Möjligheternas land? En kvalitativ studie om ensamkommande barns upplevelser av att leva i Sverige

Abstract

This study concerns unaccompanied refugee children and their experiences of living in Sweden and also their thoughts about identity and security. The aim of this study was to find a deeper understanding of these children’s situation. We formulated three research questions in order to obtain this deeper understanding:

• What experiences do the informants have of living in Sweden? • What are the informants’ views of their identity in their new life situation? • What is security to the informants?

This is a qualitative study based on six semi-structured interviews with six youths whom have come to Sweden as unaccompanied refugee children. We have used a narrative method which has enabled us to focus on the informants’ own stories.

One of the main results of this study is that need of help and support among the informants differs, in what kind of help as well as how much help they need. Furthermore, all the youths claim the great importance of languages – both Swedish and their mother tongue. Language is used as a creator of identity. Security is defined by a majority of the informants as having a family, a kind of security that they do not have. The youths in our study have thus found new ways to feel secure through school. Security is also defined in terms of peace and safety. All the informants describe the asylum process as a too long and difficult time marked by uncertainty. We find it of great importance to point out that these children are individuals with different needs and backgrounds. Our hope is that this study will shed a light on the diversity among unaccompanied refugee children.