Child Soldiers as Refugees in Germany

Abstract

Child Soldiers as Refugees in Germany How do former child soldiers cope with their potentially traumatic experiences, and how do the living conditions as refugees influence these coping processes? A dissertation at the faculty of human and social sciences at the University of Wuppertal, based on biographical-narrative interviews with 15 young refugees from six African countries, describes the characteristics of the traumatic sequences in the countries of origin and in exile, and elaborates typical coping processes. In order to survive a situation of absolute subjection within armed groups, children develop forms of adequate adaptation to the context like regulation and detachment of emotions e.g. with the use of drugs, assimilation to an idea of "hard masculinity" etc. They become victims, witnesses and often perpetrators of extreme violence (man-made-disaster), respectively traumatic processes can be seen in all sequences. After leaving the armed groups there is no way back into the families and communities destroyed by armed conflict, so they become refugees. In Germany, they are subjected to a bureaucratic and excluding asylum system, in which decisions on all relevant areas of life (age determination, place and right of residence, form of accommodation, access to education, etc.) are imposed on them. Especially the insecure right of residence and the living conditions in refugee camps are severe risk factors, impeding stabilization. Social support, e. g. by competent professionals, access to trauma- and culture-sensitive psychotherapy, societal inclusion, but also personal resilience are essential for coping with trauma and developing new future perspectives.