Between insecurity and hope E-Book

Maria Pisani

• Herausgeber: Conseil de l'Europe
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Seitenzahl: 428

Beschreibung

Youth work can offer a space for young refugees to express themselves and participate in society.

This Youth Knowledge book presents theoretical references and reflections on the experiences of young refugees and the way they reconcile personal hope with the tensions within their host societies. It also explores learning from practices and their theoretical underpinnings concerning the role of youth work in a cross-sectoral approach. This book aims to be a reference for policy makers, practitioners and researchers in the youth field and stakeholders from other sectors working on inclusion, access to rights and the participation of young refugees.All the contributors propose a very critical engagement with the reality of young refugees in today’s Europe, where tolerance levels for negative phenomena, such as human rights violations, hate speech and discrimination, are on the rise. However, there is also an underlying message of hope for those willing to engage in a human rights-based youth work practice that ensures safe spaces for being young, no matter who, no matter where. Practices and reflections deal with democracy, activism, participation, formal and non-formal education and learning, employment, trauma, “waitinghood” and negotiating identities.
We hope this book as a whole, and each individual contribution, will inspire youth policy makers and practitioners to take on board the complex realities of unfinished transitions and borderland experiences and create a positive environment for an enriched and transformed youth work for the inclusion of young refugees in their host communities.

Leseprobe

 

BETWEEN INSECURITY

AND HOPE

 

Reflections on youth work

with young refugees

 

Maria Pisani (Editor-in-Chief)

Tanya Basarab

Barbara Giovanna Bello

Sofia Laine

 

Youth Knowledge #24

Council of Europe and European CommissionFacebook.com/CouncilOfEuropePublications

Contents

 

Click here to see the whole table of contents, or go on the « Table of contents » option of your eReader.

PrefaceYouth work with young refugees – An enriching transformation and ongoing transition

TanyaBasarab

In 2016, under the objectives of social inclusion and youth work recognition, the EU–Council of Europe youth partnership took inclusion, rights and participation of young refugees as a transversal theme in its work programme and began to explore more closely the situation of young refugees and what role youth work can play in their lives. This focus was an initial response to the increasing negative portrayal in the media of refugees (particularly young male refugees, representing the majority of those arriving in western Europe, mostly through Turkey), and the increased polarisation of society towards the role, place and rights of those young refugees upon arrival or in transit across Europe.

The EU–Council of Europe youth partnership launched a series of research initiatives and organised workshops on the inclusion and participation of young refugees in society and the specific role youth work plays. The initiatives involved a mix of stakeholders, including young refugees, policy makers, researchers, NGOs working on refugee rights and integration, and youth work practitioners, aiming to bring evidence on the realities of young refugees, the realities of youth workers and how youth work makes a contribution to the lives of young refugees.

The seminar Journeys to a New Life (November 2016) looked deeper into the findings of those research initiatives, developing messages on supporting youth work with young refugees. The key messages of the workshop highlighted that more research was needed to understand the inclusion processes, the role youth NGOs and youth work as a whole can play in those processes; specific dimensions of youth work with young refugees also needed further debunking, including how to approach trauma, what kind of support youth workers themselves need, which (if any) methods work better, intercultural and human rights dimensions, hate speech, xenophobia and discrimination, and the mental and physical well-being of young refugees, particularly during long periods of waiting for decisions of authorities about their legal situation.

The workshops also highlighted the importance of self- and peer-empowerment as well as initiatives of advocacy by groups of young refugees themselves: “nothing about us without us”, a motto often heard in the equality and anti-discrimination sector, was also echoed by representatives of refugee organisations. Furthermore, engaged youth workers and organisations shared frustration at how bureaucratic processes were impacting the lives of these young people, dehumanising them and denying them the possibility to enjoy their rights and dignity. Ten researchers from countries along the refugee route explored in depth the tensions between the strengths of youth work and its limits in supporting young refugees, youth work in humanitarian situations, intercultural dialogue and the invisible young refugee women, hate speech and attacks on refugees and youth workers themselves as well as the mental health implications of “waitinghood”. Participants also called for further knowledge and supporting evidence in understanding the challenges young refugees face in Europe and the need to provide knowledge-based reflections and arguments for youth workers who engage with these groups. All of these papers and the policy recommendations from that workshop can be found on the seminar page.1

These reflections continued in 2017 with two learning workshops on the youth sector’s practices for the integration and participation of young refugees, on the basis of local practices from France, Germany and Thessaloniki, Greece. These workshops looked at inclusion and integration practices in these three countries and the extent to which the policy context supports educational, employment and other integration perspectives. An emphasis was placed on how young refugees themselves experience those realities. The 2016 expert seminar identified a number of salient themes, such as access to rights, outreach to young refugee women, participation and intercultural dialogue in the new communities, mental health and insecurities due to legal status.

The conclusions of the workshops found that youth work is definitely a support for individual empowerment, a safe space for young refugees to be young and also to be supported in the process of integration in host societies. It helps young refugees in developing their confidence, resilience and trust and in building positive relationships, also with their peers. Youth work with young refugees requires flexibility and tolerance of ambiguity and is linked with the aim of integrating young refugees into society.

Youth work can offer a space for young refugees to express themselves and participate in society. As it is a space for them to voice their ideas, concerns and aspirations, it can also be a space to uncover and value the resources that young refugees bring to society.

Youth work is also an important stakeholder in the necessary cross-sectoral cooperation between different services involved in young refugees’ integration (legal, education, housing, employment, etc.). Youth work is complementary to other services.

Youth workers need specific support to tackle complex situations when working with young refugees, thematically looking at intercultural learning, mental health and trauma, involving young women refugees and addressing other intersection-alities, access to social rights and participation in local life. Youth work practitioners also need space to exchange practices and thematic capacity building on the above-mentioned themes.

