The Cost of “A Better Life”: Children Left Behind—Beyond Ambiguous Loss

Educational Action Research, 2013

This paper focuses on a population that has received little attention in migration and in youth-related research: those 'left behind' when parents migrate to the United States in search of a better life for their families. Findings presented here are drawn from two sets of workshops with Mayan youth participants in the Southern Quiché region of Guatemala who have been directly (one or both parents have migrated) or indirectly (friends, relatives or neighbors have migrated) affected by migration. Through participatory action research processes, we have found that youth report parents' departures in search of a better life for the family while also describing their yearning for them to return. Most viewed the United States as a discriminatory place where life is treacherous, including for their own family members. Despite this, they reported deep desires to migrate there. We discuss these findings in light of the direct and indirect messages that youth receive from their teachers who often discourage their dreams to journey north, and ourselves, participatory action researchers who work with their families in the United States and travel regularly to spend time with them in Guatemala. The strengths and challenges of participatory action research with this population are addressed.

This study is qualitative in nature which sought to describe the nature of communication between migrant parents and left-behind children and to describe how their communication influenced their relationship and the balance of the family unit despite the physical separation and the distance. The family system’s theory was used as a framework in this study, to better explain the nature of communication and the relationship between migrant parents and left-behind children among transnational families. Twenty-two (22) left-behind children were conveniently sampled to participate in focus group discussions conducted by the researchers. Experiences of left-behind children on migration were captured through the use of an interview guide which included questions pertaining to: (1) the methods used in communication, (2) the problems encountered in communication, (3) the content of the communication and (4) the parent-child relationship. Data was then analysed using thematic analysis. Results showed that the nature of communication and relationship between migrant parents and left-behind children are dependent on: the characteristics of the parent and the child, the methods used in communication, the existing relationship before migration occurred, and the guardian’s role in the triangle relationship. In conclusion, the frequency of communication served as an affirmation of the existing relationship between parent and child. Furthermore, when the parent and child have an open relationship they enjoy a better quality of communication. Communication was also used by parent and child to fulfill their roles and affirm their membership in the family despite physical separation and the distance. Keywords: parent-child relationship, triangle relationship, communication, social media, guardian, emotional cut-off.

Human Rights Quarterly, 2019

This article explores family separation and reunification of the disappeared Salvadoran children separated from their families during El Salvador's civil war (1980-1992) from the perspectives of adult relatives. During separation, adult relatives experienced an "unresolvable loss." Following reunion, families experienced an immediate relief that was often accompanied by an "ambiguous reunification." Emotions were especially complicated and painful when the separation had been a "forced choice" by the parent under coercive wartime political conditions. Adoptive parents strongly influenced reunification. Findings suggest that disappeared children and biological and adoptive family members need psycho-social support throughout separation and reunification. I. INTRODUCTION Family separation and reunification impacts millions of families worldwide each year. 1 This article will describe the process of family separation and reunification from the perspectives of adult family members of the disappeared children of El Salvador. The article will provide historical context on the disappeared Salvadoran children, describe the research team's prior

Social Problems, 2001

© 2 0 0 1 b y S o c i e t y f o r t h e S t u d y o f S o c i a l P r o b l e m s , I n c . A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d . S e n d r e q u e s t s f o r p e r m i s s i o n t o r e p r i n t t o : R i g h t s a n d P e r m i s s i o n s , U n i v e r s i t y o f C a l i f o r n i a P r e s s , J o u r n a l s D i v i s i o n , 2 0 0 0 C e n t e r S t . , S t e . 3 0 3 , B e r k e l e y , C A 9 4 7 0 4 -1 2 2 3 .

Children's Geographies, 2014

The paper has two goals. The first is to present the main quantitative findings drawn from four surveys we conducted in Nuevo León (2004, n=14,473), Zacatecas (2005, n=11,258), Puebla (2009, n=18,829) and Jalisco (2010, n=11,479) using representative samples of children aged 7 to 16. We classified children in the following categories: (a) children who are returnees (who were born in Mexico), (b) international migrant children (born in the U.S.), and (c) mononational Mexicans. Among the second group, we distinguish children who had school experiences in the U.S. and those younger transnationals who came to Mexico before enrolling in school. The second goal is consider these children's cosmologies, revealed through interviews and survey responses, and to interpret the ways children explain their return migration from the United States to Mexico within the context of increasing voluntary and forced-return migration to Mexico. So data drawn from our mixed methods inquiry add younger voices and complicate sociological typologies about migration, motives for migration, and returnees. Children and 'return' migration Migration between the U.S. and Mexico has long included 'return migration' (i.e., those from Mexico returning to Mexico after a stint in the U.S.), but that portion of the migration equation has received comparatively less attention than movement from Mexico to the U.S. (Gaillard 1994). Similarly, while migration may often be 'pioneered' by adults travelling without children, it has long been noted that children migrate in large numbers as well (Passel 2011; Suárez-Orozco and Suárez-Orozco 2002). Nonetheless, children's participation in migration has also been comparatively under-emphasized (Dobson 2009, Ensor and Gozdziak 2010). Based on our 10-year research project studying children with prior backgrounds in the U.S. who we encountered in Mexican schools in five Mexican states, we found that, at the start of the 21 st Century's second decade, Mexican schools (for grades 1 to 9) hosted children with prior experience in U.S. schools. We have also found that, as a partially overlapping population, these Mexican schools also enrolled children who had been born in the U.S. Not only is it misleading to call these children retornados (they are not returning to Mexico, but rather immigrating to it), but these latter children are also U.S. citizens per U.S. law, although they are also Mexican citizens based on the citizenship rights conferred by their parentage. In the contemporary context of return migration from the U.S. to Mexico, this paper aims to a) show the main quantitative findings in four of the five state level surveys we conducted in 2004, 2005, 2009 and 2010, b) analyze and interpret children's answers and narratives related to that migration, including their negotiation of a new or returned-to community in Mexico and their continued relationship with those in their past place(s) of residence. In doing this, we tried to respond to Dobson's (2009) call for 'unpacking

