Social Navigation and the Resettlement Experiences of Separated Children in Canada

This article explores the implications of language and discourse for the experiences of separated refugee children in Canada, and the ways in which anti-refugee and anti-child discourses shape the terrain of resettlement. The article begins by tracing the academic and popular discourses of refugee populations generally, and separated children specifically. Given the formulaic and rigid portrayals and representations, we introduce the concept of social navigation, which provides a useful framework to study the resettlement experiences of separated children. Following an overview of the study’s methodology, we explore the social navigation and resettlement experiences of seventeen youth. In particular, we highlight the creative, resourceful, and thoughtful ways in which the youth navigated the refugee determination system, experiences of discrimination and isolation, as well as separation and loss during the resettlement process. The article ultimately underscores the ways in which these children and youth strategically navigate resettlement, overcome challenges, and—despite significant ideological barriers and material obstacles—ensure their survival and well-being as individuals and as groups.Cet article explore les implications de la langue et du discours pour les expériences des enfants réfugiés séparés au Canada et comment le discours anti-réfugiés et anti- enfants façonne le terrain de la réinstallation. L’article retrace d’abord les discours savants et populaires des populations de réfugiés en général, et en particulier des enfants séparés. Étant donné des descriptions et des représentations stéréotypées et rigides, nous introduisons le concept de la navigation sociale qui fournit un cadre utile pour étudier les expériences de réinstallation des enfants séparés. Après un survol de la méthodologie de l’étude, nous explorons la navigation sociale et les expériences de réinstallation de dix-sept jeunes réfugiés. En particulier, nous soulignons les moyens imaginatifs, débrouillards et réfléchis par les quels les jeunes évoluent dans le système de détermination du statut de réfugié, les expériences de discrimination et d’isolement, ainsi que la séparation et la perte au cours du processus de réinstallation. L’article souligne finalement la façon dont ces enfants et adolescents naviguent stratégiquement la réinstallation, surmontent des difficultés, et, malgré d’importantes barrières idéologiques et obstacles matériels, assurent leur survie et bien-être en tant qu’individus et en tant que groupes

Casualties of Aboriginal Displacement in Canada: Children at Risk among the Innu of Labrador

The concept of displacement has long been associated with individuals within poor and developing nations, living under conditions of conflict and civil unrest. Conversely, little research attention has been paid to displacement among Aboriginal peoples within the context of wealthy and developed nations such as Canada. This paper explores the consequences of internal displacement for the Innu Nation of Labrador. In particular, it examines how Innu children have become at risk for gasoline sniffing and suicide. The paper concludes by assessing the extent to which the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and Canada’s Indian Act have been effective in protecting the rights of Innu children. The questionable impact of state responses highlights the need for more effective strategies in order to protect the rights of Innu children.Pendant longtemps, le concept du déplacement a été lié à des gens vivant dans des pays pauvres et en voie de développement, en proie à des conditions de désordre ou de guerres civiles. Inversement, il n’y a pas eu beaucoup de recherches entreprises sur le sujet du déplacement parmi les peuples Autochtones à l’intérieur de pays riches et développés, tel le Canada. Cet article examine les conséquences du déplacement interne sur le peuple Innu du Labrador. En particulier, il se penche sur le cas des enfants Innus à risques, menacés par l’abus de solvants et le suicide. L’article conclut avec une évaluation de l’impacte de la Convention des Nations Unies sur les droits des enfants et la Loi sur les Indiens du Canada pour protéger les droits des enfants Innus. L’impacte douteux des mesures adoptées jusqu’ici par l’état, met en exergue la nécessité de trouver des stratégies plus efficaces pour la protection des droits des enfants Innus

Birds of Freedom? Perspectives on Female Emancipation and Sri Lanka’s Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam

Over the last decade, females have been an integral part of fighting forces in both international conflicts and in armed struggle in at least 38 internal conflicts. While some scholars argue that recent wars have thrust women into new roles, enabling them to transform their social situations, identities and destinies, others question whether females achieve ‘emancipation’ through active participation in warfare. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka that has been engaged in conflict with the Sri Lankan government since 1983, and actively recruits female cadres, provides an interesting context to explore issues of female empowerment in the context of armed struggle. Drawing from interviews with four Sri Lankans living in Canada, this paper traces the perceived extent of female emancipation within the LTTE. While the participation of females in unconventional military roles represents a drastic change in behavior expected of Tamil women, the militant movement appears to reinforce existing patterns of gender constructions, ultimately impeding the attainment of meaningful empowerment for females

