M.A. University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities (Forced Migration Studies), 2012 / Background: This research investigates the psychosocial needs of cross-border unaccompanied minors (UAMs) within urban Johannesburg, a city that attracts nearly half of all the cross-border migrant population in South Africa (Landau and Gindrey, 2008). The focus of the research is dual; firstly, it explores what the prime psychosocial needs of UAMs are by eliciting them from the UAMs themselves via participatory research workshops. South Africa, by law, has an obligation to all UAMs to provide for them. By ascertaining these needs, this study reveals discrepancies between existing psychosocial programmes designed and provided by the government or service providers and the needs of the UAM. Secondly, the research examines how UAMs are trying to satisfy their psychosocial needs. Identifying the psychosocial needs of UAMs and their coping mechanisms gives us a better understanding of the nature of the issues UAMs face, as well as their subjective perception of and priority they place on those issues. This can consequently contribute (a) to providing constructive suggestions on designing psychosocial programmes by governmental, nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), and non-profit organisations (NPOs) and (b) valuable input to further research on livelihood-seeking UAMs, a group that is currently under-represented in cross-border UAM studies, unlike asylum seeking or refugee UAMs. Aims: The aim of this study is to understand the psychosocial needs of UAMs and how they are meeting those needs in Johannesburg. This will provide insights on the nature of the psychosocial needs of UAMs that will ultimately be helpful both to government agencies as well as NGOs and NPOs responsible for programme planning, legislation, and execution of policies regarding cross-border UAMs. Finally, the study aims to draw attention to livelihood-seeking UAMs and to encourage further research on this particular group of UAMs. Therefore my research question is: what are the psychosocial needs of cross-border UAMs in Johannesburg? Methods: In this study, a qualitative research approach is used with the aim of uncovering the psychosocial needs of cross-border UAMs. This was done by using participatory action research and a visual methodology. The data was elicited via two participatory workshops, the first with 36 cross-border minors participants and the second with 12 cross-border UAM participants. This was followed by a series of group discussions after the workshops. Afterwards, a comparison between the participants’ visual inputs with their narratives and responses allowed me to extrapolate their psychosocial needs and ways in which they meet those needs. Adding to the study, 11 semi-structured interviews were conducted with service providers from various organisations, both non-governmental and governmental. Finally, the data was compiled from both the cross-border UAM s and service providers to answer the research question and objectives. Conclusion: This research identifies and discusses the following psychosocial needs of crossborder UAMs: family, a care-giver, documentation, fitting-in with their South African peers, security, schooling, better life quality (economic and social advancement), counselling, and playing. The four themes in bold text represent psychosocial needs, which continue to be unmet or unfulfilled by service providers current responses. Although the basic (ontological) needs of cross-border UAMs seem to be met (i.e., food, housing, clothing), psychosocial needs - those needed for emotional well-being - are undermined because service providers do not see them as fundamental as basic needs. One conclusion from my study is that NGOs can better cater to UAMs’ psychosocial needs due to their flexible infrastructure that can accommodate personalisation and prompt redesigning of programmes offered, in contradistinction to the recalcitrant governmental infrastructure. Currently service providers, such as governmental departments, NGOs and NPOs use the law (such as the Children’s Act (2008)), regulations or psychosocial programmes to aid cross-border UAMs, but these laws and programmes are manufactured for either homogenous groups or very specific groups such as refugees and asylum seekers. However, there are persisting gaps in the services available. These gaps are due to the varied nature of psychosocial needs that each ‘child’ has to meet, which is also contingent on their own background and personality. Under the Children’s Act (2008), minors are categorised as a homogeneous group and therefore individual needs are overlooked. Organisations both governmental and non-governmental have tried to incorporate child friendly practices, although in most of the interviews it was mentioned that policy, such as the Children’s Act (2008), is not necessarily ‘child’ or ‘family’ friendly. Overall this research indicates that NGOs and NPOs are well-equipped to cater to the psychosocial needs of UAMs, such as school, family reunification and basic needs. Certain psychosocial needs, however, such as ‘fitting-in’, are still unmet. In these cases, UAMs resort to catering to their own needs (lke living on the street in selfappointed families), relying on service providers for emotional support and/or basic needs.