International co-operation and peer learning can act as a support for practitioners’ motivation and for the improvement of the quality of their work. Opportunities such as these workshops also counter the feeling of isolation of practitioners and support their reflective practice.

More resources and policy support should be in place for youth work interventions with young refugees on the themes of participation and inclusion and an ongoing reflection on how refugee-led initiatives enrich European youth work traditions is needed. Further information about these workshops can be accessed on the web page dedicated to them.2

Throughout these meetings and through an open survey, the youth partnership collected and analysed examples of youth work practice in a publication called “Step-by-step together –Support, Tips, Examples and Possibilities for youth work with young refugees”. The publication is a practical handbook for youth workers and others involved in projects with young refugees. It also includes examples of practices, with information on how such practices could be adapted to other contexts. The publication focuses on youth participation and inclusion as key dimensions in building inclusive societies and, at the same time, creating an enabling environment for young refugees to be actors in their personal and community development. The publication explores the four themes from the workshops: intercultural learning, access to social rights, young women refugees, youth participation and mental health and trauma.3

The partner institutions have also put forward policy proposals targeting young refugees. The Council of Europe adopted the Action Plan on protecting refugee and migrant children,4 the statutory bodies on youth took up further the idea of focusing on the support young refugees require in their transition to adulthood. The EU–Council of Europe youth partnership has contributed to that initiative by carrying out a literature review of definitions, challenges and initiatives.5

The EU member states launched an Expert Group on youth work with young refugees with a mandate to develop policy recommendations and practical examples until the end of 2018. By then, the Expert Group should submit its results for adoption to one of the Council meetings. The youth partnership contributes to the Expert Group with all the knowledge and examples of case studies gathered so far on this topic. Through the Erasmus+ programme, the EU is also supporting a large strategic partnership project, Becoming Part of Europe, aiming to support more concretely youth work with migrant young people in Europe.

Finally, this Youth Knowledge book brings theoretical references and reflections on the experiences of young refugees and the way they reconcile personal hope with the tensions and cultural clashes within their host societies. It also explores learning from practices and their theoretical underpinnings around the role of youth work in the inclusion of young refugees. The book aims to be a reference for youth field policy makers, practitioners, researchers and all stakeholders working on inclusion, access to rights and the participation of young refugees through youth work.

The messages from the 2016 seminar formed the focus of the book and we are happy today to bring you the results with a mix of contributions from the three corners of the triangle in the youth field – research, policy and practice. Without a doubt all the contributors bring a very critical engagement with the reality of young refugees in today’s Europe, where tolerance levels of negative phenomena such as human rights violations, hate speech and discrimination are on the rise. However, there is also a strong consolidation of those willing to engage in a human rights-based youth work practice that ensures safe space for being young, no matter who, no matter where.

We hope this book as a whole, and each individual contribution, will inspire youth policy makers and practitioners to take on board the complex realities of unfinished transitions and borderlands experiences and create a positive environment for an enriched and transformed youth work for the inclusion of young refugees in their host communities.

1 EU-Council of Europe youth partnership website, page on Journeys to a New Life expert seminar, https://pjp-eu.coe.int/en/web/youth-partnership/refugees-seminar?inheritRedirect=true, accessed 22 September 2018.

2 EU-Council of Europe youth partnership page on the learning workshops: https://pjp-eu.coe.int/en/web/youth-partnership/refugees-workshops?inheritRedirect=true, accessed 22 September 2018.

3 Council of Europe and European Commission, June 2018: https://pjp-eu.coe.int/documents/1017981/7110668/FINAL+step+by+step+together_reduced_size.pdf/8103c431-afc3-f978-9117-20776950bedf, accessed 22 September 2018.

4 Council of Europe, www.coe.int/en/web/children/-/council-of-europe-action-plan-on-protecting-refugee-and-migrant-children-adopted?desktop=false, accessed 22 September 2018.

5 EU-Council of Europe youth partnership website: https://pjp-eu.coe.int/documents/1017981/9488616/Refugees+transition+to+adulthood.pdf/9a064fa1-ee97-be3f-84fd-5a27d85e15a6, accessed 22 September 2018.

IntroductionSetting the context: some critical reflections and the contributions

MariaPisani

For decades the Mediterranean Sea has served as a key route for refugees trying to reach Europe. The number of arrivals has varied over the years, depending on conditions in the country of origin, and in transit, the geopolitical context, and also EU policies (Human Rights Watch 2015). Since the turn of the century the numbers have steadily increased, but the phenomenon generally received very little international media coverage, the EU external border controls essentially ensuring that refugees remained contained in a transit country or at the EU external border states (Pisani 2016). The situation changed dramatically in 2015, wherein more than a million migrants requested asylum in Europe. Fleeing Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Eritrea and other war-stricken, violent and impoverished states, the refugees embarked on a desperate journey in search of safety, protection, and the possibility to fulfil their hopes for the future.

