Frontiers of Belonging: The Education of Unaccompanied Refugee Youth

In 2015, Annika Lems witnessed a deluge of exclusionary practices in the classroom and beyond for unaccompanied African minors seeking asylum in Europe. Frontiers of Belonging traces the educational paths of refugee youth arriving in Switzerland amid the shifting sociopolitical terrain of the refugee crisis and the underlying hierarchies of deservingness. It highlights a specific child's story as they found themselves left out, while on paper being allowed in, resulting in a highly ambiguous social reality for young refugees.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 244 pages
Publication date: 21 June 2022
Publisher: Indiana University Press

In 2015, Annika Lems observed a peculiar phenomenon as a surge of unaccompanied African minors sought asylum in Europe. Despite inclusive language in official policy and broader society, these children faced a deluge of exclusionary practices in the classroom and beyond.

Frontiers of Belonging explores the educational journeys of refugee youth arriving in Switzerland amidst the shifting sociopolitical terrain of the refugee crisis and the underlying hierarchies of deservingness. Lems unveils how these minors sought protection and support, particularly in educational settings, but were instead treated as threats to the economic and cultural integrity of Switzerland. Each chapter highlights the story of a specific child, such as Jamila, Meron, Samuel, and more, as they found themselves excluded, despite being allowed in on paper. The result is a highly ambiguous social reality for young refugees, leading to stressful, existential balancing acts.

A captivating ethnography, Frontiers of Belonging grants readers an intimate glimpse into the Swiss classrooms where unspoken distinctions between self and other, guest and host, refugee and resident, were formed, policed, and challenged.

Weight: 381g
Dimension: 235 x 155 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780253061799