Between empowerment and powerlessness: separated minors in Sweden.
This article analyzes the migration experiences of thirteen separated minors who arrived in Sweden between 1943 and 2008. Using the framework of "dislocation" and the "liberated self," this chapter shows that the experiences of separated minors are shaped in the intersection between contexts and conditions of transnational migration and the Swedish reception system. Their efforts to continue living based on the past and building a new life during a period of transition between different countries and between childhood and adulthood can be described as "a life on hold." The paradox that migration serves simultaneously to empower and render children powerless is discussed.
Institution of Arts and Cultural Sciences, Division of Ethnology, Lund University, Sweden. Kristina.Gustafsson@kultur.lu.se
Kristina
K
Gustafsson
Ingrid
I
Fioretos
Eva
E
Norström
D000293:Adolescent; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D007391:International Cooperation; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D004204:Joint Dislocations; D008297:Male; D033242:Minors / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology*; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D011209:Power, Psychological; D012036:Refugees / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology*; D012934:Social Isolation / Q000523:psychology; D012944:Social Support; D012947:Social Work / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013534:Survival / Q000523:psychology; D013548:Sweden; D014171:Transients and Migrants / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology*; D014480:United Nations