For more than a decade, the vast majority of refugees and migrants making the deadly journey across the Mediterranean were young people. This trend has remained consistent. In 2015 alone 96 000 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum in the EU. In the first half of 2017, 72 % of the children who made the journey were unaccompanied or separated children (UNHCR, UNICEF and IOM 2017). Alarming as they are, these statistics just give us a part of the picture; the somewhat limited legal binary of “minor/adult” conceal the much broader categories of adolescents and youth. In November of 2017, the bodies of 26 young Nigerian women were recovered from the Mediterranean (Reuters 2017). Here’s the thing: Deaths in the Mediterranean have become the “norm”; such tragedies barely make headline news nowadays – another nameless face with no story. In 2015, Europol reported that 10 000 unaccompanied minors had gone missing from reception centres in Europe. In 2016, the figure jumped from 2 % to 7 % (Missing Children Europe 2017), and yet again the story no longer makes headline news. Fleeing war and poverty, young people are still dying to reach Europe. Thousands of young people remain “missing” in Europe. At the border, the young body is illegal first, child second; the enforcement of border patrols is prioritised over the states’ international and national legal obligations vis-à-vis the rights of the child. The vulnerable “child” in need of protection can be juxtaposed against the threat of the “illegalised” young body; the contradictions between these two extreme representations of young refugees come to the fore, negating the agency and contested politics of border crossings (Mainwaring 2016).

Beyond needless loss of life, there are other dangers resulting from the absence of legal migration routes and the closure of borders. Such policies have made for a lucrative business for smugglers, traffickers and other criminal networks. Given the option between remaining stranded at the border “waiting”, or seeking asylum elsewhere, many young people will go with the “elsewhere”, thus remaining in an undocumented and/ or irregular status, transiting through different countries. These secondary movements occur for many reasons, including, inter alia, limitations on availability and standards of protection between different member states, family separation or wanting to reach extended family and communities, risk of refoulement (being sent back home), labour market conditions and living standards. For those who apply for asylum, the decision is taken by the national authorities within the Member State (European Parliament 2017). Those who qualify for protection will be granted either refugee status, subsidiary protection or other kinds of protection status based on national law. Those who are denied protection face deportation, in the case of minors, their (albeit often neglected) rights according to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) are lost on transition to adulthood, thus exposing them to new risks, including deportation. Notions of youth and adolescence are absent from the legal minor/adult binary.

The humanitarian crisis unfolding at, and within, the European borders is a youth issue. For those of us working in the youth field the moral imperative to understand and to act cannot be more pressing.

Throughout 2016, the EU–Council of Europe youth partnership engaged in a number of actions geared towards exploring the situation of young refugees in Europe, and the role of youth work in their integration. It is this background that served as the impetus for this book. Preliminary explorative analyses (for example Bello 2016) suggests that the “youth work” and “young refugees” encounter has been very limited. There is much work to be done in strengthening and developing this relationship and learning more about the challenges, the strengths, and the numerous ways of moving forward. This issue of Youth Knowledge Books seeks to create a space in which to critically engage with the issue of young refugees and youth work, and to further advance a dialogue between policy, research and practice.

Young refugees, youth policy makers and youth workers do not exist in a vacuum. The day-to-day lived realities of young refugees are intrinsically linked to broader processes and relationships, including geopolitics, globalisation and neoliberal economic policies. While youth work and policy may respond at a local level, our response must also be informed by an understanding of the global, regional and national contexts and their interactions.

The “refugee crisis”?

The term “refugee” is not new to any of us; as long as humans have walked this earth, history has recounted stories of persons fleeing their homes in search of safety. The 1951 Geneva Convention was adopted in response to mass displacement that occurred in the aftermath of the Second World War. In the years that followed, it was clear that new refugee situations continued to occur. In 1967 the UN added a new protocol; the new definition would be universal, applying to anyone who:

owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it (1951 Geneva Convention, Article 1A (2)).

The Geneva Convention lies at the heart of contemporary international refugee protection. This vital legal document not only defines the term “refugee”, but also sets out the rights of displaced persons, and the legal obligations of states to protect them. In recognition of the evolving nature of forced migration, complementary forms of protection, including relevant international, regional and national instruments (for example Subsidiary Protection and Humanitarian Protection, to name but two) have been developed in order to protect those who fall outside the scope of the convention or its protocol but cannot be returned home for various reasons.

We are living in particular times, representing the greatest number of displaced people on record. Of the displaced, 22.5 million are refugees, over half of them are under the age of 18 (UNHCR 2017). Contrary to popular beliefs in the EU and also beyond, in 2016 developing regions around the world hosted 84 % of the world’s refugees, and 28 % of the global total are living in the world’s poorest countries (ibid.).

These numbers stand in stark contrast with the dominant discourse emerging on refugees and forced migrants entering the European Union, and surely demonstrate the need for some perspective in the way the topic is discussed, and addressed. Such disparities also challenge us to critically reflect when terms such as “crisis” are bandied about. Bello (2016) has argued that the context might best be described as a “human rights crisis”, the refugee arrivals serving as a “litmus test” for the European Union’s asylum policy, and the human rights record for transit and host countries within and beyond the EU.

The European Commission’s response to the increasing number of arrivals has essentially revolved around a number of – somewhat incongruous – policies. Framed as “saving lives”, but couched firmly within a security framework, a key policy response was to break the smuggling industry by increasing external border security and supporting Libyan border patrols (European Commission 2017a). The externalisation of Fortress Europe to the Libyan coast forms part of a concerted attempt to stop boats from departing, thus effectively also denying access to protection. The human rights violations experienced by refugees and migrants in Libya are well documented. In the absence of safer alternatives to access protection and safety, such policy decisions have, it has been argued, exposed refugees to more violence, made the journeys even more dangerous, and also contributed to loss of life (Human Rights Watch 2016). Most certainly, in the “balancing act” the European Commission seeks to maintain between “securing borders” and “upholding international commitments and values” (European Commission 2015), the scales are tipped in favour of borders and exclusion.

Another key policy response is the relocation of refugees among the member states, thus providing protection to those who qualify, and also alleviating pressure on the Italian and Greek asylum systems (European Commission 2017a). The relocation mechanism provides for the distribution of persons in need of international protection and was established according to the specific context of each member state. Progress on this process has been slow (by the end of 2017, less than a third of the total number committed) and has faced significant resistance by some member states (ibid.).

