Angela Veale

Street children and political violence: A socio-demographic analysis of street children in Rwanda

OBJECTIVE The aims were: (1) to examine the profile of African street children and to assess the link between street children in Africa and political violence; (2) to undertake a systematic examination of causal factors of street children in postgenocide Rwanda; and (3) to situate this analysis in the context of the socio-cultural and political impact of the genocide on Rwandan communities. METHOD Observational mapping examined the profile and activities of Rwandan street children. Structured interviews were carried out with 290 children in four regional towns to obtain information on socio-demographic, familial, educational background, causal factors surrounding street life involvement, psychological well-being, and relationship to the street. Focus group discussions and key informant interviews examined the relationship between street children and the broader Rwandan society. RESULTS Street children in Rwanda were predominantly adolescent boys, almost half of whom were homeless (42%), with a high proportion of orphaned children or children who had lost at least one parent. Two variables predicted homelessness: childs guardian and reason for being in street. Qualitative accounts of children conveyed the impact of death of family members, repatriation, imprisonment of parents, and poverty on their lives. CONCLUSIONS The analysis highlighted the need for community based support for children in alternative guardianship care and for policies to support the reintegration of male youths in postconflict welfare strategies as prevention strategies for street migration.

Former Lord's Resistance Army Child Soldier Abductees: Explorations of Identity in Reintegration and Reconciliation

This article explores the reintegration experiences of former Lords Resistance Army (LRA) child abductees into Acholi society in Northern Uganda. Based on interviews with 10 former abductees who were returned to communities for 2 years or more, it explores identity transitions for youth from pre-abduction, to their forced abduction into the LRA and subsequent escape and reintegration. Returnees such as those who have been members of the LRA for a long time, or who have been implicated in the commission of major human rights violations, appear to be at higher risk of rejection on return. Drawing on concepts of relational identity, the paper questions whether there is a role for some culturally grounded forum that can acknowledge identity transitions that some former abductees and their communities may have experienced with respect to each other. Traditional justice and reconciliation approaches, adapted to incorporate international child rights and protection safeguards, could provide such a forum and com...

Divergent Discourses, Children and Forced Migration

Experiences of refugee, internally displaced and migrant children in different contexts (such as post-conflict and resettlement) are often considered separately, yet closer analysis points to the existence of commonalities across transnational locations and a need to articulate the ways in which global systems, state policies and migration processes impact on the lives of these children. Current discourses, policies and practices towards forced-migrant children show that there are divergent and at times conflicting constructions of childhood and migration, and implicitly reveal the positions that these children occupy in relation to the nation-state system. In this article we focus on the existence of common divergent discourses that emerge from contexts in the global North and South, including Rwanda, Uganda, Ireland and the United Kingdom, where we have carried out research with children forced to move. Our overall aim is to re-politicise the position of child and youth forced migration through an analysis of three sets of divergent or ambivalent discourses: a) forced-migrant children as product of and threat to the nation-state; b) ‘visible’ and ‘invisible’ children; and c) the ‘psychological’ and the ‘political’ child.

Building meaningful participation in reintegration among war-affected young mothers in Liberia, Sierra Leone and northern Uganda

When young mothers, formerly associated with armed groups, return to communities, they are typically social isolated, stigmatised, and marginalised. This creates reintegration challenges for themselves, and their communities. Their children face child protection problems such as neglect, rejection and abuse. In this paper, the authors describe an innovative field practice – community based, participatory action research (PAR) – that meaningfully involved formerly associated young mothers, and other vulnerable young mothers, in their communities. The project took place in 20 field sites in three countries: Liberia, northern Uganda and Sierra Leone. It was implemented through an academic, nongovernmental organisation (NGO) partnership. The participants were 658 young mothers, both formerly associated with armed groups and other mothers seen to be vulnerable. Within the context of caring psychosocial support, these young mothers organised themselves into groups, defined their problems, and developed social actions to address and change their situations. Some project outcomes included: young mothers and their children experiencing improved social reintegration evidenced by greater family and community acceptance; more positive coping skills; and decreased participation in sex work for economic survival.

Psychosocial Interventions and Children’s Rights: Beyond Clinical Discourse

There has been a significant increase in psychosocial interventions in the aftermath of ethno-political violence. Rwanda after genocide received sustained psychological attention and this paper critically examines the contribution of psychosocial interventions to the broader development agenda of reconstruction and rehabilitation. We undertake a brief psychologically informed analysis of the factors that contributed to genocide as a means of outlining the political and cultural context in which psychosocial interventions operate. During the violence, ethnicity was politically mobilised, communities polarised, social networks fragmented. An analysis of psychosocial interventions for children highlights that programmes have not examined implications of social power and status before reintegration and community based psychosocial interventions have been slow to develop. An examination of how psychological knowledge has been utilised in post-genocide re-constructive efforts shows that ‘trauma’ has been a dominant discourse. We explore the potential impact of a narrow focus on victims and survivors on societal rehabilitation, and reflect on the implications of how ‘trauma’ may be appropriated and politicised as a symbol of genocide and political legitimacy. This leads to reflection on groups that have been marginalised from psychosocial support and the potential implications of this. The paper concludes with an analysis of what a rights framework can contribute to psychosocial interventions in linking psychosocial work more centrally to broader political and development analysis.

