Asylum-seeking Children Research Articles

Seeking Asylum, Speaking Silence

“How could she ever put those terrible pictures into words?” (Naidoo, Truth 51). This question is at the heart of Beverley Naidoo’s The Other Side of Truth (2000), which narrates the trauma of Nigerian asylum seeker children Sade and Femi as they flee to Britain. Speech and silence are ambivalent within the text, fluctuating in meaning dependant on the social context in which they are enacted. Showing this text to be primarily a narrative of activism, I explore how Naidoo’s representations of trauma inform her critique of the British immigration system. This text invites a reading that draws on recent postcolonial theories of trauma. Using both textual and paratextual analysis of the novel and Naidoo’s archive, held by Seven Stories: The National Centre for Children’s Books in Britain, I draw on Forter’s model of psychosocial trauma to demonstrate that the trauma the protagonists face is a result of their encounter with a racist society and bureaucracy. Reflecting Kertzer’s claim that social justice should be central in trauma narratives for children, Naidoo shows healing from trauma to be the locus of political awakening for both characters and implied reader. The aim of this article is to integrate contemporary models of postcolonial trauma with an understanding of the activist nature of Naidoo’s work, showing that in this sort of children’s trauma narrative, the site of healing from trauma is simultaneously the site of social change. Since the trauma that the child protagonists face is a social phenomenon, the speech that allows the children to begin to heal is similarly socially situated, and their healing is synonymous with social justice.

Reasons for admission in asylum-seeking and non-asylum-seeking patients in a paediatric tertiary care centre.

In the last decade an increasing number of asylum-seeking children arrived in Europe and local healthcare systems have been challenged to adapt to their health needs. The aim of this study was to compare the spectrum of disease and management of asylum-seeking and non-asylum-seeking children requiring hospital admission. This was a retrospective cohort study including health data from recently arrived asylum-seeking and non-asylum-seeking children admitted between January 2016 and December 2017. Data were collected using electronic administrative and medical records. Of 11,794 admissions of 9407 patients, 149 (1%) were asylum-seeking and 11,645 (99%) from non-asylum-seeking children. In asylum-seeking children the median age was 4 years (interquartile range [IQR] 0–13) with 61% males and in non-asylum-seeking children 4 years (IQR 0–11) years with 56% males. Respiratory infections accounted for 17–19% of admissions in both groups. Rare infectious diseases were more frequent in asylum-seeking children (15 vs 7%; difference in proportions 0.08, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.02–0.14; p <0.001,). Injuries were more frequent in non-asylum-seeking children (22 vs 13%; difference in proportions 0.09, 95% CI 0.04–0.014; p <0.01). Admissions for mental health disorders were infrequent but more common in asylum-seeking children (6 vs 3%; difference in proportions 0.03, 95% CI −0.01 – 0.07; p = 0.02) Prescription of analgesics was lower in asylum-seeking than non-asylum-seeking children (3.4 vs 6.5 accounting units per admission). Antibiotic prescription was comparable in both groups. Asylum-seeking children represent a small number of total admissions. Age distribution and main reason for admission being diseases of the respiratory system were comparable in asylum-seeking and non-asylum-seeking children. Rare infections and mental health disorders are important diseases in asylum-seeking children and require special attention and training of staff working with paediatric asylum seekers.

Thirty Years of Research on Children’s Rights in the Context of Migration

This article presents a tentative analysis of 30 years of academic research in the field of children’s rights and migration (1989–2019). Much research has addressed the plight of unaccompanied, refugee and asylum-seeking children, trying better to link children’s rights considerations with international refugee law. Many publications address the best interests of the child principle and the right to be heard. Most research focuses on (migration towards) Europe. This has led to an increased visibility and recognition of children’s rights in the context of migration. However, there are still various blind spots in the research reviewed. Most research focuses on some children, but not all (e.g., accompanied children), on some rights, but not all (e.g., economic, social and cultural rights), and on some types of migration, but not all (e.g., economic migration). Moreover, refugee and migrant children tend to be studied as a group, which risks reducing attention for their internal diversity.

