UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN SEEKING ASYLUM IN SWEDEN: LIVING CONDITIONS FROM A CHILD-CENTRED PERSPECTIVE

Anna Lundberg and Lisa Dahlquist*

The article presents unaccompanied refugee childrens current situation in Sweden from a child-centred perspective. Interviews were conducted with 26 children. A key finding was that the way individuals perceived their situation was highly dependent on the status of their asylum application. In cases where all instances of the Swedish asylum process had been involved, the children described their situation as significantly difficult. At first, the children seemed satisfied with the fact that they had their human rights to housing, food, and support fulfilled. But on closer analysis of the interview answers it was revealed that many of the childrens existences were completely overshadowed by concern for the future and an underlying need of support. They described the asylum process as extremely worrying. Some children were not able to go to school, some felt offended when officials doubted their stories, and several children became sick after having their asylum application rejected. They emphasised that information from the authorities must be clear. Possible improvements in current practices are: continued information from authorities about the asylum case, more therapeutic care, and every day contact with supportive adults and friends.
Keywords: children asylum-seekers, child-centred research, childrens human rights, asylum

1. Introduction
Children sometimes flee their country of origin with their parents, other relatives, or unaccompanied, from fear of persecution or war or to escape from abusive environments or extreme poverty. Some children also flee trafficking or sexual or labour exploitation. Among these children, those separated from both parents or from their previous legal or primary care-giver are particularly vulnerable because besides suffering as other refugees from the loss of home, school, friends, language, and everyday context, they have also lost their family.
* Anna Lundberg, LLM and PhD, is a senior lecturer in Human Rights at the department of Global Political University, Sweden and responsible for the Swedish part of the International Organization Studies, Malmo for Migration (IOM) SEPAC project in 2009. Lisa Dahlquist, BSc in Human Rights, was employed for Institute for Studies of Migration Diversity five months in the SEPAC project as project assistant at Malmo and Welfare. We wish to express our gratitude to Jim Dawe for his constructive comments on the language.

Refugee Survey Quarterly, Vol. 31, No. 2, pp. 5475 Author(s) [2012]. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com DOI:10.1093/rsq/hds003 Advance Access publication 27 April 2012

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Over the years, there has been a significant increase in the number of unaccompanied and separated children seeking asylum in western European countries.1 In Sweden, 2,393 unaccompanied children arrived seeking refuge in 2010.2 Compared to 2005, when 398 children arrived, this was a large increase.3 The number of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in 2008 was 1,510, 1,264 in 2007, and 820 in 2006.4 In this article, the most significant aspect is that unaccompanied children seeking refuge in Sweden have been asked to identify and describe their own situation, their experiences, perceptions, and hopes. The article is based on material collected for the study Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children in EU Member States: An Examination of Living Conditions, Provisions and Decisionmaking Procedures in Sweden through Child Centred Participatory Research, carried out in 12 countries on behalf of the IOM.5 The study was conducted over three months beginning in the second week of April 2009 by researchers at the Malmo University.6 Institute for Studies of Migration, Diversity, and Welfare, Malmo Lisa Dahlquist, BSc in Human Rights, recruited and interviewed 26 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children or children staying irregularly in Sweden. The recorded interviews were transcribed and analysed collaboratively with Anna Lundberg, LLM and PhD in Ethnicity. In accordance with Swedish legislation, the study has undergone an ethical trial by the local Ethical Vetting Board.7 After the approval from the board, contacts were established with key people around unaccompanied children seeking asylum in Sweden. Through these people, the children were recruited.
1 2

