How do social connections affect integration?
Through the migration process, CYP will often lose contact with people in their home country and be less able to fully draw on existing relationships, including family.
Meaningful social contacts take time
Establishing meaningful social contacts in a completely new environment takes time, but is vital to a CYP's protection, development and well-being.
It is likely that child migrants will develop new relationships, both as they travel and once they arrive in their new country. There is an important balance between ensuring that CYP can remain connected to those they identify with, such as other children on the move or people from their own communities or religious group, while at the same time facilitating opportunities for them to mix and connect more widely within the new community. The ability and opportunity to make such connections is strongly associated with a child's location, the attitude of the host community (how welcoming they are), and the care and service arrangements and approaches.
Existing communities who share a CYP's cultural background, whether that be based on nationality, ethnicity or faith, can provide a sense of continuity and familiarity and help a child to remain rooted and connected to their own identity. This in turn supports children and young people's resilience and helps them to establish and orient themselves within a different context. On a practical level, such communities can support the CYP in accessing and navigating services and learning about the social and cultural norms in the new country. The role of community meditators (either volunteers or staff working with agencies and service providers) can also be key in facilitating local social connections through their role in supporting understanding and managing expectations.
Intercultural education and dialogue of knowledge for displaced communities: Taller de Vida's Enraizarte project
Practitioner Diego Tupaz Pastas discusses Taller de Vida's approach to psychosocial support and knowledge sharing through the development of intercultural education amongst displaced communities in Colombia. He draws on the importance of storytelling and expressive arts for cultural recovery and understanding for children who have been 'uprooted'.
Wherever possible, children and young people should be located near to those they already have connections with, for example extended family or friends of family (and where safe and possible CYP should be supported to live with such). The proximity of friends should also be considered when arranging placements. CYP should experience minimal relocations to enable them to establish and develop connections and roots.
A child or young person's connections in their home country, previous countries that they have lived in, or countries that they may wish to travel to in the future, also impact on integration. Strong links to relatives in their home country may strongly influence decisions either to stay or to return, as family members may actively encourage a child in either direction.
Where a move has been prompted by a desire to seek a better life and opportunities or where families have been involved in paying for transport, there may be an increased intention to remain in the new country. Where there are family members in other countries in Europe, a child may be drawn to move onward to their location.
Key actions and considerations for service providers
- Coordinate with other service providers to avoid CYP having to make multiple moves and ensure that where moves are necessary these are well-planned and the CYP is prepared.
- Ensure that placements for children prioritise the possibility of maintaining links with community, extended family and friends.
- Establish mentorship schemes with community members and older CYP to help CYP retain contact with their own identity and communities.
- Create safe places, meeting points, cafes and drop-ins where support can be obtained on an informal and social level and where people have the chance to mix and connect.
- Identify ways to build bridges between the wider community and CYP. For example, by arranging access to mainstream activities and services or by encouraging wider community participation in schemes and activities established for child migrants (such as clubs, cultural days and activities) and sport activities with local communities, and also other activities in which the local/ existing population also participate.
- Establish family strengthening activities or support programmes which are focused on meeting the needs of the whole family and not only on the CYP (though individual services and support for the CYP may still be required). This could include adapting national family strengthening programmes for migrant families.
- Involve those working with the child, for example foster carers, in interventions with the CYP to provide more holistic support.