The Many Harms of Forced Marriage: Insights for Law from Ethnography in Northern Uganda

Harnessing an interdisciplinary framework that merges elements of law and social science, this article aims to recast the crime of forced marriage, and thereby enhance accountability, in light of knowledge acquired through ethnographic fieldwork in northern Uganda. More specifically, we draw upon the perspectives and experiences of 20 men who were bush husbands in the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). These men were abducted by the LRA between the ages of 10 and 38 and spent between 6 and 24 years in captivity. During their time in the LRA, these men became ‘bush husbands’ with each man fathering between 1 and 11 children. In-depth interviews explored men’s perspectives and experiences related to sexual violence, forced marriage, parenthood and post-war accountability. The data reveal the complexity of men’s self-identified positions not only as high-ranking members of the LRA, but also as captives of the LRA, as victims of forced marriage, as perpetrators, and as caring fathers and husbands. These findings nuance extant understandings and assumptions of men and masculinities in the context of forced marriage. Drawing from these findings, we articulate several key implications for law — notably, that law acknowledges the harms that the crime of forced marriage and sexual violence affects and imposes on all implicated parties, including boys, girls, men, and women

Beginning at the beginning in social work education: a case for incorporating arts-based approaches to working with war-affected children and their families

Building on the growing body of work that recognizes the value of participatory arts-based methods such as drawing, collage, Photovoice, and drama in work with war-affected children and young people and their families, this article asks the question, “How can the findings from practice based interventions become central to the work of preparing social workers who are at the beginning of their professional programs?” As the article highlights, there has been only limited attention in the literature on what these methods might mean for social work education, particularly in relation to family practice and especially in working with war-affected children. What could arts-based family practice with this population look like? The article maps out a framework that draws together two bodies of literature, the literature on the arts in social work education, and literature on the arts and war-affected children and their families. Central to this framework is a set of five pedagogical practices that align well with arts-based methodologies: reflexivity, situating one’s self, observation, ethical practice, and taking action. The article concludes that though arts-based methods as central to the social work curricula are not a panacea, “learning by doing” is a promising practice for those starting out in the profession

Children of War: Quebec’s Social Policy Response to Children and Their Families

Canada has signed the Optional Protocol of the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict that obligates signatories to ensure assistance and support to war-affected children’s physical and psychological recovery as well as their social reintegration. In light of this obligation, the paper reviews the most recent policies related to immigrants and refugees of four Quebec (Canada) ministries, with particular attention to the frameworks underpinning these policies and practices in order to explore how the needs of refugee children are conceptualised and how these same conceptualisations orient the action plans. Miller and Rasmussen’s (2010) psychosocial/trauma integrative model is used as a benchmark to assess whether and how policies integrate considerations from both psychosocial and trauma focused conceptual models. The analysis suggests that all four ministries adopt a psychosocial focus but that none directly mention the impact of war, potential trauma or pre-migratory experiences on children’s reintegration or resettlement. There seems to be a divide and a lack of coherence in the goals and underlying philosophies of the action plans of the different ministries, most likely in part related to their differences in mandate. Indeed, the Ministry of Health and Social Services emphasizes individual and family wellbeing, while the Ministry of Education prioritizes citizenship and the development of Quebec. Potential implications of these policy orientations for children having been exposed to war living in the Quebec context are discussed

Mothering in the Aftermath of Forced Marriage and Wartime Rape: The Complexities of Motherhood in Postwar Northern Uganda

During northern Uganda’s civil war (1986-2007), the abduction, forced marriage, and impregnation of females was a key military strategy of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). The LRA abducted an estimated sixty thousand children—30 percent of which were girls—who were used as combatants, porters, domestic workers, and were forced to marry male commanders. Roughly ten thousand of these abducted girls became pregnant from sexual violence, and gave birth to two or more children each. This paper explores the realities of mothering in the aftermath of wartime sexual violence. Drawing upon interviews with a sample of twenty-seven northern Ugandan mothers who bore children as a result of wartime rape, the paper explores the ambivalence and complexities of mothering in the postwar period—including sexual violence, pregnancy and mothering during LRA captivity, as well as stigma and rejection, and changing family structures in the postwar period. The paper highlights the ways in which war shapes and informs all aspects of mothering—both during and following the conflict—and how it alters how women come to understand their life stories as part of the motherline. We conclude with key implications for service provision and policy