L. Feijen, Challenges of Ensuring Protection, Refugee Survey Quarterly, 27(4), 2009, 65. . Broman, De osynliga barnen. Rapport om ensamkommande barn och deras boende under asylprocessen, A Stockholm, Unicef, 2010, 7. Ibid. Ibid. In 2008, 54 per cent of unaccompanied children seeking asylum in Sweden were granted a residence permit. This can be compared with 80 per cent in 2007. Among the children that were granted a residence vande permit in 2008, 7 per cent were refugees, 54 per cent in need of protection on other grounds (skyddsbeho vrigt), and 39 per cent were granted a residence permit on humanitarian grounds (synnerligen o mmande io ndigheter), see European Migration Network, National Report for SWEDEN. Policies on Reception, Return omsta and Integration Arrangements for, and Numbers of, Unaccompanied Minors An EU Comparative Study, Study 2008(III), European Migration Network, 4 Jun. 2009. The results from the Swedish part of the project, presented in this article, have not been published before. A summary of the study is available at: http://fra.europa.eu/fraWebsite/research/projects/finalised_projects/ proj_separated-asylum_en.htm (last visited 10 Mar. 2012). The aim of the study was to provide European Union (EU) and national policy-makers, agencies, and services with valuable insight into unaccompanied asylum-seeking childrens views and perspectives that will assist them in improving the quality of asylum conditions, as well as the legal procedures and relevant support structures for asylum-seeking children. The views of these children regarding their conditions of life and asylum procedures were investigated and in addition it also examined the views, experiences, and perspectives of relevant officials and other staff involved with these children. The fieldwork research and analysis for the project was conducted by the IOM in 12 EU Member States: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, France, Hungary, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Available at: www.mah.se/mim (last visited 20 Mar. 2012). vning av forskning som The Act Concerning the Ethical Review of Research Involving Humans [Lag om etikpro nniskor], 2003, 460. The translation of the title of the Act comes from the Swedish Research Council, avser ma available at: www.vr.se (last visited 20 Mar. 2012).

3 4

6 7

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The purpose of this article is to describe children asylum-seekers own views and experiences with the Swedish reception system. What do the children themselves perceive as important for them to feel good in this pending situation? A situation where they get their application for asylum assessed by the authorities and therefore do not know if they will get a residence permit in Sweden or will be expected to return to their country of origin. Which people are important to the children? What can be done to improve current practices? Below, an introduction to the Swedish reception system is presented, followed by an account of the studys methodological considerations. Thereafter, the result of the interviews conducted with the children is presented. The following themes are brought up: the judicial process and treatment by officials, living conditions in general, health and access to health care, school, social support, family tracing and family reunification, and plans for the future. In the end, the lessons learned are presented as well as some reflections on possible improvements to current practices.

2. The reception system in Sweden

When an unaccompanied child arrives in Sweden to seek asylum, the Migration Board is responsible for the child being placed in one of the nine receiving municipalities. These are municipalities that are in geographical proximity to , Stockholm, and Gothenburg. Here the the main cities of arrival, namely Malmo children live in temporary housing, commonly referred to as transit housing. The child stays in the transit housing until a place has been found in one of the assigned municipalities that the Swedish Migration Board has entered into an agreement with on longer term housing.8 While the Swedish Migration Board is responsible for processing the childs asylum application, and for questions concerning financial aid and return, the municipality is responsible for the childrens wellbeing during their waiting period. This means that the Migration Board is the executing authority within the framework of the Aliens Act9 and Reception of Asylum Seekers and Others Act.10 The municipalities perform their duties on the basis of the Social Services Act, in particular.11
8

In Sep. 2011, the Migration Board had an agreement with approximately 265 municipalities on the reception of unaccompanied migrants. The municipalities have either started or decided to expand receiving children. The division of the responsibility for unaccompanied children seeking asylum, between the Government and the municipalities, entered into force on 1 Jul. 2006 through a legislative change. The municipalities that have reached an agreement with the Swedish Migration Board on the reception of unaccompanied children are responsible for the childs housing and care and receive financial compensation from the Government. The Swedish Migration Boards assignment includes the signing of agreements with municipalities on the reception of unaccompanied children. nningslag], 2005, 716. Swedish Code of Statutes (SFS) [Utla kande m.fl.]. SFS, 1994, 137 [Lagen om mottagande av asylso nstlagen] (There are no official translations of the legal documents referred to in this SFS, 2001, 453 [Socialtja article, aside from the Aliens Act. The translations made in the text are made by officials at Language Services in the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs (e-mail 5 Oct. 2011)).