Ongoing actions to stop the refugee arrivals across the Mediterranean has had mixed results. Following the implementation of the EU-Turkey Statement of March 2016 there has been a significant drop in the number of refugee arrivals on the Eastern Mediterranean route (ibid.). The same cannot be said for the Central Mediterranean route, however, where a humanitarian crisis continues, albeit largely ignored. The deadliest route in the world, the stretch of sea separating Europe from the coast of North Africa continues to claim the lives of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in their desperate efforts to reach safety, and to fulfil their hopes for a better life (Missing Migrants 2017).

At the height of the European “refugee crisis” media coverage was prolific, reporting on the desperate situation in camps and at borders all across Europe. The way refugees were received, in terms of political and public discourse, policy responses and service provision by state and non-state actors varied within and across EU member states (Bello 2016). Border violence, racism and far-right discourse and the reinstatement of internal EU borders in an effort to “contain” the movements can be juxtaposed with images of crowds embracing refugees at train stations, armies of volunteers immediately responding to the humanitarian crisis, and slogans such as “refugees welcome” proliferating across social media.

The external dimension of EU asylum and the securitisation of borders stands in contrast to the European Commission’s commitments as set out in the EUCommon Basic Principles for Immigrant Integration Policy and reaffirmed in the 2016 Action Plan. The Commission reminds the member states of their “legal, moral and economic imperatives to upholding the EU’s fundamental rights, values and freedoms” and that the “successful integration of their-country nationals is a matter of common interest to all Member States” (European Commission 2016). The consistent and clear common policy as set out in the European Agenda on Migration (European Commission 2015) remains tenuous at best. The EU and its member states have strengthened efforts to prevent arrivals by offloading responsibility for migration control to countries outside the EU’s borders, including Libya (a country that has not signed the Refugee Convention). This was happening despite irrefutable evidence of violence against refugees and migrants detained by Libyan authorities (see for example Amnesty International, 2017). Individual member states’ commitments to meet their international and ethical obligations, while working together in accordance with the principles of solidarity and shared responsibility remain disparate and, all too often, elusive. Attempts to “relocate” refugees across member states has served to reinstate the national borders, the “Dublin Rules” enacting the dynamics of inclusion and exclusion.

Fuelled by sensationalist and often alarmist media headlines, a critical element of the refugee crisis relates to the discourse adopted by far-right actors who framed the arrival of refugees as dangerous, exploiting a sense of insecurity by conflating immigration with terrorism and presenting both as a threat to the very fabric of European societies. At the end of 2017, the main concerns of Europeans remained immigration and terrorism, at 39 % and 38 % respectively; both concerns are mentioned more than double that of any other issue (European Commission 2017c). These statistics are not to be ignored, but do require interrogation. At a national level, the management and distribution of refugees has become a political minefield. The political discourse on the securitisation of borders and the rise of the far right are distinct, but interrelated. The transition to a multi-ethnic Europe has been marked by tensions, and young Muslim male refugees in particular, framed as the contemporary “folk devil”, have become the target of “moral panic” reflected in a pervasive sense of fear of the “illegalized dark other” (Pisani 2016). This, within a broader sense of insecurity: Brexit, terrorist attacks, and indeed the challenges brought about by globalisation (including migration and refugee movements) are just some of the issues that the European Union, and those who call it home, must navigate and negotiate as it evolves and responds to these changes. Recovery from the 2008 economic crisis has been slow, and the consequences are still hard felt, and far-reaching. The rewards reaped by neoliberal economic policies are not proportionate: the gap between the haves and the have-nots is real and growing, and this is felt at a global level, at a national level, and also within our local communities. Across Europe, the effects of the economic crisis, including unemployment and austerity measures, discrimination, poverty and social exclusion, have impacted the lives of young people in particular. As noted by Schild et al. (2017), these are precarious times for many young people across Europe, so how will young refugees fare within a context that is marked by increasing demand and competition for limited resources? How will member states, and youth work providers, respond to these contemporary challenges?

In 2016, EU member states agreed on a European Union Work Plan for Youth for 2016-2018. The work plan strengthened youth work and cross-sectoral co-operation in six key areas, namely:

In making this pledge, the member states also committed to placing more emphasis on particular groups, namely, young people at risk of marginalisation, young people not in employment, education or training (NEET), and young people with a migrant background, including newly arrived immigrants and young refugees.

The priorities set out in the EUWork Plan for Youth demonstrate a commitment to enact a policy that benefits young Europeans and young refugees alike – this inclusionary approach stands in stark contrast to the exclusionary approach enacted at the EU

increased social inclusion of all young people, taking into account the underlying European values;

stronger participation of all young people in democratic and civic life in Europe;

easier transition of young people from youth to adulthood, in particular the integration into the labour market;

support to young people’s health and well-being, including mental health;

contribution to addressing the challenges and opportunities of the digital era for youth policy, youth work and young people;

contribution to responding to the opportunities and challenges raised by the increasing numbers of young migrants and refugees in the European Union (Council of the European Union 2015).

external border, and by individual member states, and as such, raises pertinent, but important questions. How, for example, does this inclusive approach correspond to the “race to the bottom” wherein member states are watering down rights, modifying legislation and adopting different actions to shift the responsibility onto other member states, potentially compromising access to basic human rights (ENOC 2016)? To what degree should the work plan, as stated in the document “contribute to the overarching priorities of the EU’s security... agenda [s]”? How do “European values” measure up in relation to the EU external border policies, the detention of migrant children and, more broadly, human rights obligations? How has the fortification and racialisation of the national border (both literally and metaphorically) shaped the political and social identity of the nation? Of young refugees? How might the non-citizen migrant/refugee/undocumented or irregular migrant engage in the democratic process? How are youth workers to respond when the transition to adulthood is marked with a loss of rights and new risks, including deportation? How do the commitments taken at a European level pan out at a national level? How do public attitudes towards migration shape youth policy and youth work practice?