Research as intervention? Exploring the health and well-being of children and youth facing global adversity through participatory visual methods

Global health research typically relies on the translation of knowledge (from health professionals to the community) and the dissemination of knowledge (from research results to the wider public). However, Greenhalgh and Wieringa [2011. Is it time to drop the ‘knowledge translation’ metaphor? A critical literature review. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 104(12), 501–509. doi:10.1258/jrsm.2011.110285] suggest ‘that while “translation” is a widely used metaphor in medicine, it constrains how we conceptualize and study the link between knowledge and practice’ (p. 501). Often the knowledge garnered from such research projects comes from health professionals rather than reflecting the lived experiences of people and communities. Likewise, there has been a gap in ‘translating’ and ‘disseminating’ the results of participatory action research projects to policymakers and medical practitioners. This paper will look at how using participatory visual methodologies in global health research with children and youth facing global adversity incorporates the multiple functions of their lived realities so that research becomes a means of intervention. Drawing from a literature review of participatory visual methods as media, content and processes of global health research, this paper raises practical, theoretical, and ethical questions that arise from research as intervention. The paper concludes by exploring what lessons emerge when participatory visual methodologies are integrated into global health research with children and youth facing global adversity

‘Stepping back’ as researchers: How are we addressing ethics in arts-based approaches to working with war-affected children in school and community settings.

There is a need for an ethically responsible means of conducting arts-based research with children affected by global adversity, including children affected by war. The multiple effects of war on children remains a global issue. While there are many approaches to working with waraffected children, participatory arts-based methods such as photovoice, drama, and drawing are being increasingly relied upon. However, what are the ethical issues and how are researchers and practitioners taking up these issues in school, community, and “on the street” settings? By reviewing the literature on ethical issues that may arise when working with children through arts-based methods, this article identifies four critical ethical issues that represent specific challenges in relation to children affected by war: (1) informed consent; (2) truth, interpretation, and representation; (3) dangerous emotional terrain; and (4) aesthetics. The article highlights current gaps in the research and poses several unanswered questions in arts-based research with war-affected children

Diverse perspectives on interdisciplinarity from Members of the College of the Royal Society of Canada

Various multiple-disciplinary terms and concepts (although most commonly interdisciplinarity, which is used herein) are used to frame education, scholarship, research, and interactions within and outside academia. In principle, the premise of interdisciplinarity may appear to have many strengths; yet, the extent to which interdisciplinarity is embraced by the current generation of academics, the benefits and risks for doing so, and the barriers and facilitators to achieving interdisciplinarity, represent inherent challenges. Much has been written on the topic of interdisciplinarity, but to our knowledge there have been few attempts to consider and present diverse perspectives from scholars, artists, and scientists in a cohesive manner. As a team of 57 members from the Canadian College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists of the Royal Society of Canada (the College) who self-identify as being engaged or interested in interdisciplinarity, we provide diverse intellectual, cultural, and social perspectives. The goal of this paper is to share our collective wisdom on this topic with the broader community and to stimulate discourse and debate on the merits and challenges associated with interdisciplinarity. Perhaps the clearest message emerging from this exercise is that working across established boundaries of scholarly communities is rewarding, necessary, and is more likely to result in impact. However, there are barriers that limit the ease with which this can occur (e.g., lack of institutional structures and funding to facilitate cross-disciplinary exploration). Occasionally, there can be significant risk associated with doing interdisciplinary work (e.g., lack of adequate measurement or recognition of work by disciplinary peers). Solving many of the world\u27s complex and pressing problems (e.g., climate change, sustainable agriculture, the burden of chronic disease, and aging populations) demands thinking and working across long-standing, but in some ways restrictive, academic boundaries. Academic institutions and key support structures, especially funding bodies, will play an important role in helping to realize what is readily apparent to all who contributed to this paper-that interdisciplinarity is essential for solving complex problems; it is the new norm. Failure to empower and encourage those doing this research will serve as a great impediment to training, knowledge, and addressing societal issues