Home
In
their home communities, children usually have a good ‘map of the context’. They
know their way around, they have family relations, social contacts and support
networks, and they feel familiar with their direct environment. Leaving this
context can cause disruption and disorientation. When the child arrives in a
new place, it is important to create a new ‘map’ as soon as possible,
irrespectively of how long the child is going to stay. Step by step, the child
gains confidence in the new environment, gets to know the people and their
customs, finds out where to turn to for advice or support and how to find their
ways around in day-to-day life or for special necessities.
In
the process of mapping the new context, it can be helpful to understand what
‘home’ means to the child and what it takes to feel at home. This understanding
is often very subjective and relates to the familiarity that the child felt in
the community of origin.
Professionals
and officials can support the child in mapping the new context. They can draw
the child’s attention to the importance of creating a personal map and help the
child to regain a sense of feeling at home in the place of arrival, for
instance by upholding existing and building new friendships and relations and
by valuing the child’s experiences and skills. They can prevent that the child
experiences new disruptions, for instance by avoiding unnecessary relocations
within the country of arrival, frequent changes of caregivers or unprepared
transfers across borders.
Orientations
for professionals working with unaccompanied children:
- Engage the child in a
conversation about what ‘feeling at home’ means to her or him. Support the
child in creating a personal map of the place of arrival with her or his
preferred points of reference and confidence.
- Support the child in
making positive social contacts and friends among children, youth and adults
from different population groups, with a view to fostering a sense of belonging
and making the child feel as a member of a community where people care about
her or him.
- Find out together with
the child about activities, skills or talents that the child particularly cares
about. Support children on the move in leading an active life, exploring their
skills and talents and promoting them according to their aspirations and best
interests.
- Give the child space
and time to talk about her or his home community and its culture, customs and
peculiarities. Listen without pressuring the child to speak about it. Be
open-minded about social and cultural differences and acquire a basic
understanding of places of origin and the causes and contributing factors that
led to the child’s departure. This is important for understanding the child’s
background, for determining the best interests of the child and for identifying
a durable solution.
Literature:
Family and Childcare Centre
(KMOP), Defence for Children International –
Italy (2015), ‘Home’, in: Resiland
, Participation,
capacities and resilience of children on the move against trafficking and
exploitation, Orientations for professionals and officials working with and for
children on the move, Athens, pp. 12-16.
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