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Transnational social work with young refugees

In late 2014, the UN Refugee Agency counted 59.5 million people around the world on the run (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 2015). This is the highest number that has been registered since World War II. The statistics include refugees fleeing across national borders, so-called internally displaced persons who do not cross state borders, and asylum seekers. Fifty-one percent of the refugees are children and underage adolescents. Many of them flee together with family and relatives, others are on their own. In 2014, 34,300 unaccompanied or separated children filled in an asylum application in 82 countries (UNHCR, 2015). The actual figure might be even higher, since unaccompanied children are not statistically accounted for in every country (Rieger, 2015, p. 68). The majority fled from Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, and Eritrea. Flight reasons of young refugees are various: many escape from wars and the consequent fear of being recruited as child soldiers (e.g. Homfeldt & Schmitt, 2012, pp. 160f; Kohli, 2007, pp. 29–34). Girls in particular are afraid of sexual exploitation, or have experienced it already. Others flee due to persecution of their religion, ethnicity, or their family’s political affiliation. Sometimes, young refugees experience violence in their family, forced marriage, or genital mutilation. Another drive can be the desire for a secure existence, good education and job perspectives, or to escape a natural disaster. Some of the young people are sent by their families to create a better life elsewhere. Others lose their parents or relatives during their flight, or flee of their own accord, for example because they have already lost both parents in their country of origin. Children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable on the run. They often depend on traffickers, pass unsafe states, and are at risk of being abused or robbed. By the time they reach their country of destination and come into contact with social services, many of the young people suffer from their experiences and are in urgent need of professional support (e.g. Stotz, Elbert, Müller, & Schauer, 2015). Social workers are confronted with biographies that span across several nation-states and encompass experiences in the country of origin, during the flight, and in the country of destination. They are challenged to stabilize the lifeworlds of the young people. This paper argues that a transnational social work with young refugees is needed and suggests first conceptual ideas. The addresseesʼ lifeworlds and biographies are transnational and therefore require a social work education and practice which exceeds a solely national frame of thinking and acting.