Certainly, individual member states are marked by their own historical, political, economic, cultural and social narrative that feeds into political and popular discourse, and also national youth policy and youth work practice. To what degree will youth work respond to the needs, priorities and expectations established at a national policy level? As directed by funding mechanisms? In relation to other policy fields? As determined through dialogue with young refugees? Indeed, “why” and “how” youth work is to engage with young refugees will be determined by how we define youth work, the key principles and values that drive youth work practices, and the theoretical underpinnings of our work.

A note on terminology

Youth workers who are working with asylum seekers, refugees and migrants will be familiar with what, particularly at the beginning, will be experienced as an overwhelming plethora of legal terminology that accompanies the field. Indeed, a number of contributors to this book highlight the need for youth workers to have (at the least) a basic understanding of the different legal terms and processes that accompany the field. Such knowledge is critical since, in the case of the non-citizen, access to rights cannot be assumed. For example, in the case of young asylum seekers and irregularly residing migrants, the transition to adulthood is often accompanied by a loss of rights. Semantics matter, and some terms must be debunked from the outset. The term “illegal immigrant” does not exist in international law – a human being cannot be “illegal”.

For the sake of clarity, we provide some of the key terms and working definitions below.

Migrant is any person who is not living in their usual place of residence. This may be within a state, and also includes persons who are crossing, or have crossed an international border. An individual is a migrant, regardless of legal status and the reason for leaving. As such, the term includes, but is not limited to, asylum seekers, expats, refugees and undocumented migrants.

Legal status refers to the status of the individual in a migration context according to law. For example, this would include asylum seeker, refugee, irregularly residing, undocumented, among others.

Asylum seeker is an individual who is seeking international protection. An application for asylum will lead to a process wherein the claim is considered by the country to which the application is made. There are a number of possible outcomes, depending on the applicant country, including refugee status, subsidiary protection, rejection, among others. Within the EU, the asylum process is regulated by international agreements such as the 1951 Geneva Convention, the Dublin Regulation, and national law. Not every asylum seeker will be granted protection, but every refugee will go through the asylum process. Applicants whose claim for asylum is rejected and who are not granted some form of protection face deportation.

Refugee is a person who, “owing to a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinions, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country” (Article 1 (A) (2), 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, as modified by the 1967 Protocol).

Unaccompanied minor refers to a person below the legal age of majority who is not in the company of an adult who, by law or custom, is responsible for them, including parents and guardians.

Undocumented migrant refers to a non-national who enters or remains in a country without the necessary documentation. This may include a person who enters a country illegally without legal documentation, or using fraudulent documentation. It also refers to those people who enter legally but remain beyond the authorised time frame.

Youth work

Across Europe, from the inner cities to villages, youth work initiatives are being developed and implemented – initiatives that are as diverse as they are plentiful. From the shorelines of the Mediterranean, to the virtual world that knows no borders, youth workers remain committed to their work – and yet, defining youth work remains a challenge, hard to pin down. Different actors, different agendas, different practices: from pan-national organisations such as the European Commission, to national youth agencies, youth workers and young people themselves, youth work in Europe is informed by “different realities and underlying theories, concepts and strategies” (Schild, Vanhee and Williamson 2017: 3). So does anything go? To respond in the affirmative would be to tread on dangerous ground. We do know that youth work can easily be instrumentalised for competing interests – and within the context described above, this may have grave implications for youth work practice, and critically, the lives of young refugees.

We do know that the needs and expectations of young refugees in Europe are diverse, multifaceted, often complex, and many. We also know that youth work cannot be “everything”, and cannot respond to all of these needs. As a working definition we may be guided by the Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to member States on youth work:

Youth work is a broad term covering a wide variety of activities of a social, cultural, educational, environmental and/or political nature by, with and for young people, in groups or individually. Youth work is delivered by paid and volunteer youth workers and is based on non-formal and informal learning processes focused on young people and on voluntary participation. Youth work is quintessentially a social practice, working with young people and the societies in which they live, facilitating young people’s active participation and inclusion in their communities and in decision making. (Committee of Ministers 2017)

But perhaps this definition does not go far enough. What are the core principles and values that inform youth work provision and practice? What does youth work stand for? If youth work stands for “nothing”, then it will fall for anything.

There are those who have argued that a shared understanding of youth work remains elusive because the theoretical foundations simply are not there (Siurala 2017; Williamson 2015). Theory and practice are not “stand-alones”, but evolve, inform and influence each other. While practice involves the “doing”, theory provides the possibility for evidence-based understanding, reflection, and importantly, a standpoint that does not claim to be value-neutral and apolitical. Theory then provides more than a foundation, it is the backbone, the critical structural support that keeps us upright and, to extend the idiom, courageous in the face of populist politics and injustice. If youth work is to be understood as values-based, then these values must be articulated clearly and unapologetically – a human rights-based approach, equality of access, participatory and inclusive, responsive to the expressed needs and demands of young people, and on their own terms – values that must not be limited to buzzwords or tokenistic gestures, but must go to the very heart of youth work policy and practice.

