1st Edition

Syrian Refugee Children in the Middle East and Europe Integrating the Young and Exiled

Edited By Michelle Pace, Somdeep Sen Copyright 2018
    136 Pages
    by Routledge

    136 Pages
    by Routledge

    Since the start of the conflict in Syria in 2011, Syrian refugee children have withstood violence, uncertainty, fear, trauma and loss. This book follows their journeys by bringing together scholars and practitioners to reflect on how to make their situation better and to get this knowledge to as many front liners - across European and neighbouring countries in the Middle East - as possible.





    The book is premised on the underlying conception of refugee children as not merely a vulnerable contingent of the displaced Syrian population, but one that possesses a certain agency for change and progress. In this vein, the various contributions aim to not just de-securitize the ‘conversation’ on migration that frequently centres on the presumed insecurity that refugees personify. They also de-securitize the figure and image of the refugee. Through the stories of the youngest and most vulnerable, they demonstrate that refugee children are not mere opaque figures on who we project our insecurities. Instead, they embody potentials and opportunities for progress that we need to nurture, as young refugees find themselves compelled to both negotiate the practical realities of a life in exile, and situate themselves in changing and unfamiliar sociocultural contexts. Drawing on extensive field research, this edited volume points in the direction of a new rights based framework which will safeguard the future of these children and their well-being.





    Offering a comparative lens between approaches to tackling refugees in the Middle East and Europe, this book will appeal to students and scholars of refugees and migration studies, human rights, as well as anyone with an interest in the Middle East or Europe.

    Preface, Somdeep Sen  1. The Young and Exiled: An Introduction, Somdeep Sen and Michelle Pace  2. The EU-Turkey deal and the Impact on Refugee Children, Michelle Pace  3. The Processes of Integration and Education: The Case of Syrian Refugees and Syrian Refugee Children in Turkey, Dogus Simsek  4. The Resilience of Syrian Refugee Children in Lebanon, Michel Maragel & Sandra Manachi  5. From a State of Shock to Agency in Liminality: Syrians and Their Children on the Move, Josepha Ivanka Wessels  6. An Emerging Framework for Providing Education to Syrian Refugee Children in Lebanon, Bassel Akar and Erik van Ommering  7. The Right to have Rights of Syrian Refugee Youth: Two Stories about the Possibilities of Membership in Exile, Lisa Maren Steller  8. "They Are From a Country, and We Are From Another" - The Intersection of Education and Social Cohesion Between Syrian Refugees and their Host Community in Lebanon, Lana Khattab, Chiara Butti and Ilana Slavova  9. Writing the "Refugee Crisis": Proposals for Activist Research, Somdeep Sen  10. The Young and Exiled: A Postscript, Jennifer Skulte-Ouaiss

    Biography

    Michelle Pace is Professor with special responsibilities in European Union and Middle East relations at the Department of Social Sciences and Business at Roskilde University, Denmark. Her research interests include the life worlds of minor refugees, emotions in International Relations and identity politics.



    Somdeep Sen is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Social Sciences and Business at Roskilde University, Denmark. His research interests include postcolonialism, state building, violence and spatial politics.



    A timely contribution to the critical academic debate on the refugee emergency of the last few years, this new book by Michelle Pace and Somdeep Sen sheds light to the plight and challenges of Syrian refugee children. While offering new data and insights on specific integration issues such as education and rights, the book is innovative also in its approach to identity, agency and resilience of refugee children and their families. A must read for researchers, policy makers and media professionals working in the field of asylum and migration in Europe today. Anna Triandafyllidou, Professor at the Global Governance Programme (GGP) of the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies (RSCAS), European University Institute.

    Syrian Refugee Children in the Middle East and Europe is a thoroughly researched, compassionate, and deep exploration of the protection issues faced by Syrian children with clear ideas about how the issues can be addressed. Highly readable, each chapter looks at the plight and possibilities of displaced Syrians from a distinctive and valuable lens. This book is a must-read for any development, stabilization, or humanitarian response professional working on Syria, as well as for donors, the United Nations, academics, and conflict analysts. While the focus is Syrian children, anyone with an interest in conflict resolution and refugee populations anywhere would benefit reading Syrian Refugee Children. Martha Myers, former Country Director for Save the Children/Syria and CARE/Palestine

    In 2012, a year into the Syrian ‘humanitarian crisis, UNICEF issued a statement that there must be ’no lost generation’ of Syrians. Yet aside from that declaration there was little action and even less research into how to proceed. This volume edited by Pace and Sen is a seminal work and makes a significant contribution to a steadily growing literature about Syria and its refugees. Focus