Emergency, exclusion, and inequity in education of refugee and asylum seeker children in Indonesia

ABSTRACTRefugee and asylum seeker children in Indonesia have experienced exclusion and inequitable education. This paper, therefore, examines what are the gaps between International and Indonesian national laws on the right to education and its implementation in order to demonstrate educational exclusion and inequity. Subsequently, it scrutinizes the reasons why the inclusion and equity in the education of refugee and asylum seeker children should have been promoted in Indonesia. This paper examines international and national (Indonesian) documents (namely official law provisions, academic works, and research papers) and interviews with 13 informants in Jakarta and Bogor for data analysis. The findings reveal that the Indonesian national laws related to the right to education and its implementation have not been adequately recognized and exercised in accordance with the international laws. This paper argues that the Indonesian government should take into consideration the inclusive and equitable education for refugee children because these children are subject to an educational emergency. Moreover, the children could play some key roles in social, cultural, political and economic development.

Asylum seeking children and adolescents in Australian immigration detention on Nauru: a longitudinal cohort study

IntroductionImmigration detention has a profound and negative impact on the physical health, mental health, development and social-emotional well-being of children, adolescents and their families. Australian clinicians will report results from...

Screening for infection in unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young people

We aimed to evaluate a screening programme for infection in unaccompanied asylum seeking children and young people against national guidance and to described the rates of identified infection in the...

Examining Procedural Unfairness and Credibility Findings in the UK Asylum System

Abstract This article addresses a key problem confronted by immigration judges (IJs) in their assessment of the asylum claims of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children – who are often not allowed to speak or participate in their own hearings – namely the manner in which asylum legal procedure is intertwined with an IJ’s decision to refuse the claim on the basis of adverse credibility. This article has three linked aims: to examine research that looks at how IJs decide credibility; to set out an ethnographic approach to better understand IJs’ decision-making; and to argue that asylum tribunals need to adopt appropriate guidelines.

Syrian refugee mothers' knowledge levels of childhood wellness: A program evaluation.

ABSTRACTBackground:Children are most affected by migration and wars. The health of child asylum seekers is adversely affected due to poor nutrition, malnutrition, insufficient vaccinations, and a lack of preventive health-care services (PHCS). The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge levels of the refugee mothers of child wellness monitoring, child vaccinations, and the importance of breastfeeding before and after implementation of an educational program.Materials and Methods:A questionnaire consisting of 12 statements about the importance of child wellness monitoring, child vaccinations, and breastfeeding was prepared and translated into Arabic. Refugee mothers were asked to complete the questionnaire before and after the education program.Results:Thirty-one (72.1%) of the 43 participating mothers had their children vaccinated regularly. Vitamin D supplementation was given to 58.1%, and 23.1% were started on iron supplementation. The rate of vitamin D supplementation was higher in the literate mothers (P = 0.010). The least correctly answered statement before the education program was related to iron supplementation (n = 24, 55.8%). The mean (standard deviation) number of correct answers given by the participating mothers to the 12 statements before the seminar was 9.16 (±2.05), this increased to 11.16 (±0.99) after the seminar.Conclusion:The resultes of this study show that refugee mothers’ knowledge levels about vitamin D and iron supplementation are quite low. Their knowledge levels can be increased in the short term by providing information in the mothers’ native languages.

Suriyeli Çocuk Sığınmacıların Dermatolojik Hastalıkları: Beş Yıllık Retrospektif Bir Çalışma

Suriyeli Çocuk Sığınmacıların Dermatolojik Hastalıkları: Beş Yıllık Retrospektif Bir Çalışma

Child refugees and asylum seekers: oral health and its place in the UK system

Introduction The aim of this article is to provide a summary of the oral health status of child refugees and asylum seekers, and to describe their access to health services in the UK.Methods and analysis A review of the asylum process in the UK, the oral health status of child asylum seekers and the challenges in accessing dental services has been conducted.Conclusion There is limited data on the oral health status of child asylum seekers. Further research is required to estimate the burden of dental diseases and related conditions among this vulnerable population. Dental professionals can contribute to the holistic care of children with a sensitive and informed approach.

Creative expression workshops as Psychological First Aid (PFA) for asylum-seeking children: An exploratory study in temporary shelters in Montreal.