<p>Earlier this year the Swedish migration board gave a part of their responsibility for the separated children to those municipalities that have signed an agreement with them, so that the children can get the best handling of their matters and also to lift the heavy pressure of the Swedish migration board. Our aim in this paper is to see how this division is made and which areas of responsibility they have. We want to see how this process is being handled in relation to these children’s rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Swedish law. To get the best information possible we used a qualitative method. We have in this study used reports written by voluntary organizations and the Swedish migration board. We have also used a few laws and interviewed people that have a central position in handling separated children. The study has shown that the Swedish migration board and the municipalities do not always fulfill the demands that the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Swedish law require.</p> / <p>Tidigare i år har en del av Migrationsverkets ansvar för de ensamkommande barnen förlagts till kommuner som har skrivit under ett avtal med verket. Detta för att dessa barn ska få den bästa möjliga hanteringen av sina ärenden och för att lyfta på trycket som finns hos Migrationsverket. Vi vill i denna uppsats se hur denna fördelning har gjorts och vilka ansvarsområden som tillhör de olika parterna. Vi vill se hur de sköter denna process i förhållande till barnens rättigheter, barnkonventionen och den svenska lagen. För att få den bästa möjliga informationen har vi använt oss av den kvalitativa metoden. I studien har vi utnyttjat tidigare rapporter från frivilligorganisationer och Migrationsverket, lagar och har även intervjuat personer som har en central roll i hanteringen av de ensamkommande barnen. Studien har visat att Migrationsverket och kommunerna inte alltid uppfyller alla de krav som barnkonventionen och den svenska lagen ställer på dem.</p>

Earlier this year the Swedish migration board gave a part of their responsibility for the separated children to those municipalities that have signed an agreement with them, so that the children can get the best handling of their matters and also to lift the heavy pressure of the Swedish migration board. Our aim in this paper is to see how this division is made and which areas of responsibility they have. We want to see how this process is being handled in relation to these children’s rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Swedish law. To get the best information possible we used a qualitative method. We have in this study used reports written by voluntary organizations and the Swedish migration board. We have also used a few laws and interviewed people that have a central position in handling separated children. The study has shown that the Swedish migration board and the municipalities do not always fulfill the demands that the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Swedish law require. / Tidigare i år har en del av Migrationsverkets ansvar för de ensamkommande barnen förlagts till kommuner som har skrivit under ett avtal med verket. Detta för att dessa barn ska få den bästa möjliga hanteringen av sina ärenden och för att lyfta på trycket som finns hos Migrationsverket. Vi vill i denna uppsats se hur denna fördelning har gjorts och vilka ansvarsområden som tillhör de olika parterna. Vi vill se hur de sköter denna process i förhållande till barnens rättigheter, barnkonventionen och den svenska lagen. För att få den bästa möjliga informationen har vi använt oss av den kvalitativa metoden. I studien har vi utnyttjat tidigare rapporter från frivilligorganisationer och Migrationsverket, lagar och har även intervjuat personer som har en central roll i hanteringen av de ensamkommande barnen. Studien har visat att Migrationsverket och kommunerna inte alltid uppfyller alla de krav som barnkonventionen och den svenska lagen ställer på dem.

The primary aim of the study was to develop knowledge about how unaccompanied asylum-seeking children manage their life circumstances and challenges after being granted a residence permit and maturing into adulthood in Sweden. A second aim was to develop knowledge about the life circumstances of these children in their respective countries of origin, the motives behind their flight to Sweden, the means by which they came to Sweden.  The thesis is a ten-year follow-up study. The first set of data is clinical in nature: 100 unaccompanied children were interviewed shortly after their arrival. Ten years later a register study was made of these now young adults. The research group was now reduced to the 68 young adults who remained in Sweden after receiving their permanent resident permits. Twenty of them were chosen for a qualitative interview by means of strategic sampling. The unaccompanied asylum-seeking children who, ten years after becoming permanent residents, remained in Sweden have become established in a favourable life situation as young adults. The process of becoming established in Sweden from the stressing conditions in the country of origin is marked by both risks and possibilities that occur in periodical sequences in the life course of the unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.  The children/youths may have come alone, but they did not remain alone. A majority were taken in hand by relatives in Sweden who were links to the family’s transnational network. The other children who had no family with which to reunite sought to establish transnational links on their own. A transnational perspective can shed light on how these young adults have created cross-national networks and this appears to have been of decisive importance for their socialisation and favourable establishment in Sweden.