Human Rights, Children, and Migration results from a two-year, multi-partner, multi-national and regional investigation into the treatment of Honduran, Salvadoran, Guatemalan, Mexican, and United States citizen and permanent resident children affected by migration. The book illuminates the overall gaps in protection and in guaranteeing rights for children and adolescents affected by migration. It examines the root causes of children and family migration in the region and its recent spike, and explores whether conditions and policies in children’s countries of origin, transit countries, and destination countries in the region protect their best interests and ensure their rights. It also assesses whether host or destination countries effectively integrate children and adolescents affected by migration, and whether existing programs ensure—on a case-by-case basis—safe and sustainable reintegration of repatriated children and adolescents. Interviews with children and adolescents, parents, and key social and political actors in the five countries studied, combined with the experience of experts working with migrant children and adolescents on a range of issues, form the basis of the book’s findings and recommendations. This study was directed by the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies at the University of California Hastings College of the Law (CGRS) and the Migration and Asylum Program, Center for Justice and Human Rights at the National University of Lanús, Argentina (CDHUNLa) in partnership with Casa Alianza (Honduras), la Universidad Centroamericana “José Simeón Cañas” (El Salvador); Pastoral de la Movilidad Humana and Asociación Pop No’j (Guatemala); Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Matías de Córdova and the Programa de Defensa e Incidencia Binacional—including Casas YMCA de Menores Migrantes and Coalición Pro-Defensa del Migrante, A.C. (Mexico); Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) and the Women’s Refugee Commission (USA).

The Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology

R e s u m e n Este artículo explora las experiencias de los niños nicaragüenses cuyas madres han migrado. Utilizo la idea del "imaginario del migrante" (Jackson 2008) como marco teórico para capturar la manera en que las experiencias subjetivas que los niños tienen de la migración, son estructuradas por procesos sociales, culturales, políticos y económicos. Demuestro que los niños son actores centrales en procesos mundiales de migración . Conscientes de los factores (principalmente económicos) que empujan a sus madres a emigrar, los niños participan del proceso como receptores de las remesas en niveles materiales y afectivos, forman vínculos relacionales con sus abuelas y otras cuidadoras ante la ausencia de sus madres, y responden con incertidumbre a la posibilidad de reunificación con sus madres migrantes en países de destino. El deseo ambivalente de los niños de estar tanto "aquí" como "allá" (Hondagneu-Sotelo y Avila 1997) -tanto en Nicaragua con sus familias extendidas como con sus madres viviendo afuera -es central en el imaginario que los niños tienen de la migración y en su experiencia real de formar parte de una familia transnacional. [migración, Nicaragua, niños] A b s t r a c t This article explores the experiences of Nicaraguan children of migrant mothers using the framework of the migrant imaginary (Jackson 2008) in order to capture the ways children's subjective experiences of migration are structured by broader social-cultural and political-economic dynamics. I demonstrate that children are central actors in global migration processes (Coe et al. 2011): keenly aware of the (primarily economic) factors pushing their mothers to migrate, children engage with remittances on

RES. Revista española de sociología/Revista española de sociología, 2024

After the arrivals of unaccompanied migrant adolescents to Spain reached their peak in 2018, the trends have varied in the last few years, significantly decreasing in 2019 and slowly starting to increase again in 2020. These adolescents represent one of the most vulnerable groups due to their unique characteristics closely linked with the stressors encountered in their migratory process and the host society. All these experiences have been found to affect their well-being in different domains; however, very little is known about their perception of the matter, which is critical to understanding their needs and perspectives. This paper aims to look into the lived experiences of these children and how this process has affected their relational and emotional spheres, which are paramount to their development, especially during adolescence. These experiences were gathered using qualitative methodology consisting of interviews and focus groups conducted in a reception centre for unaccompanied migrant children in Catalonia. The view of these children is enriched with the contributions of the staff working in the reception centre. Analysis of the verbatims yielded six main topics revolving around frustrated expectations, obtention of legal documents, freedom, contact with the Spanish society, family and mental health. These are discussed considering how they affect emotional and relational well-being in the three stages of the migration process.

"You have it all. Good clothes. Good tennis shoes,". . . "I'd trade it all for my mother . . . You can never get the love of a mother from someone else" (Nazario 2006:xii).

Journal of Adolescent Research, 2011

Though many transnational families undergo profound transformations that are often complicated by extended periods of separation between loved ones, it is challenging to establish a sense of prevalence of family separations as well as their effects on youth. Utilizing the Longitudinal Immigrant Student Adaptation data with 282 newcomer adolescents from China, Central America, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Mexico, the authors report that nearly three quarters of the participants had been separated from one or both parents for extended periods. Results of general linear model (GLM) analyses indicate that children who were separated from their parents were more likely to report symptoms of anxiety and depression in the initial years after migrating than children who had not been separated; follow-up analyses 5 years later show that symptoms had abated. Qualitative data from youth and parents shed light on the experience of separations and reunifications.