Considering the growing number of asylum-seeking children worldwide, research on interventions which may buffer the effects of early resettlement conditions on asylum-seeking children's adjustment is warranted. In Canada, creative expressive workshops for asylum-seeking children and adolescents were implemented as a Psychological First Aid (PFA) intervention in temporary shelters. The present exploratory study aims to describe the implementation of these workshops to assess whether the intervention met core elements of PFA and explore its potential in supporting the diverse needs of asylum-seeking youth in temporary shelters, adopting a process-evaluation research approach. The intervention was evaluated via a qualitative thematic analysis of extensive field and supervision notes and focus groups with facilitators. Preliminary results suggest that the intervention contributed to fostering emotional safety and a sense of normalcy in children and supported the creation of connections among both children and parents. Children's expression of past and present experiences during the workshops was seen as a way to promote self-efficacy in children and was reported as a potential way to provide some comfort and hope in a time of high instability. However, the high needs of children and the lack of resources in the temporary shelters represented significant challenges and barriers. PFA using creative expression may be a promising youth mental health prevention intervention in temporary shelters.

“I See Nothing but a Fence of Tears”: The Impact of Australia’s Immigration Detention and Border Protection Policies on the Asylum Seeker Child’s Geographies of Hope and Hopelessness

As a signatory to both the United Nation Refugee Convention and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Australia’s border protection policy to detain offshore asylum seekers who reach Australian borders by boat, including accompanied and unaccompanied minors, is under intense international scrutiny. In the context of Australia’s “Operation Sovereign Borders,” however, the asylum seeker child’s perspectives and their geographies of hope and hopelessness have not yet been fully explored. Drawing on recent literature within children’s geographies, which emphasizes the “emotional” matters within policy development and professional practice, and how they affect children, this paper seeks to contribute to emerging debates exploring borders, asylum seeker children, and children’s emotional geographies. Utilizing drawings, letters, and poems produced by children for an Australian Human Rights Commission’s National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention on Nauru, a child-centred approach was applied to privilege children’s own perspective of their indefinite internment. The primary focus of the paper is to emphasize the ways in which “the asylum seeker child” constructs their own emotional geographies within the inherently complex and restrictive context of Australia’s border protection policy.

Asylum-seeking Parents’ Reports of Health Deterioration in Their Children since Fleeing Their Home Country

Abstract More than 50,000 asylum seekers scattered across Greece were waiting to have their cases processed in February 2016. Using unique survey data collected in six Greek refugee camps at the time, this article explores the health of asylum-seeking children as assessed by their parents. More than half of the parents reported that children’s health had deteriorated considerably or greatly since commencing their flight and the longer the time spent in Greece, the larger the share. The same tendency was found in a logistic regression model adjusting for educational level, sex and origin country. Feeling safe at the current location and access to basic amenities were alleviating factors. The results call for increased attention to the needs of asylum-seeking children in the Greek refugee camps and urgent action to alleviate potentially long-term impacts of the process of seeking asylum on these children.

The Educational Experiences of Teachers who deal with Children of Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Migrant Children on the Move in Trinidad & Tobago

The Objective of this paper is to showcase the experience of teachers who work with children of refugees, asylum seekers and children on the move in Trinidad & Tobago. These experiences can be considered by other educators on the international front, who work with migrant children as a frame of reference for dealing with them when they enter new environments. This topic is quite relevant in a world where children are constantly being uprooted and have to leave their home countries for the unknown. The paper aims to highlight the unique context under which these migrant children are informally educated. For reasons of risk and child protection, the paper will not use real names, locations and will focus only on the experiences of the educators/teachers. The paper will highlight the views of 29 teachers and teaching volunteers who spent more than 20 months trying to find alternative educational solutions for children of refugees, asylum seekers and migrant children on the move who are not allowed to enter the mainstream of public or private schools within Trinidad & Tobago. To give background and context, The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago acceded to the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. In 2019, the country has still, not passed any legislation or administrative regulations on asylum or refugee status, nor established a national refugee status determination procedure. The Venezuelan crisis and Cuban political and economic situation have contributed to a dramatic rise in the number of asylum seekers and refugees reaching to the nearby shores of Trinidad & Tobago in recent times. The borders of T&T are quite porous, and relatively unprotected allowing for constant new arrivals. Phillips (2018) reported, ‘160 arrivals everyday’. This influx of migrants and children on the move is putting the Republic in a position where educational practices need to be more closely examined, as the country’s lack of legislation on refugee and asylum matters, and the country’s immigration law, adopted prior to accession to international refugee instruments, does not provide an adequate framework for refugee protection and asylum issues. This simply put, means that the migrant population does not have the right to work, the right to an education; or any legal rights. Poignant is that the average Trinbagonian seems quite unaware of the needs and plight of this population of concern (POC). There are many uncertainties and negative impacts, since Trinidad & Tobago is considered by all to be a transit point and not a settlement zone for refugees, asylum seekers and people on the move. This paper will trace the challenges involved in educating the children of these persons who do not have legal standing within the country from the perspective of educators who have been directly involved in searching for educational solutions.

