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Vulnerable Children pp 167–183Cite as

Sudanese Refugee Youth: Resilience Among Undefended Children

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Abstract

Sudanese refugee youth who were separated from their parents by civil war represent an extreme example of undefended children. James Garbarino (Lost boys: Why our sons turn violent and how we can save them. New York, NY, Free Press, 1999; No place to be a Child: Growing up in a war zone. Lexington, MA, Lexington Books, 1991) has pointed out that children exposed to war and some children in American cities share a common experience of learning early in life that adults around them cannot protect them. Like other children with this experience, the Sudanese youth developed strategies for survival through self-reliance, self-care, and the formation of strong peer groups. However, for the most part these youth found strategies that promoted positive development, unlike many other children facing high levels of risk. In this chapter we will review findings from our research concerning the youth’s own perspectives on the risks they faced and the protective factors that helped them during their lives in Africa as refugees. We address three questions: How did the youth experience separation and ambiguous loss after separation from their parents? From their perspective, what were the risks they faced in Africa during flight and in the refugee camps? What protective factors buffered their exposure to these risks?

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Geneva Conventions, 1949; 1959 Declaration of the Rights of the Child, Principle 6; UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1986.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University Outreach and Engagement, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 2195, Harrison Rd., 48824-1030, USA

    Laura Bates M.A.

  2. Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Michigan State University, 552 West Circle Drive, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA

    Deborah J. Johnson Ph.D. & Desiree Baolian Qin Ph.D.

  3. Department of Education, Brown University, 116 Barus Building, 1938, Providence, RI, 02912, USA

    Meenal Rana Ph.D.

Authors
  1. Laura Bates M.A.
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  2. Tom Luster
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  3. Deborah J. Johnson Ph.D.
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  4. Desiree Baolian Qin Ph.D.
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  5. Meenal Rana Ph.D.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Laura Bates M.A. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Dept. Human Development, Michigan State University, W. Circle Drive 552, East Lansing, 48824, Michigan, USA

    Deborah J. Johnson

  2. School of Social Work & Dept. of Human D, Michigan State University, E. Circle Drive 509, East Lansing, 48824-1118, Michigan, USA

    DeBrenna LaFa Agbényiga

  3. , Center for Global Change and, Michigan State University, S. Harrison Road 140, East Lansing, 48823-5243, Michigan, USA

    Robert K. Hitchcock

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Bates, L., Luster, T., Johnson, D.J., Qin, D.B., Rana, M. (2013). Sudanese Refugee Youth: Resilience Among Undefended Children. In: Johnson, D., Agbényiga, D., Hitchcock, R. (eds) Vulnerable Children. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6780-9_12

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