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2.1. The judicial process

The Migration Board registers an application for asylum as soon as it is handed in by a child seeking refuge in Sweden. When the municipality where the boy or girl resides has appointed the child with a legal guardian (god man), the assessment of the asylum claim can begin, and now legal council is also appointed by the Swedish Migration Board in most cases. When an asylum-seeking child, together with the public council and an interpreter, meets the handling official at the Migration Board, the child is asked about his/her life prior to arrival in Sweden and the need for protection. The investigation at the Migration Board should be adjusted after the childs age, health, and other circumstances are recorded. The idea is that the Principle of the best interest of the child, which is included in the Aliens Act, should permeate the entire process, i.e. a combination of a number of circumstances that appear in the investigation should be analysed in a child-sensitive way. In the Reception of Asylum Seekers and Others Act there are a few provisions about unaccompanied children although this law does not provide that the best interest of the child must determine the reception. The Aliens Act contains a number of provisions focusing in particular on the rights of the child based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).12 First, there is the introductory provision on the best interest of the child, which states that in cases involving a child, particular attention must be given to what is required with regard to the childs health and development and the best interest of the child in general.13 Second, there is a provision requiring that the child be heard, unless this is inappropriate.14 Third, the Act contains a special paragraph in the provision on exemption concerning exceptionally distressing circumstances, which prescribes that the circumstances referred to in the case of a child do not need to have the same seriousness and gravity that is required for a residence permit to be granted to adults on the same grounds.15 All of these provisions aim to strengthen the protection of children. However, according to the Government, the provisions cannot be given so broad an interpretation that the sole fact of being a child represents a criterion for being granted a residence permit. Each child must, and has the right to, be assessed individually. A balance must therefore always be struck between the various interests in the individual case.16 In the Swedish asylum process, cases concerning unaccompanied children have priority, in order for the waiting time to be as short as possible. During 2011, a new strategy was implemented at the Migration Board called shorter waiting, where already at the registration of the asylum application it is decided
12 13 14 15 16

CRC, 1577 UNTS 3, 20 Nov. 1989 (entry into force: 2 Sep. 1990). Aliens Act, ch.1, s.10. Ibid., ch.1, s.11. Ibid., ch.5, s.6. A. Lundberg, The Best Interests Principle in Swedish Asylum Cases Marginalisation of Childrens Rights, Journal of Human Rights in Practice, 2(1), 2011, 4970.

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if a public council is to be appointed. The right to public council does not apply if the application is deemed to be manifestly unfounded, that is, if it is obvious that the applicant is entitled to a residence permit, or if the application according to the Dublin Convention and the Principle of the First Country of Asylum should be handled by another State.17 If the matter needs further investigation, a public council is appointed. With this new routine, the asylum case decision can be made within three months from the date of filing. In cases where the Swedish Migration Board rejects an asylum application, the Boards decision can be appealed to one of the migration courts located at the , and Stockholm. The county administrative courts in Gothenburg, Malmo courts decision can be appealed to the Migration Court of Appeal, located at the Administrative Court of Appeal in Stockholm. A review permit is needed for the Migration Court of Appeal to try an appeal of the Migration Courts decision. This permit is in principle only granted if it is of weight and if it is in the public interest that the case is re-examined or if the Migration Court has committed a severe procedural error. The Migration Court of Appeals decision cannot be appealed.18 Before an unaccompanied child is deported an investigation should be conducted regarding who will accept responsibility for the child upon arrival in the country of return. During the return, the child is accompanied by a person that should make sure that a relative or someone else that accepts responsibility for the childs care in the country of origin receives the child (a so called orderly arrival).