Infectious Diseases among Refugee Children.

In recent years, there has been a substantial increase in refugee and asylum-seeking adults, adolescents and children to high-income countries. Infectious diseases remain the most frequently identified medical diagnosis among U.S.-bound refugee children. Medical screening and immunization are key strategies to reduce the risk of infectious diseases in refugee, internationally adopted, and immigrant children. Notable infectious diseases affecting refugee and other newly arriving migrants include latent or active tuberculosis, human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV), hepatitis B, hepatitis C, vaccine-preventable diseases, malaria, and other parasitic infections. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics have published guidelines for health assessment of newly arriving immigrant, refugee, and internationally adopted children. Although, data on the health risks and needs of refugee exists in some high-income countries, there is an urgent need to develop robust evidence-informed guidance on screening for infectious diseases and vaccination strategies on a broader scale to inform national policies. Innovative approaches to reach migrant communities in the host nations, address health and other complex barriers to improve access to high-quality integrated health services, and strong advocacy to mobilize resources to improve health, safety, and wellbeing for refugee children and their families are urgent priorities.

Problematising separated children: a policy analysis of the UK ‘Safeguarding Strategy: Unaccompanied asylum seeking and refugee children’

ABSTRACT While international and national policies, strategies and legislation have been designed to address the problems of forced displacement, they also form a vital role in the discursive construction, governance and regulation of those who have been displaced. This paper critically interrogates the ‘UK Safeguarding Strategy: Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking and Refugee Children’ to highlight the ways in which unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC) are implicitly constructed as a policy problem. Drawing on Foucault, and using a novel analytic method (WPR) for studying problematisation within policy, this paper moves beyond the policy definition of an unaccompanied asylum seeking child to unearth characterisations that the policy ascribes to this group of children, and in particular the conceptual boundaries established for the way society thinks about UASC. These conceptual boundaries are divisive in nature, including suspicion around routes of arrival to the UK; constructions of risk; and questions about the responsibility of providing care and of being in need of care. The significance of the paper lies in its aim to use the examination of the discursive practices of the UK’s Safeguarding Strategy as a starting point to open a broader discussion around how UASC are constructed and governed, nationally and internationally.

The prevalence of iron deficiency anemia among African asylum seeking children residing in Tel Aviv

BackgroundIt has been the impression of pediatricians at the Terem Clinic for African asylum seekers in Tel Aviv that they encounter large numbers of anemic children.The objectives of this study were 1) to quantify the prevalence of anemia among African African asylum seeking children treated in the Terem Clinic for refugees in Tel Aviv; 2) to compare it to the rates among Jewish Israeli children; 3) and to correlate it with their nutritional iron intake. Overall, this effort aims at informing changes in policies and practices that will ensure healthy development of African asylum seeking children in Israel.MethodsThe prevalence of anemia was calculated for all toddlers and children under the age of twelve years visiting the refugee clinic and compared to the recently reported rates of anemia among urban Jewish Israeli children of similar ages; Nutritional iron intake was calculated in a subgroup by a food frequency questionnaire translated to Amharic and Tigrinya.ResultsMean age of the children (SD) was 2.96 yr. (SD 2.77) and mean hemoglobin 10.88 g/dl (1.47). Out of 386 eligible children, 131(34%) were anemic, fourfold more prevalent than reported among 263 Jewish toddlers and young children of the same age group [(11%), OR 4.15(95% ci 2.67–6.43)].In a subgroup (n = 26) investigated for amount of daily iron intake, 46.2% did not receive the recommended daily allowance for their age. Nine of them had received iron supplements.ConclusionsLow hemoglobin levels are four-fold more prevalent among the African asylum seeking children. The dietary data suggest iron deficiency as a major cause, although other etiologies need to be ruled out. Because of the adverse long term impact of early anemia on child development, new policies need to be developed to ensure that refugee children develop in a healthy manner. These should include routine mandatory supplements of iron for all refugee children, in parallel to developing an educational program for parents how to achieve iron-sufficient diets for their children. Further research is needed to guide public health action for these children.

