“The Best Risky Point”: Agency and Decision-Making in Young Unaccompanied Asylum Seekers' Stories of Leaving Home and Travelling to Australia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25071/1920-7336.41065Keywords:
unaccompanied young asylum seekers, asylum decision-making, asylum journeys, agency, vulnerability, non-doxic situations, border situationsAbstract
Seeking asylum is a perilous endeavour with unpredictable border crossings, protection prospects, and settlement outcomes. Young unaccompanied asylum seekers face even greater risks. Yet exclusively characterizing them as vulnerable or passive ignores their agency in making choices in a range of unique, dynamic, and challenging circumstances. In this article, we use deep ethnographic methodology to amplify young asylum seekers’ voices, examining their capacity to enact agency along the asylum journey. We employ Bourdieu’s non-doxic contexts and Jackson’s “border situations” to describe the unstable environments young people navigate at home and during their journey to Australia.
Our findings reveal a nuanced picture of young people both as objects of other people’s decisions (with reduced agency) and as highly engaged in dynamic decision-making during their journey to Australia (with more salient agency). These findings indicate the importance of research methods that steer away from fixed assumptions around vulnerability and victimhood to recognize the agentic capacity of young people to make life-defining decisions even as they find themselves in transnational border situations that seek to control and constrain them.
Metrics
References
Barraza, J. (2005). Violation of the rights of unaccompanied immigrant children in the United States and the need for appointed council. Children’s Legal Rights Journal, 25, 24–44.
Bhabha, J., & Crock, M. (2006). Seeking asylum alone: A comparative study. Federation Press.
Bourdieu, J. P. (1977). Outline of a theory of practice. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511812507 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511812507
Bourdieu, J. P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241–258). Greenwood Press.
Browning, J. (2007). The only thing they have to bargain with is their own self: Masculinity and protesting immigration detention. Transforming Cultures eJournal, 2(1), pp. 78-95. https://doi.org/10.5130/tfc.v2i1.597 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5130/tfc.v2i1.597
Celikaksoy, A., & Wadensjo, E. (2019). Refugee youth in Sweden who arrived as unaccompanied minors and separated children. Journal of Refugee Studies, 30(4), 530–553. https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/few042 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/few042
Copolov, C., Knowles, A., & Meyer, D. (2017). Exploring the predictors and mediators of personal wellbeing for young Hazaras with refugee backgrounds in Australia. Australian Journal of Psychology, 70(2), 122–130. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajpy.12171 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ajpy.12171
Correa-Velez, I., Gifford, S., & Barnett, A. (2010). Longing and belonging: Social inclusion and wellbeing among youth with refugee backgrounds in the first three years in Melbourne, Australia. Social Science and Medicine, 71(8), 1399–1408. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.07.018 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.07.018
Correa-Velez, I., Nardone, M., & Knoetze, K. (2017). Leaving family behind: Understanding the irregular migration of unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors. In M. McAuliffe & K. Koser (Eds.), A long way to go: Irregular migration patterns, processes, drivers, and decision-making (pp. 295–314). Australian National University Press. http://doi.org/10.22459/LWG.12.2017 DOI: https://doi.org/10.22459/LWG.12.2017.06
Fleay, C., Lumbus, A., & Hartley, L. (2016). People seeking asylum in Australia and their access to employment: Just what do we know? Cosmopolitan Civil Societies Journal, 8(2), 49–69. https://doi.org/10.5130/ccs.v8i2.4969 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5130/ccs.v8i2.4969
Gibney, M. (2004). The ethics and politics of asylum: Liberal democracy and the response to refugees. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511490248 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511490248
Horning, A., Jordeno, S. V., & Savoie, N. (2020). Double-edged risk: Unaccompanied minor refugees (UMRs) in Sweden and their search for safety. Journal of Refugee Studies, 33(2), 390–415. https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/feaa034 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/feaa034
Jackson, M. (2005). Existential anthropology: Events, exigencies and effects. Berghahn Books. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1x76f0c DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1x76f0c
Jackson, M. (2011). Life within limits: Well-being in a world of want. Duke University Press. https://doi.org/10.1215/9780822393696 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9780822393696