<p>Today many separated children and youth up to 18 years - children in the sense of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child - flee from war and armed conflicts around the world. Many of them come to Sweden for protection and to apply for asylum.</p><p>The aim of this study is to examine how the national Swedish news agency Tidningarnas Telegrambyrå - TT - constructs the image of separated children and youth. The main research questions have been: How does TT construct the image of the separated refugee children? The more detailed questions put to examine this main question have been: what are the issues being focused in the reporting and what discourses, voices and sources are let into the journalistic material?</p><p>The theoretical perspective should be considered as social constructionistic where the basic idea is that the image of the separated child also constructs the way society looks upon them, their rights and their needs, affecting how these children will be welcomed and treated when thay arrive in our society. The empirical study is a qualitative analysis of text, produced in the span 2007- April 20th 2010. In a first mapping, 35 news articles have been selected to be examined. The scientific method applied has mainly been Norman Faircloughs critical discourse analysis.</p><p>The study shows that the reporting of TT depicts the separated children as a problem. This problem consists of three themes: as at threat of Swedish economy, a threat to our national security and as a victim that has to be cared for. These threats are often described in a contextual way by choice of angle, linguistic performance and selection of sources. The study also sheds light on the fact, that there are four general discourses discussing the children as a problem: the administrative discourse, the police discourse, the politcal discourse and the humanitarian discourse. The separated children themselves never get an opportunity to describe their own situation. instad TT allows the Swedish Migration Board to picture them.</p> / <p>Många barn – upp till 18 år enligt FN:s konvention om barnets rättigheter – som flyr från krig och konfliktområden kommer till Sverige för att söka skydd och asyl.</p><p>Målet med den här studien är att undersöka hur den svenska nyhetsbyrån Tidningarnas Telegrambyrå – TT – konstruerar bilden av det flyende barnet. För att kunna svara på huvudfrågan: Hur konstruerar TT bilden av ”ensamkommande flyktingbarn”?, har följande underfrågor ställts: Vilka ämnen fokuseras i rapporteringen och vilka diskurser, röster och källor släpps in i det journalistiska materialet?</p><p>Det teoretiska perspektivet kan beskrivas som socialkonstruktionistiskt, en benämning för olika teorier om samhälle och kulturer som delar synen på språkets roll för den sociala konstruktionen. Härigenom kan man se hur TT:s bild av ”ensamkommande flyktingbarn” också konstruerar det sätt på vilket samhället ser på barnen, deras rättigheter och behov, samt påverkar hur barnen välkomnas och behandlas när de anländer. Den empiriska studien utgörs av en kvalitativ analys av nyhetstexter producerade mellan 2007 och 20 april 2010. Efter en första kartläggning har 35 artiklar valts ut för att undersökas. Den vetenskapliga metod som använts är i huvudsak Norman Faircloughs kritiska diskursanalys.</p><p>Studiens resultat visar att TT:s rapportering presenterar ”ensamkommande flyktingbarn” som ett problem med tre teman: som ett hot mot svensk ekonomi, ett hot mot vår nationella säkerhet samt som offer som måste tas om hand. Detta beskrivs ofta kontextuellt genom val av vinkel, presentationsform och val av källor. Studien belyser också det faktum att det finns fyra generella diskurser inom TT:s material som diskuterar de flyende barnen: den administrativa diskursen, den polisiära -, den politiska - samt den humanitära diskursen. Barnen får aldrig någon möjlighet att själva beskriva sin situation, istället låter TT Migrationsverket presentera sin bild av dem.</p>

Today many separated children and youth up to 18 years - children in the sense of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child - flee from war and armed conflicts around the world. Many of them come to Sweden for protection and to apply for asylum. The aim of this study is to examine how the national Swedish news agency Tidningarnas Telegrambyrå - TT - constructs the image of separated children and youth. The main research questions have been: How does TT construct the image of the separated refugee children? The more detailed questions put to examine this main question have been: what are the issues being focused in the reporting and what discourses, voices and sources are let into the journalistic material? The theoretical perspective should be considered as social constructionistic where the basic idea is that the image of the separated child also constructs the way society looks upon them, their rights and their needs, affecting how these children will be welcomed and treated when thay arrive in our society. The empirical study is a qualitative analysis of text, produced in the span 2007- April 20th 2010. In a first mapping, 35 news articles have been