TII - Migration Research Fair Migration and Community Relations Coping with the changes + challenges of exile: The experiences of unaccompanied minors living in Ireland. Muireann Ní Raghallaigh, School of Social Work and Social Policy, TCD. This research was funded by The National Children’s Office, The Children’s Research Centre (TCD), and The School of Social Work
21
Embed
TII - Migration Research Fair Migration and Community Relations Coping with the changes + challenges of exile: The experiences of unaccompanied minors.
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
TII - Migration Research Fair
Migration and Community Relations
Coping with the changes + challenges of exile: The experiences of unaccompanied
minors living in Ireland.
Muireann Ní Raghallaigh, School of Social Work and Social Policy, TCD.
This research was funded by The National Children’s Office, The Children’s Research Centre (TCD), and The School of Social Work and Social Policy (TCD)
Using various coping strategies: Maintaining continuity Adjusting by learning and changing Adopting a positive outlook Suppressing emotions and seeking
Ireland now, Maybe the Irish people may not accept it but it’s mixed culture now. And there is different cultures here. There is African shop. If I want my Nigerian food I can get it. And if I want to go to Nigerian church I could go. But assuming all these things are not there and it’s purely Ireland, you know it would be more difficult because you really miss home. Because that life is not there. But the way it is now. I’m in Ireland but if I want to live a Nigerian life, you could still get it, like.
You are no longer Mammy’s boy or Daddy’s boy, you know how you grow up, you take care of yourself, you have to learn to live without your parents, you know. Eh, taking your own responsibilities … I’m deal-with-your-own-problems guy. I deal with my own problems
Oh they never go to church [laughs] […] No. They would only laugh at me when I say ‘you wanna go to church’ or something like that. No. They would probably still be like … probably still like, sleep ins while I’m in church, like, in the morning. And everything like that. They wake up at 12 o clock or 11.
Relationship with God God perceived as trustworthy God providing continuous support
The only, only, only friend [laughs] I trusted all the time, that’s God. […] I don’t have any more friends, I trusted more than God, I don’t think so. You know because, always God knows more than everybody. And God’s gonna help you all the
Their ‘ordinary’ and ‘extraordinary’ life experiences (Kohli, 2006) evident in what they prayed for:I just pray for God to help me, you know? Help me to … see the right man. That will like, love me. Get married. Settle down. Have a nice job. Just to get my status. You understand? Get my status. Have a nice job. Live a nice life with my family […] I would pray for my aunt. … My brother. For God to help him. I want to see him.
God helped them at home and continues to help them in IrelandBecause I believe he’s the one that sent the man to help me. I believe he’s the one that brought me to this, eh, country, you understand? I believe he’s the one that’s still protecting me up till now. I believe with him everything is possible.
That church [African church] is like … Catholic church back home. They sing and dance and … all … But I don’t like the way they pray and all that stuff. When they praying, they screaming and so, I just go like (?) a Catholic church, you know how they pray very quiet. And in my own way I pray very quiet. […] They’re not screaming, praying.
Enjoying Services Wanting vibrant and lively services:
It’s a good church. I like it. The most thing I like about it is the pastor. The pastor is really good. I like him. He, like, he would preach and he would make jokes. You know jokes like, making an example. He would say something in Bible and try to make an example of it and make it as, as a joke. I mean he is funny…. And he don’t get boring, you know. Some pastors when they are starting preaching, can nearly get asleep, but this one, no way.
This research draws attention to– Multiple challenges + changes faced by UMs– Their purposeful use of various coping strategies– The particularly important role played by faith
They emerge as “active survivors” rather than as “passive victims” (Rousseau & Drapeau, 2003, p. 78).
Kohli, R.K.S. (2006b) The Sound of Silence: Listening to What Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children Say and Do Not Say. British Journal of Social Work, 36 (5): 707-721. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Pargament, K.I. (1997) The Psychology of Religion and Coping – Theory, Research, Practice. London: Guilford Press.
Rousseau, C. & Drapeau, A. (2003) Are refugee children an at-risk group? A Longitudinal study of Cambodian Adolescents. Journal of Refugee Studies, 16 (1), 67-81.