Jackson, M. (2013). The wherewithal of life: Ethics, migration, and the question of well-being. University of California Press. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt7zw54w DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/california/9780520276703.001.0001
Khashu, A. (2010). Children in transit: Results of interviews with Central American unaccompanied minors encountered in Mexico (Centre for Interamerican Studies and Programs Working Paper No. 21). https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1619005 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1622374
Kohli, R., & Mather, R. (2003). Promoting psychosocial well-being in unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people in the United Kingdom. Child and Family Social Work, 8(3), 201–212. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2206.2003.00282.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2206.2003.00282.x
Laney, H. M., Lenette, C., Kellett, A. N., Smedley, C., & Karan, P. (2016). “The most brutal immigration regime in the developed world”: International media responses to Australia’s asylum-seeker policy. Refuge: Canada’s Journal on Refugees, 32(3), 135–149. https://doi.org/10.25071/1920-7336.40323 DOI: https://doi.org/10.25071/1920-7336.40323
Laughland, O. (2014, February 11). Australian government targets asylum seekers with graphic campaign. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/11/government-launches-new-graphic-campaign-to-deter-asylum-seekers
Lems, A., Oester, K., & Strasser, S. (2020). Children of the crisis: Ethnographic perspectives on unaccompanied refugee youth in and en route to Europe. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 46(2), 315–335. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2019.1584697 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2019.1584697
Lønning, M. N. (2020). Layered journeys: Experiences of fragmented journeys among young Afghans in Greece and Norway. Journal of Refugee Studies, 33(2), 316–335. https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/feaa032 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/feaa032
Lønning, M. N., & Kohli, R. (2022). Memories, mementos and memorialization of young unaccompanied Afghans navigating within Europe. Journal of Refugee Studies, 35(1), 242–261. https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/feab074 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/feab074
Loschmann, C., Kuschminder, K., & Siegel, M. (2017). The root causes of movement: Exploring the determinants of irregular migration from Afghanistan. In M. McAuliffe & K. Koser (Eds.), A long way to go: Irregular migration patterns, processes, drivers, and decision-making (pp. 77–102). Australian National University Press. http://doi.org/10.22459/LWG.12.2017 DOI: https://doi.org/10.22459/LWG.12.2017.04
McAdams, D. P. (2001). The psychology of life stories. Review of General Psychology, 5(2), 100–122. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.5.2.10 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.5.2.100
McAdams, D. P. (2008). Personal narratives and the life story. In O. P. John, R. W. Robbins, & L. A. Pervin (Eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (3rd ed., pp. 242–262). The Guilford Press.
McAdams, D. P., & Bowman, P. J. (2001). Narrating life’s turning points: Redemption and contamination. In D. P. McAdams, R. Josselson, & A. Lieblich (Eds.), Turns in the road: Narrative studies of lives in transition (pp. 3–34). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/10410-000 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/10410-001
McAuliffe, M., & Koser, K. (2017). A long way to go: Irregular migration patterns, processes, drivers, and decision-making. Australian National University Press. http://doi.org/10.22459/LWG.12.2017 DOI: https://doi.org/10.22459/LWG.12.2017
Meloni, F. (2020). The limits of freedom: Migration as a space of freedom and loneliness among Afghan unaccompanied migrant youth. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 46(2), 423–438. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2019.1584703 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2019.1584703
Menjivar, C., & Perreira K. M. (2019). Undocumented and unaccompanied: Children of migration in the European Union and the United States. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 45(2), 197–217. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2017.1404255 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2017.1404255
Moleiro, C., & Roberto, S. (2021). The path to adulthood: A mixed-methods approach to the exploration of the experiences of unaccompanied minors in Portugal. Journal of Refugee Studies, 34(2), 3264–3287. https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/feab033 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/feab033
Monsutti, A. (2007). Migration as a rite of passage: Young Afghans building masculinity and adulthood in Iran. Iranian Studies, 40(2), 167–185. https://doi.org/10.1080/00210860701276183 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00210860701276183
Muller, D. (2016). “Islamisation” and other anxieties: Voter attitudes to asylum seekers. University of Melbourne. https://socialequity.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/2598460/Islamisation-and-Other-Anxieties.pdf