The arrival of young refugees brings new challenges and opportunities – and throughout Europe, youth workers, policy makers and researchers have responded with determination, and a commitment to make a positive difference in the lives of these young people, the communities they live in, and broader society. It has been said that the only constant in life is change. We live in an increasingly globalised world; the planet we call home is experiencing rapid change, integrating people, cultures, economic markets and nations. And, paradoxically, this process has also brought about new borders, new divisions, be they physical or metaphorical. Change, and new challenges bring opportunities for innovation and learning – and this is perhaps one of the themes that emerges so strongly in this book: youth work responds to change, and it does so with an energy and commitment that demands reflexive practice. This book seeks to be part of this process, providing the contributors as well as the readers with an opportunity to reflect on evidence-based research, to learn from our shared experiences, to learn more about ourselves as human beings, as youth workers, policy makers and researchers, and to learn more about the work that we do, the communities that we live and work in and, most importantly, the people we work with.

In the pages that follow, the contributors to this edited text share their experiences, research, and learning curves. This collection provides some fascinating insights and reflections on how different actors working in the youth field have responded throughout, from the shores of the Mediterranean, including Turkey, Malta and Italy, the contributions trace the routes taken throughout Europe, from Germany, to France, the UK, Finland and beyond. What follows are texts providing diverse perspectives from different contexts, adopting varied approaches to address multifaceted and evolving needs, new challenges and rich learning opportunities.

A diverse range of actors are involved in the delivery of youth work with young refugees, and many have contributed to this book: from the state, to faith-led organisations, NGOs, the formal education system and indeed young refugees themselves. Each of them brings particular perspectives, experiences, competencies, tools and skills to the field: making for a rich knowledge base and new issues for debate, to seek common ground, and also disagreement. Notwithstanding the diversity of authors, contexts and practices covered in the chapters that follow, the reader will note a number of emerging themes that are worth highlighting here.

Perhaps one of the most common themes was that of recognising and receiving young refugees as young people first and foremost, rather than a label imposed by the media, politicians, or asylum and immigration law. That is not to say that young refugees do not have particular experiences or specific needs. Indeed, these realities are clearly exposed throughout the book – and perhaps best demonstrated in how mainstream services are adapting and evolving, often developing tailor-made initiatives seeking to cater for these needs. This is particularly evident in the need to respond to the immediate and practical needs born out of the refugee experience, from housing, to accessing the formal education system and employment.

Education is also given prominence throughout the book, from working within the formal education system, including challenges related to accreditation and recognising the skills and knowledge young refugees bring with them, to non-formal education, informal learning and more critical approaches geared towards political mobilisation. The transformative element comes to the fore in many of the contributions, with an emphasis on working with young refugees, and creating opportunities to give voice – diverse theoretical paradigms, methodologies and tools feed into diverse practices, often responding to the particular and evolving spatial and temporal contexts.

Association – creating the space and opportunities to make friends, to hang out and to develop relationships, and to learn together – so central and particular to youth work, is reinforced throughout the pages that follow. The reference to racism and xenophobia is unambiguous, confronting the “othering” process and engaging in a humanising dialogue that transcends racialised borders and fear, and which has never perhaps been more urgent.

The emphasis on voluntary association and participatory approaches is more than evident, with a number of authors stressing the importance of dialogue, and reaching out across the borders that divide humanity. Social capital, broadly understood as the resources that are embedded within, and developed out of our networks and relationships, take on a new importance within this context. Young refugees, particularly upon arrival, lack this crucial resource, and youth workers are responding by sharing and mobilising their own resources with young refugees as individuals, and collectively, to develop a sense of community and co-operation, and also to facilitate actions within the social structures, including working with different service providers and areas of expertise according to the needs of the young person.

If themes such as association and relationships evoke a common thread in youth work, the position and significance of human rights is perhaps what defines the unique element of youth work with young refugees. While of course not absent from youth policy, and youth work discourse and practice, the situation and experiences of young refugees demand a greater awareness, understanding, and skill set in relation to human rights on the part of youth workers. For example, many of the contributors highlight the long periods of waiting and ongoing displacement that accompany the refugee experience as they navigate the liminal realities imposed by legal frameworks and asylum policies. Youth transitions come to the fore here; for many young asylum seekers, the transition to adulthood can be marked by a loss of rights. The UN General Assembly has highlighted the complications that emerge from the legal threshold of 18 years, stating that the Convention on the Rights of the Child does not “fully take into account the reality of the transition from childhood to adulthood” (UN General Assembly 2014). The transition to adulthood exposes young asylum seekers (including unaccompanied minors) to human rights violations, exploitation and abuse, and new risks, including deportation. Such realities bring new realities, learning curves and challenges for youth workers, as they respond within a context where the right to rights cannot be assumed. Human rights violations cannot be divorced from the experiences of forced migration. The majority of young refugees, particularly those who are forced to take irregular routes, including crossing the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea, will have been exposed to trauma. Youth workers are witnessing the consequences of human rights abuses, exposure to violence, loss of loved ones and home, and the long, drawn-out periods of waiting. While distancing themselves from a simplistic victim/resilience binary, a number of contributors in this book address issues related to trauma, and consider the role (and limitations) of youth work in this regard.

Which brings me to hope – a theme that emerges throughout the pages of this book. Hope is what drives refugees to keep on going, it is the belief in a better tomorrow. And it is perhaps what defines youth work too: responding to new experiences, new realities and new challenges with a sense of purpose, with a commitment to service and the young people we work with, knowing that the smallest gesture can make a difference in a young person’s life, and knowing that collectively we can contribute to a more equitable and just world – this is what keeps hope and also youth work alive and relevant.

The contributions in this book

In Chapter 1, Daniel Briggs and Rebeca Cordero Verdugo draw on ethnographic data gathered from a research project conducted across eight European countries to explore the perceptions and experiences of young refugees and their integration efforts in relation to housing, health, education and cultural adaption within a given context. The chapter provides some harrowing insights into the experiences of young refugees and migrants, many of whom are located both physically and metaphorically at the margins of European societies, and also, the authors argue, beyond the reach of relevant integration and intervention efforts, including by the youth work sector. Briggs and Cordero Verdugo also provide insights into the bureaucratic demands and expectations placed on young beneficiaries of protection (for example education and training) that do not respond to their needs and lived realities.