selected to be examined. The scientific method applied has mainly been Norman Faircloughs critical discourse analysis. The study shows that the reporting of TT depicts the separated children as a problem. This problem consists of three themes: as at threat of Swedish economy, a threat to our national security and as a victim that has to be cared for. These threats are often described in a contextual way by choice of angle, linguistic performance and selection of sources. The study also sheds light on the fact, that there are four general discourses discussing the children as a problem: the administrative discourse, the police discourse, the politcal discourse and the humanitarian discourse. The separated children themselves never get an opportunity to describe their own situation. instad TT allows the Swedish Migration Board to picture them. / Många barn – upp till 18 år enligt FN:s konvention om barnets rättigheter – som flyr från krig och konfliktområden kommer till Sverige för att söka skydd och asyl. Målet med den här studien är att undersöka hur den svenska nyhetsbyrån Tidningarnas Telegrambyrå – TT – konstruerar bilden av det flyende barnet. För att kunna svara på huvudfrågan: Hur konstruerar TT bilden av ”ensamkommande flyktingbarn”?, har följande underfrågor ställts: Vilka ämnen fokuseras i rapporteringen och vilka diskurser, röster och källor släpps in i det journalistiska materialet? Det teoretiska perspektivet kan beskrivas som socialkonstruktionistiskt, en benämning för olika teorier om samhälle och kulturer som delar synen på språkets roll för den sociala konstruktionen. Härigenom kan man se hur TT:s bild av ”ensamkommande flyktingbarn” också konstruerar det sätt på vilket samhället ser på barnen, deras rättigheter och behov, samt påverkar hur barnen välkomnas och behandlas när de anländer. Den empiriska studien utgörs av en kvalitativ analys av nyhetstexter producerade mellan 2007 och 20 april 2010. Efter en första kartläggning har 35 artiklar valts ut för att undersökas. Den vetenskapliga metod som använts är i huvudsak Norman Faircloughs kritiska diskursanalys. Studiens resultat visar att TT:s rapportering presenterar ”ensamkommande flyktingbarn” som ett problem med tre teman: som ett hot mot svensk ekonomi, ett hot mot vår nationella säkerhet samt som offer som måste tas om hand. Detta beskrivs ofta kontextuellt genom val av vinkel, presentationsform och val av källor. Studien belyser också det faktum att det finns fyra generella diskurser inom TT:s material som diskuterar de flyende barnen: den administrativa diskursen, den polisiära -, den politiska - samt den humanitära diskursen. Barnen får aldrig någon möjlighet att själva beskriva sin situation, istället låter TT Migrationsverket presentera sin bild av dem.

The years 2010 and 2011 recorded a number of incidents of natural disasters around the globe. These disasters resulted in death, injuries and loss of family members. Children, a vulnerable group of persons, found themselves caught up in the chaos of the natural disasters. Some children lost family members, others became separated from their families and caregiver(s) as a result of the disaster, and those who were "alone" prior to the natural disasters became completely exposed to serious physical and psychological harm. Yet, every child has the right to a family. States have a duty to protect separated and unaccompanied children. Such protection involves prevention of separation, assessment of the child's situation, registration, documentation, family tracing, verification and reunification, emergency care arrangements, and permanent care arrangements. Based on the premise that every child has a right to grow up in a family environment this dissertation attempts to answer the question: How can separated children and unaccompanied children, in the African context, be protected in the event of natural disasters such that their right to a family is promoted and protected? In so doing, it presents an explanation of the concepts of separated children and unaccompanied children through investigation xii into the practical effects of separation on children. It also presents discussions on the concept "natural disasters" and some of the effects of natural disasters on separated children and unaccompanied children. There is an attempt at defining the concept "family" based on its internal and external constitution and function, and a consideration of the needs which a family should satisfy in a child. Familial rights enjoyed by children are presented and analysed as rights which exist under the canopy of the "right to a family". In line with the Interagency Guiding Principles, the different stages of protection in natural disasters are highlighted and particular attention is given to intercountry adoption and the implications of placing moratoriums on intercountry adoptions at different stages of the intercountry adoption process, following events of natural disasters. The study stresses the need to balance the importance of protecting the child with the need to provide the child with a permanent family. Copyright / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Private Law / unrestricted