University, Siirt, Turkey https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4237-9349
Oksana Tashkinova Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6649-845X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25071/1920-7336.41796

Keywords:

forced migration, document portability, displaced families, digital records, qualitative research

Abstract

This qualitative study explores the experiences of forcibly displaced families and their strategies for protecting and transporting identity, health, and education records during migration. Ninety in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with parent–child dyads who had been displaced from Afghanistan, Syria, and Ukraine and currently residing in Türkiye, Poland, and Canada. Findings revealed that documents not only served legal and practical purposes but also symbolized memory, safety, and familial continuity. Mothers emerged as the primary guardians of official records. The study highlights the urgent need for accessible, secure, and inter-operable document storage systems that reflect the lived realities of displaced families.

Author Biographies

Michael Ungar, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada

Michael Ungar is a Canada Research Chair in Child, Family and Community Resilience at Dalhousie University. He can be reached at michael.ungar@dal.ca.

Nilüfer Kuru, Siirt University, Siirt, Turkey

Nilüfer Kuru is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Preschool Education, Faculty of Education, Siirt University. She can be reached at nilferkuru@gmail.com.

Oksana Tashkinova, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada

Oksana Tashkinova is a Research Project Manager at the Resilience Research Centre, Dalhousie University. She can be reached at o.tashkinova@dal.ca.

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