2.2. The role of municipalities

During the waiting period in Sweden, the municipality where the child is residing is responsible for investigating and making decisions on what is best for the child, for example where the child shall stay, if there are relatives in Sweden that the child can live with, and if the child needs special treatment and care. In the absent parents place, an appointed legal guardian shall act as both guardian and custodian for the child, sometimes described as a deputy parent.19 The aim of this function is to secure a comprehensive safeguard of the childs interests in Sweden and work for the best interests of the child. However, it is not the legal guardian who maintains the daily care and supervision of the child nor does the `-vis the child. When the child legal guardian have a maintenance obligation vis-a turns 18 years old and reaches the age of majority according to Swedish law, the legal guardians assignment ends.20

17

J. VestedHansen, Europes Response to the Arrival of Asylum Seekers: Refugee Protection and Immigration Control, New Issues in Refugee Research, Research Paper No. 6, Geneva, UNHCR, May 1999, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/3ae6a0c54.html (last visited 20 Mar. 2012). Aliens Act, ch.16, s.9, 3. Migration Board [Migrationsverket], Ensamkommande barn och ungdomar ett gemensamt ansvar. tga ggning och a rdsplan. 2010, 29, available at: www.migrationsverket.se (last visited 20 Mar. 2012). Kartla Migration Board [Migrationsverket], Ett gemensamt ansvar (information folder), 2009.

18 19

20

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If the child is granted a residence permit, the Social Welfare Board in the municipality where the child is staying shall take action, or report the need for a tten). If the specially appointed custodial guardian from the district court (Tingsra child will soon reach age of majority, the legal guardian can remain until the date of majority or longer if there are more exceptional circumstances at hand.21

2.3. Right to school and health care

Younger children have a right to participate in the municipalitys pre-school activities, children of compulsory school attendance age to attend elementary school, and children over the age of 16 years are offered the opportunity to attend upper secondary school or similar. The educational responsibility rests with the municipality where the child is staying and shall be carried out with respect to the individuals needs and abilities. Unaccompanied children seeking asylum are not obliged to attend school, as Swedish citizens are, but education is considered to be a right of the child.22 All children asylum-seekers have the same right to health, dental, and medical care as other children living in Sweden. The county councils (Landstingen) receive financial compensation from the Government to provide care as needed.

2.4. Right to housing

The Social Welfare Board in the municipality where the child is staying is responsible for investigating the childs needs for housing and decides on what an appropriate solution would be. This could be a family home or a so called rd eller boende HBV-hem). Such special r va home for care or housing (Hem fo housing for unaccompanied children asylum-seekers or children who have been granted a residence permit exists today in several municipalities. The housing size varies, but housing with seven to 10 places is found in Sweden as well as larger housing. Only unaccompanied children stay at the housing. Some unaccompanied children also stay with relatives or other close persons who are already in Sweden.23 The housing shall follow the regulations for this type of accommodation that are defined in the Social Services Act and in the Social Services Decree24 as well as the National Board of Health and Welfares Regulations and General Guidelines.25 This means that the housing should be adapted to specific criteria as concerns staff, documentation, etc. Housing is also under the supervision of the County Administrative Board.
21

Act on Special Representatives for Unaccompanied Children (SFS, 2005, 429) s. 5 and 10 Act on Special r ensamkommande barn]. Representatives for Unaccompanied Children [Lag om god man fo School Act (SFS, 1985, 111) [Skollagen], ch.3, s.13. See above footnote 2. nstfo rordningen]. SFS, 2001, 937 [Socialtja National Board of Health and Welfares [Socialstyrelsens] Regulations and General Guidelines (SOSFS, 2003, 20).

22 23 24 25

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In situations of large numbers of unaccompanied children arriving, there may be a lack of available reception places in the municipalities where the Swedish Migration Board have an agreement on the reception and housing of the children. Instead, the child remains in the reception municipality where he/ she first made his/her need known to the authorities. Then it is up to the municipality to investigate the childs need for support according to the Social Services Act and to decide on appropriate housing for the child.26 This means that unaccompanied children sometimes stay longer than initially planned in so-called transit housing.27

2.5. Detention
The Aliens Act provides limited possibilities for placing a child in detention. A child can only be taken into custody if it is likely that he or she will be forced to leave the country immediately or if there is an obvious risk that the child otherwise will hide if a decision on supervision is insufficient. A child cannot be kept in detention for more than 72 hours, and if there are exceptional reasons, for an additional 72 hours. A child without a legal guardian in Sweden may only be placed in detention if exceptional reasons prevail.28 Children who are being held in detention may not be placed in a correctional institution, remand centre, or police arrest facility.29 In accordance with Directive 2008/115/EG of the European Parliament and the Council,30 unaccompanied children are kept in detention only as a last resort.31 In Sweden, no unaccompanied children were placed in detention in 2008.32

