Vol 3, No 1 (2018)
REVIEW ARTICLE
Published online: 2018-06-12
IMMIGRATION AND CHILDREN
Abstract
Various economic, political, environmental and social reasons can force people to migrate, leaving their home. Migration, which is as old as human history, has increased because of some reasons such as globalization, wars and natural disasters. Children have constituted a significant proportion of immigrants. According to the report of the United Nations Children’s Fund for 2015, the number of immigrant children living in a different country from the country of their birth is approximately 31 million, of whom about 10 million are refugees around the world.
Children have been obliged to deal with many problems such as hunger, thirst and illness during their migratory journey. In countries to which children migrated to seek asylum, children have been exposed to a great deal of abuse and exploitation, including violence, human trafficking and participation in criminal organisations. Unaccompanied children are especially vulnerable to all these hazards.
The physical and mental health of immigrant children is affected by cultural, geographical and climatic changes. Not knowing the language of the destination country and being unable to communicate with their peers causes an impact of psychological trauma on children. In addition, refugee children living in difficult conditions for a long time are at risk of mental problems and behavioural disorders.
Keywords: asylumchildimmigrant childimmigrationrefugee
References
- Yilmaz A. International migration: types, causes and effects. Electronic Turkish Studies. 2014; 9(2): 1686–1703.
- Özkol Kılınnç K, Özkan ÇG, Kurt Y, Öztürk H. Determination of Self-Esteem Levels of Nursing Students Who Temporarily Migrated. First International Congress of Nursing. Antalya, Türkiye, 3593601, 16–18 March, 2017.
- Siriwardhana C, Stewart R. Forced migration and mental health: prolonged internal displacement, return migration and resilience. Int Health. 2013; 5(1): 19–23.
- Piguet E. Linking climate change, environmental degradation, and migration: a methodological overview. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change. 2010; 1(4): 517–524.
- Greenhill KM. Weapons of Mass Migration: Forced Displacement as an Instrument of Coercion. Strategic Insights. 2010; 9(1): 116–159.
- United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR). Report. Global trends: Forced displacement in 2016. June 2017, Geneva, Switzerland.
- United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for every child. Reaching children in Iraq. Children are especially at risk in Iraq crisis. https://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/iraq_74784.htmlAccessed:15/09/2017 (15.09.2017).
- Reyes A. The Immigrant Children of Katrina. Peabody Journal of Education. 2010; 85(4): 443–468.
- United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR). The UN Refugee Agency. More than one million children have fled escalating violence in South Sudan. http://www.unhcr.org/news/press/2017/5/590c7cb64/million-children-fled-escalating-violence-south-sudan.html (18.09.2017).
- Nolan D. Children of Syria By the Numbers. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/children-of-syria-by-the-numbers/ (08.10.2017).
- UNCHR. Global trends: Forced displacement in 2015. Report. Geneva, Switzerland, June 2016.
- Riegler S. Children on the move dossier. Course of the Preparation of the 3rd International Mayors' Conference NOW Vienna, 30–31 January, 2017.
- House of Lords European Union Committee. Children in crisis: Unaccompanied migrant children in the EU. Clerk of the European Union Committee, Committee Office, House of Lords. London, 2nd Report of Session 2016–17.
- United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The report. A Deadly Journey for Children. The Central Mediterranean Migration Route. February 2017.
- D'Costa B. Children on the move. Asia’s child migrants. UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti. https://www.unicef-irc.org/article/1424/.
- Lieby J. UNICEF: More than 200,000 Rohingya children at risk – particular concern for the 1,128 documented separated children. UNICEF Australia. https://www.unicef.org.au/about-us/media/september-2017/unicef-more-than-200-000-rohingya-children-at-ris.
- Ibanez A. Forced displacement in Colombia: Magnitude and causes. The Economics of Peace and Security Journal. 2009; 4(1): 48–54.
- United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Migrants in Libya: Insights into the experience of women and children in transit. Briefing Paper Draft. New York, February 2017.
- United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Report. A child is a child. Protecting children on the move from violence, abuse and exploitation. May 2017.
- IOM and UNICEF. Data Brief: Migration of Children to Europe 30 November 2015. https://www.iom.int/sites/default/files/press_release/file/IOM-UNICEF-Data-Brief-Refugee-and-Migrant-Crisis-in-Europe-30.11.15.pdf (19.09.2017).
- European Union Committee. Children in crisis: unaccompanied migrant children in the EU 2nd Report of Session 2016–17.
- Hammond TG. The Mediterranean migration crisis. Foreign Policy Journal. ; 2015: 1–12.
- McLeigh J. Protecting Children in the Context of International Migration. Child Abuse & Neglect. 2013; 37(12): 1056–1068.
- Eide K, Hjern A. Unaccompanied refugee children--vulnerability and agency. Acta Paediatr. 2013; 102(7): 666–668.
- Canizales SL. Unaccompanied migrant children: A humanitarian crisis at the US border and beyond. Center for Poverty Research. 2015; 3(4).
- EUROSTAT News release. Report. Asylum applicants considered to be unaccompanied minors 63,300 unaccompanied minors among asylum seekers registered in the EU in 2016 Over half are Afghans or Syrians. 80/2017-11 May 2017. http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/8016696/3-11052017-AP-EN.pdf/30ca2206-0db9-4076-a681-e069a4bc5290 (17.09.2017).
- Tienda M, Haskins R. Immigrant Children: Introducing the Issue. The Future of Children. 2011; 21(1): 3–18.
- Uzun EM, Bütün E. Teacher opinions about the problems faced by children with Syrian refugees in pre-primary education institutions. International Early Childhood Education Studies Journal. 2016; 1(1).
- TuranlıYücel K. Being a refugee and child. Society and Physician. 2007; 22(5): 356–363.
- Janta B, Harte E. Education of migrant children: Education policy responses for the inclusion of migrant children in Europe. Policy Brief. 2016.
- Topsakal C, Merey Z, Keçe M. A qualitative study on education rights and problems of immigrant families’ children. Journal of International Social Research. 2013; 6(27): 546–560.
- Robila M. The Impact of Migration on Children's Psychological and Academic Functioning in the Republic of Moldova. International Migration. 2012; 52(3): 221–235.
- Özservet Y, Sirkeci E. From the editor: Children and migration. Migration Journal. 2016; 1: 1–4.
- Johnson N. Deterrence, detention, & deportation: Child migrants in the United States & the European Union. Heinrich Böll Stiftung. 2015: 1–13.
- Farmer A. The impact of immigration detention on children. Forced Migration Review. 2013; 44: 14–16.
- Kirmayer LJ, Narasiah L, Munoz M, et al. Canadian Collaboration for Immigrant and Refugee Health (CCIRH). Common mental health problems in immigrants and refugees: general approach in primary care. CMAJ. 2011; 183(12): E959–E967.
- Geçkil E, Aldem M, Kaleci E. 2017 Immigration impact on child health. Journal of Human Sciences. 2017; 14(1): 171–186.
- Turkey: Refugee crisis – General Directorate of European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid. ECHO Introduction Document. echo.info.tr/factsheet/7 (17.09.2017).
- UNICEF. Syrian children in Turkey information note, 26 May 2016. http://www. unicef. org. tr/files/bilgimerkezi/doc. T% C3% BCrkiyedeki% 20Suriyeli, 20, C3 (17.09.2017).
- UNICEF. Press Center (9/2016). UNICEF: There nearly 50 million children “uprooted” worldwide. http://www.unicef.org.tr/basinmerkezidetay.aspx?id=22688 (17.09.2017).