Participation as Principle and Tool in Social Reintegration: Young Mothers Formerly Associated with Armed Groups in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Northern Uganda

Experience of traumatic stressors within armed groups can negatively impact social cognitions of mastery, self-efficacy, and control. This could be compounded by postreturn conditions of stigma, little access to education, and limited means of livelihood. We explore an intervention that placed girls’ participation as a central organizing principle. Based on study reports and ethnographic field work, we examine how young mothers transformed their identity and membership within communities of return through drama, songs and poetry, and engagement in social actions. Meaningful participation offers a culturally grounded intervention in which the impacts of traumatic stressors on individual functioning and the social relational world are directly targeted, resulting in a positive modification of developmental trajectories for young women and, ultimately, their children.

Complex Migrations, Migrant Child and Family Life Trajectories and Globalization

Migration across multiple borders is a defining feature of the time in hich we live, and children are central to this contemporary migration phenomenon (Bhabha 2013). Children migrate as members of migrant families and on their own. They are born of historically migrant families and may in their turn become migrants themselves. Children of migrants are often highly mobile, exchanging homes locally and internationally (Mand 2010; Olwig 2012). Adolescent migrants imagine their future lives as characterized by mobility (Veale and Kennedy 2011). Migration, whether personally experienced, part of one’s life history or imagined into the future, has become a central dimension of the lived experiences of many children and young people globally.

Indian Young People Negotiating Transnational Identities

The aim of this chapter is to explore how migrant Indian young people living in Ireland negotiate the normative task of adolescent identity development in the ‘here and now’ while undergoing acculturative change as a result of migration. Simultaneously, youth are engaged in thinking about the future and they are developing imagined ‘future selves’. Migrant adolescents are now growing up in an era whereby migration to a host country may not be a fixed ‘end point’ but rather a point-in-time process of multiple returns and migrations. Certainly, global communication technology and better access to transatlantic travel means there is less disconnect with one’s country of origin (Bhatia and Ram, 2004). In an increasingly globalised world, there is an important question to be asked as to how adolescents see themselves negotiating their lives now and into the future. This chapter focuses on the psychological implications of how participation in processes of migration may affect Indian migrant adolescents’ identity or sense of self. It takes a sociocultural psychological view of the development of “present” and “desired future” identities as embedded in cultural, political and economic processes. It also considers the participants’ shifting positions of power/agency or powerlessness as they negotiate identity formation as transnational actors.

Child-Centred Research with Ethnic Minority Populations: Methodological, Ethical and Practical Challenges

Abstract Ireland is increasingly becoming a multicultural society. The key demographic event in the country over the past decade has been immigration. This paper explores methodological, ethical and practical issues in conducting research with ethnic minority children and their families. Child-centred research needs to be sensitive to how the political and legal context frames opportunities for children’s social, political and economic integration. Irish immigration policy is briefly examined, including the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Bill (2004). The paper draws on experiences in child-centred research with children and adolescents in Africa and Ireland to explore the researcherchild/family relationship, culture and socio-historic experiences in child-centred research, and relations of power. It examines practical issues in research such as working through interpreters. Following Ball (2005), it argues that child-centred research with ethnic minority communities in Ireland needs to explore how to s...

An evaluation of the "FRIENDS for Life" programme among children presenting with autism spectrum disorder

Abstract “FRIENDS for Life” is a cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) programme which aims to reduce anxiety and promote resilience among children. This study evaluated the “FRIENDS for Life” (FRIENDS) programme used as an intervention for seven children between the ages of 10 and 11 presenting with high functioning autism spectrum disorder (HFA) who attend mainstream schooling. The study adopts a mixed methodology, explanatory research design, which included pre- and post-quantitative anxiety scales, parental interviews completed post-intervention, narrative observation of FRIENDS sessions and a post-intervention children’s evaluation questionnaire. Quantitative findings from this study suggest that participation in the “FRIENDS” programme does not reduce anxiety levels to promote resilience. Such results are discussed with regard to the utility of using standardised self-report measures among children with HFA. Despite this, qualitative information indicates that “FRIENDS” can be made accessible for children with HFA. Recommendations and implications for future research and FRIENDS implementations are outlined.