2.6. Right to family reunification

When a person has been granted a residence permit in Sweden according to the 1951 Refugee Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (Refugee Convention),33 family members may come to Sweden for reunification purposes. Family members that fall into one of the following categories have a right to family reunification: spouse or cohabiting partner, unmarried children under the age of 20, and parents and siblings assuming the refugee is under 18 years old. Furthermore, the family members must have been granted residence permits and have valid passports.
26

Migration Board [Migrationsverket], Aktuellt om ensamkommande banr och ungdomar Juni Augusti 2011, 2011, available at: migrationsverket.se (last visited 20 Mar. 2012). See above footnote 20, at 3. Aliens Act, ch.10, s.2, 3, 5. Ibid., s.20. Directive 2008/115/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on common standards and procedures in Member States for returning illegally staying thirdcountry nationals, OJ L 348/ 98, 24 Dec. 2008. Aliens Act, Art.17, s.1. See above footnote 4. Refugee Convention, 189 UNTS 150, 28 Jul. 1951 (entry into force: 22 Apr. 1954), Art. 1A(2).

27 28 29 30

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Swedish authorities have a responsibility to locate an unaccompanied childs parents or legal guardian. In cases where it is established that there is no risk of persecution or where no other protection needs exist, it is the main principle that the child should return to the country of origin as soon as possible. During the assessment of the asylum application, it is a task of the Migration Board to locate the childs family members.34 If a residence permit is granted, it is considered the Social Welfare Boards obligation to trace the childs family members.35 It is also common practice to turn to the Red Cross to receive assistance with tracing family members.36

3. Method and interview setting

The study was based on child-centred methodological considerations. This means that the childrens own ideas and perceptions about their needs and rights were the core issue. Some topics were highlighted by most of the participating children, such as the asylum process, contacts with friends, staff in the housing, and activities with the Red Cross. The interviews were semi-structured and started with open questions around everyday activities. The children were also asked if they wanted to draw a picture to describe important places and people in their current life. If the child did not want to, he/she was instead asked to describe his/her life at the housing (or alternatively in the town), what a normal day is like, and what and who is important to him/her. The answers to these questions then formed the core of the entire interview. This already allowed the child from the start to control the interview to a larger extent than is usually the case. Initially, in all of the interviews a drawing was shown to explain who conducted the study and what the aim of it was. The children were also informed about the fact that their participation was voluntary and that the child would be completely anonymous in the following publications. In most cases, the beginning of the interview centred on school and housing, followed by statements on support and resources. Subjects that could be perceived as difficult for the child to speak about, such as possible abuse or family reunification, were brought up carefully after a while if the children themselves had not mentioned it earlier. At the end of the interviews, subjects of a less difficult/complicated nature were brought up in order for the children to feel comfortable after the interview session. Most interviews took place at the group-housing where the children resided. This was the case for all of the children staying in group-housing that were interviewed. In cases where the children were living in their own housing or
34 35 36

See above footnote 20. See above footnote 21. See International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Restoring Family Links Strategy, Geneva, ICRC, 2009, available at: http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/publication/p0967.htm (last visited 20 Mar. 2012).

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with their family, we also met in a church, in the offices of social services, and outside in a city park.

3.1. The children

The 26 children who participated in the study were boys between 13 and 17 years old.37 Out of all the participants, 16 had a residence permit in Sweden, five were in the asylum process, and five had had their application rejected in all three stages of the process, i.e. the Swedish Migration Board, the Migration Court, and the Migration Court of Appeal. The majority of children participating in the study lived in group-homes, two lived in a family home, two others with persons close to them, and one in so-called temporary apartments. The majority of children in the study came from Afghanistan and Iraq, the countries where the two largest groups of children asylum-seekers came from in 2008. When the interviews were conducted, the children had been in Sweden between six months and one year and 11 months. During the interviews, it was important to strive for a safe and calm atmosphere. This was done, amongst other things, by having an informal chat with the children before the actual interview and also afterwards. In almost all of the interviews the atmosphere felt calm and relaxed, even though the children sometimes seemed a bit nervous at the outset of the interview. The fact that the interviews were taking place in locations that the children themselves had selected contributed to a calmer atmosphere.