Nardone, M., & Correa-Velez, I. (2016). Unpredictability, invisibility and vulnerability: Unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors’ journeys to Australia. Journal of Refugee Studies, 29(3), 295–314. https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/fev020 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/fev020
Neve, A. (2022). Building a life in Australia: Young Hazara men and the journey to “adulthood.” Journal of Refugee Studies, 35(1), 454–470. https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/feab052 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/feab052
Nipperess, S., & Clark, S. (2016). Anti-oppressive practice with people seeking asylum in Australia: Reflections from the field. In B. Pease, S. Goldingay, N. Hosken, & S. Nipperess (Eds.), Doing critical social work: Transformative practices for social justice (pp. 195–210). Allen and Unwin. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003115380-17
O’Higgins, A. (2019). Analysis of care and education pathways of refugee and asylum-seeking children in care in England: Implications for social work. International Journal of Social Welfare, 28(1), 53–62. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsw.12324 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsw.12324
Phillips, J., & Spinks, H. (2013, March 20). Immigration detention in Australia. Parliament of Australia. https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22library%2Fprspub%2F1311498%22;src1=sm1
Robinson, K., & Gifford, S. (2019). Life (forever) on hold: Unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors in Australia. In S. Clayton, A. Gupta, & K. Willis (Eds.), Unaccompanied young migrants: Identity, care and justice (pp. 257–278). Bristol University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvbd8jc1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1332/policypress/9781447331865.003.0012
Rodriguez, I. M., & Dobler, V. (2021). Survivors of hell: Resilience amongst unaccompanied minor refugees and implications for treatment—A narrative review. Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma, 14(4), 559–569. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-021-00385-7 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-021-00385-7
Sampson, R., & Gifford, S. (2015). The myth of transit: The making of a life by asylum seekers and refugees in Indonesia. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 42(7), 1135–1152. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2015.1130611 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2015.1130611
Spiteri, D. (2012). The evolving identities of unaccompanied young male asylum seekers in Malta. Journal of Immigration & Refugee Studies, 10(4), 362–379. https://doi.org/10.1080/15562948.2012.717824 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15562948.2012.717824
Spiteri, D. (2015). “On the way to freedom”: An ethnographic appreciation of the life projects of unaccompanied minor asylum-seekers who flee from Africa, cross the Mediterranean Sea, and finish up on the island of Malta. SAGE Open, 5(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244015617473 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244015617473
UNHCR. (2014, December). Why do children undertake the unaccompanied journey? Motivations for departure to Europe and other industrialised counties from the perspectives of children, families and residents of sending communities in Afghanistan. https://www.unhcr.org/en-au/research/evalreports/548ea0f09/children-undertake-unaccompanied-journey.html
UNHCR. (2021). Guidelines on supervised independent living for unaccompanied children. https://www.unhcr.org/en-au/protection/operations/61bc48844/guidelines-supervised-independent-living-unaccompanied-children.html
United Nations Children’s Fund. (2016, September 6). Uprooted: The growing crisis for refugee and migrant children. https://data.unicef.org/resources/uprooted-growing-crisis-refugee-migrant-children/
United Nations Children’s Fund. (2017, May 18). A child is a child: Protecting children on the move. https://data.unicef.org/resources/child-child-protecting-children-move-violence-abuse-exploitation/
United Nations Children’s Fund. (2018, December 7). A right to be heard: Listening to young people on the move. https://data.unicef.org/resources/youthpoll/
Vervliet, M., Vanobbergen, B., Broekaert E., & Derluyn, I. (2015). The aspirations of Afghan unaccompanied refugee minors before departure and on arrival in the host country. Childhood, 22(3), 330–345. https://doi.org/10.1177/0907568214533976 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0907568214533976
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Tori Stratford, Amy Nethery, Fethi Mansouri
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Refuge authors retain the copyright over their work, and license it to the general public under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial License International (CC BY-NC 4.0). This license allows for non-commercial use, reproduction and adaption of the material in any medium or format, with proper attribution. For general information on Creative Commons licences, visit the Creative Commons site. For the CC BY-NC 4.0 license, review the human readable summary.
