Negotiating changed contexts and challenging circumstances : the experiences of unaccompanied minors living in Ireland

Abstract

This PhD study explores the experiences of asylum-seeking teenagers who have arrived in Ireland unaccompanied by parents or guardians (unaccompanied minors). The arrival of these young people is a very recent phenomenon in the Irish context, beginning only in the mid-1990s, and reflects a change from an overall pattern of emigration from Ireland to a new pattern of immigration into the country. To date, relatively little research has been conducted in relation to the lives of these immigrants, including asylum seekers generally and unaccompanied minors specifically. The literature that has emerged - both nationally and internationally - has often neglected the ‘ordinary’ lives of unaccompanied minors prior to their departure from home. In addition, in discussions of the losses and changes that these young people encounter, their own individual perspectives have often been disregarded. This has resulted in a lack of knowledge of how unaccompanied minors cope with their circumstances and a tendency to portray these young people as victims who are struggling with their traumatic circumstances.