Inequalities in vaccination coverage and differences in follow-up procedures for asylum-seeking children arriving in Wales, UK.

The European Vaccine Action Plan 2015-2020 highlights the importance of reducing inequities and monitoring performance in underserved groups including migrants. However, there are limited data from European countries and policies for catch-up vary by country. Vaccination coverage in accompanied asylum-seeking children aged 5 to 16 years in two dispersal areas of Wales is presented alongside the coverage in the local population. Coverage data for asylum-seeking children were collated locally using asylum seeker nurse records whilst coverage in the local population was calculated using data from the National Community Child Health Database, a repository of data from all local Child Health Systems in Wales. The processes for following up outstanding vaccinations were also collected using a face-to-face questionnaire distributed to lead asylum seeker nurses in each area. As at the date of assessment, 45.6% (67/147) of children dispersed to area one had received all recommended immunisations compared with 62.2% (150/241) dispersed to area two, OR 0.51 (95% CI 0.33-0.79). At both sites the odds of being vaccinated against key vaccine preventable infections were around three times lower if you were an asylum-seeking child, compared with the local population. Similar procedures were in place for new asylum seekers in both dispersal areas. Area one had less resource to follow up missing immunisations, and children did not receive an initial health assessment unlike area two. Verbal history was accepted in area one but not in area two, despite area two having higher vaccine uptake.Conclusion: Asylum-seeking children have low rates of vaccine uptake compared with the general population, although uptake differs depending on dispersal area. Inequalities in vaccination services, such as resource and strategies to improve uptake, need to be considered.What is Known:• The European Vaccine Action Plan 2015-2020 highlights the importance of reducing inequities and monitoring performance in underserved groups including migrants.• Limited data from European countries suggest inequalities in uptake of immunisations in migrants compared with the local population. Policies for catching up immunisations vary by country.What is New:• Despite national policy for vaccination of migrants with missing or incomplete vaccination history in Wales, this work suggests vaccination coverage in asylum-seeking children is not equitable with the local population.• Vaccination coverage in asylum-seeking children dispersed to different areas of Wales also varies, and this may be associated with differences in local catch-up strategies and the ability to follow national policy. Resource and strategies to maintain engagement with health services play an important role in increasing vaccine uptake in underserved groups.

The mental health service needs and experiences of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in the UK: a literature review

In 2017 more than 2,000 unaccompanied children sought asylum in the UK. This article summarises the policy and research literature on the mental health needs and experiences of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) in the UK, with the aim of suggesting how to enhance practice and improve outcomes for this vulnerable group. UASC have significant mental health needs with high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety; the asylum process greatly affects their well-being.Higher levels of distress in older adolescents who are seeking asylum suggests that lower levels of social support have detrimental outcomes for their mental health. Barriers to service use include mistrust, stigma and service providers’ lack of cultural awareness which affect UASC’s help-seeking behaviours and identification of their needs. This indicates that mental health services should be available in the spaces commonly used by UASC, such as schools and community centres, to provide psychoeducation, training to other agencies and to inform culturally sensitive interventions.

The System of Direct Provision for Asylum Seekers

Key issues/recommendations (1) Alternate solutions to accommodating persons seeking asylum and ensure persons are not exposed to prolonged communal living, so as to ensure full respect, protection and fulfilment of rights to shelter, private and family life and human dignity. (2) Emergency accommodation should be used for only the most limited of time periods, and rights of persons seeking asylum should be fully vindicated. (3) Rates of social assistance payments to asylum seekers must be based on comparable rates of social assistant payments to persons who are habitually resident in Ireland. All child asylum seekers must be entitled to child benefit. (4) Asylum seekers should have a right to work after a period of no more than six months. Ireland should re-consider the prohibition on asylum seekers entering publicly funded employment.