Working with young people who have been exposed to trauma is not something new to youth work. The cumulative experiences of refugees, from fleeing conflict, persecution and discrimination, ongoing exposure to violence, separation from family and loss, long periods of life on hold, or “waitinghood” as young asylum seekers await the outcome of administrative procedures, ongoing upheaval and life in a new country are documented throughout the chapters in this book. Such experiences are not only particular and complex, they are also beyond what the majority of us will ever be exposed to in our own lives. In Chapter 2 Nadine Lyamouri-Bajja reflects on her own experiences while working with young refugees and unaccompanied minors in shelters in France and Germany. In her chapter Lyamouri-Bajja raises some important questions vis-à-vis the role of youth workers, and indeed the limitations, in providing support and intervention, and fostering resilience. Lyamouri-Bajja draws on her reflections to provide some tentative guidelines on trauma-informed youth work.

Working with trauma continues as a key theme in Chapter 3, wherein Johanna Eicken provides some reflections on working with young asylum seekers in Karlsruhe, Germany. The project Ankommen_Weiterkommen developed in direct response to gaps and needs identified by service providers working with young asylum seekers. Exposure to trauma and the impact of these experiences were perceived as having a negative impact on the youths’education and general well-being, while there was also a recognised absence of age-specific, social and self-reflexive opportunities for learning and experiences out of school time, within the shelters. Drawing on the diverse and specialised training of team members, specific educational methods were developed in response to the needs of the young refugees, with a focus on individual counselling, along with outdoor, theatre and art activities. This approach seeks to provide individualised one-to-one support in challenging situations, including, for example, during the asylum process or in a new work environment.

Chapter 4 is an interview with Gaëlle Le Guern, Deputy Director of the DOMIE, a facility offering assistance to unaccompanied minors. The facility, based in Strasbourg, France, is one of three facilities operating in two key areas, that of providing educational support and the judicial protection of young people. Speaking to Mara Georgescu, a senior project officer at the EU–Council of Europe youth partnership, Le Guern describes the organisation’s mission, that of looking after the young people, ensuring their well-being, and accompanying them in a personalised plan towards autonomy. In the interview, Le Guern stresses how much of their work hinges on administrative regularisation and how this legal process impacts not only the right to remain once they have turned 18, but also the degree to which these young people can make plans for the future. A recurrent theme throughout this book, such drawn-out processes and the element of the unknown, are a source of stress for young people caught up in this legal liminality. The work of DOMIE is grounded in three key tasks: first, to provide a space where young people feel secure, and to explain the legal and administrative processes, so that they may be empowered to speak on their own behalf. The second pillar is that of addressing health concerns, and the third is education. Participation in cultural projects is also seen as a meaningful way for unaccompanied minors to explore how they experience and might belong to the hosting society, both as migrants and young people.

In Chapter 5, Benjamin Henn and Niklas Gregull describe how a home for young apprentices in Munich, Germany, adjusted to including young refugees. Aptly entitled “Living under the same roof”, the authors, who both work with the faith-based organisation the Salesians of Don Bosco, provide a brief overview of the German refugee context, with a focus on young refugees, and then go on to describe the project itself. The focus is on the similarities and differences between the hosting of young apprentices, mainly from Germany, and unaccompanied minor refugees, the challenges they encountered and the lessons learned. The youth are all accommodated in the same building and are using the same areas for free- and leisure-time activities. The authors argue that the project has had positive effects on integration, as well as on building mutual trust and tolerance. Drawing on their personal observations and experiences, they also consider the limits and potential of youth work within such an institutional set-up. The chapter concludes with seven points of reflection for achieving a promising integration and on the future perspectives for youth work with young refugees.

Hope is a recurrent theme throughout this book, but is central to Simon Williams’ contribution. In Chapter 6, Williams engages post-colonial theory to explore the power of the media in influencing the construction of the “other”, namely young refugees within the UK context. The chapter explores the relationship between politics, the media and the identity of young refugees, which affect the educational experience and sense of hope within the UK context. Conceptualised as the aspirations and desires that seem achievable to the individual, hope is not understood as confined to individuals, but also by social and institutional structures in communities. Williams explores how youth work might contest the dominant media narrative, and can provide opportunities for a supportive experience, both within and alongside schools, in developing hope and the inclusion of young refugees.

Fausta Scardigno also explores the role of youth work with young refugees within the formal education system, but from a different perspective. In Chapter 7, Scardigno describes how the service offered by the Centre for Lifelong Learning at the University of Bari in Italy has met the challenges that arise in the absence of original documentation of formal qualifications. Specifically, the service operates as an institutional youth work service that seeks to evaluate the cultural capital of young refugees and to recognise their formal, informal and non-formal competences in order to find employment or to apply for an educational course. The programme engages young refugees as beneficiaries of the programme, and also as tutors for other young refugees and migrants. Scardignos’ role within the project, and narratives from the young refugee participants, provide the reader with some interesting insights into how educational services can respond to new situations and specific youth needs, and how such experiences can impact the lives of young refugees.

In Chapter 8, the focus shifts to Turkey, a country with a relatively high youth population that faces a significant challenge in integrating young refugees and migrants – almost two-thirds of the Syrian refugees being under the age of 30. In this chapter, Gökay Özerim and Güldan Kalem provide an overview of the history of youth work in Turkey, and then shift to focus on the work of NGOs active in the field of youth work and migration, in particular with young refugees. The chapter provides some fascinating insights, and also a dose of perspective, into how the country that hosts the world’s largest refugee population has responded to this reality over the years, making the transition from emergency aid to integration initiatives, with a focus on access to the labour market.

In Chapter 9, we journey up north to explore the situation in Finland. Veronika Honkasalo begins the chapter by framing it within the Finnish policy context and the broader public discourse. Echoing a theme that emerges throughout the book, Honkasalo argues that youth migration is rarely inspired by the framework of youth policy that is grounded in rights, engagement and participation, but rather, is couched within an environment of fear and control. The author draws on two studies conducted in Finland, the first focusing on how young asylum seekers and refugees were welcomed into youth work practices both by professionals and other young people. The second study consisted of ethnographic fieldwork conducted in a centre for unaccompanied refugees and draws on interviews with unaccompanied minors and professionals. The chapter seeks to explore the effects of migration policies and migration law in the contexts of youth work and youth policy. It also looks at leisure time in the lives of young asylum seekers from two perspectives, namely transnational ties including contact with family members and friends in the country of origin, and in relation to practices, professional assistance, friendship networks and leisure activities. The chapter highlights the importance of meaningful leisure time, school and friendship networks in the lives of young refugees, and that such processes need to be supported. Honkasalo also stresses the right to education for all refugee youth, regardless of age.

Writing on the UK context, Davina Gateley and Refugee Youth also highlight what they describe as an increasingly hostile environment towards asylum seekers and refugees. Chapter 10 presents the findings of a small, qualitative study focusing on the support provided by Refugee Youth, a London-based voluntary organisation which was established for young people with a refugee background. The chapter, which is grounded in critical approaches to youth work, explores the human agency of young people, an area, the authors argue, that is often neglected in research and policy. Specifically, the chapter looks at young asylum seekers and refugees’experiences of autonomy and the degree of choice they perceive they have over central life decisions. Gately and Refugee Youth argue that participatory models of youth work are central to assisting young refugee and asylum seekers. The authors maintain that the challenges that young refugees face are real and must be acknowledged – while not undermining their agency.

In Chapter 11, Maria Pisani provides some critical reflections on how Integra Foundation, an NGO working with and for young refugees in Malta, has developed in response to evolving and multifaceted realities and needs. Positioning critical youth work in the “borderlands”, Pisani considers youth work as a space and opportunity to transcend borders, to create safe and democratic spaces, and to co-create opportunities for young asylum seekers and refugees to speak out on their own terms. The chapter also looks at how different approaches and models to informal and non-formal learning may respond to different learning needs, from the practical, to those that seek to transform by challenging the inequalities and injustice that many young asylum seekers and refugees experience on a daily basis.

Catherine Raya Polishchuk is the co-founder of the Geneva-based organisation Essaim d’Accueil, an organisation set up by eight young adults that seeks to put local residents of varying legal status (including refugees) in touch with each other. In Chapter 12, Polishchuk draws on research conducted with the organisation to provide some reflections on the role of youth work values in working with young refugees. She provides some contextualisation to the work of the organisation, describing a hostile environment wherein the young refugee is “othered”. Polishchuk’s chapter focuses on the organisation’s attempts to counter such discourse and practices. She describes a youth work practice that is grounded in voluntary participation and a non-hierarchal approach. Polishchuk describes horizontal collective sense-making processes as an approach which removes the necessity to differentiate between “us” and “them” by offering alternative ways of seeing each other, and also as a means of indirect advocacy for comprehensive social inclusion.

In Chapter 13, Wilke Ziemann looks at the situation for young refugees living in Germany. Describing a context that is becoming increasingly unreceptive to refugees, Ziemann argues that youth work has a particular responsibility to bear here since its aim is to address the individual interests of young people and to empower them towards self-determination and social participation. Locating participation as a human right, as established in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Ziemann makes the point that young refugees should be able to get involved and participate – to express their views and be heard in matters that affect their interests. Ziemann goes on to argue that active participation requires a bottom-up approach, and describes how youth workers in Germany have responded by fostering political awareness through educational work, by working with young people to develop the skills they need to stand up for their own interests and become involved in shaping their environment. In conclusion Ziemann makes the point that while youth work may provide for a unique and particular knowledge base and practice, youth work cannot be understood as a stand-alone service for a specific target group, but rather, as an equal partner and an integral component of a local network.

Chapter 14 is the first of two short contributions describing initiatives developed specifically in response to the arrival of young asylum seekers. Maura Ryckebusch and Loes Steegmans present the project Altochtonen van de Toekomst, initially set up to provide support to accompanied minors in Belgium. The project developed over time, as unaccompanied minors and young refugees over the age of 18 asked to be included. From the outset the initiative sought to provide information on asylum procedures and educational opportunities through organised play encounters in asylum centres. The aim is to empower young refugees and asylum seekers so that their voices will be heard by policy makers.

The final contribution to this book is written by Paul Galea and Bakary Kanteh. In Chapter 15 Galea introduces Spark 15, a refugee youth-led organisation set up in Malta that aims to promote the integration of refugee communities, to raise awareness on youth refugee issues, and to combat the challenges faced by young asylum seekers and refugees in Malta. Now established as an NGO, the organisation provides a safe space for young refugees to meet, and a medium to reach out to other young people. Over the years Spark 15 has worked closely with other NGOs and UNHCR on a number of issues, including advocacy and education. Bakary, a member of the youth organisation, explains how he was introduced to the group, and how being an active member of the organisation has impacted his life, from making new friends, to learning and developing a deeper understanding of the legal and policy issues surrounding asylum and migration, to speaking out as part of a youth-led organisation.

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