3.2. The selection

Children were recruited to the study through individuals working for NGOs or municipalities. The selection of participants was made with the ambition of having a group that was as representative as possible regarding sex, age, nationality, regional differences, type of residence permit, housing, and time in Sweden. As far as possible we wanted to reflect the variation of unaccompanied children in Sweden and their different living conditions. It was important for the study at all stages that the children themselves wanted to participate. Themes mainly discussed with the children during the interviews were as mentioned: the legal procedure and treatment by officials, living conditions and care, schooling and vocational training, the relationship with the legal guardian, health care, nutrition, psychosocial support and other resources, and family tracing and family reunification. In the following section, the results are presented thematically.

4. Results
The children participating in the study have many different thoughts about their lives. The following presentation is structured along the recurrent themes
37

We did not find any girls who wanted to participate. In 2008, 78 per cent of unaccompanied children seeking refuge in Sweden were boys (Migration Board [Migrationsverket], Arsredovisning 2009, 18).

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referred to by the children; i.e. things that in light of the study as a whole are most important, such as the assessment of their application for a residence permit and the need for social support, are presented first. As an introduction to the childrens views, a short excerpt is first given of what the children like the best about being in Sweden: [. . .] there is freedom and laws; the health care; to get to school and to get food; you can receive so much help; freedom and security; the legislation; that you can continue to study and that there is democracy; the school and to play football; my best friend; to get to start school and to learn English and computer science; to get the possibility to receive an education and become something; school is the best in Sweden that is the best point!; everything is really good my room, my TV, my bed I have everything; the staff is also really good; they are like parents and that feels good; Sweden is probably the best country you can come to; the best thing that has happened to me in Sweden is a teacher. Sometimes it feels as if she is my mother; the best about being in Sweden is that they take care of us the way they do. All that come to Sweden have a reason to come, so when they are received this way that is really good.

4.1. Authorities and the legal procedure

The childrens experience with the asylum process is strongly attached to whether their asylum application has been rejected or they have been granted a residence permit. Not knowing whether one will get to stay or not is what foremost is experienced as difficult. Some of the children that are still in the asylum process also describe it as difficult being doubted by the officials. One boy says: All children that come to Sweden without their parents have a reason for it. He also feels that the handling officials asked him questions about geographical distances in his country of origin and historical facts about his hometown that he was unable to answer. He thought the questions were strange. Three of the children with residence permits say that they have felt mentally ill during the waiting period and therefore have received treatment by a psychologist. One child describes the 10 months before he got a residence permit as something that almost made me mentally ill. Once he received the residence permit, many other thoughts beyond the asylum decisions appeared. He started to think a lot about his family in his country of origin and about the future. One boy, who today has a residence permit, describes the asylum period as so difficult that he still has difficulties speaking about that time. He says: My pulse was at 120 beats per minute all the time and it gets that way again now when we talk about it. The fear of being returned to Greece under the Dublin Convention is something that both he and another boy say was a big worry during the waiting time. One boy explains that the asylum process made him feel extremely low. It took a year and 10 months before he received a residence permit and he hopes that no one else has to go through what he did. During this time he often stayed home from school because he worried so much. He finds it strange that he at

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first received a rejection from the Swedish Migration Board when he later got a positive decision in the Migration Court. He thinks that this shows that the Swedish Migration Board has misjudged his asylum grounds. Although several of the children with a residence permit describe that they did not feel well during the time in the asylum process, they also point out that they are satisfied with the treatment they received from officials. Most of the children call attention to the fact that they wish they could have a decision on whether or not they were allowed to stay in Sweden sooner. For a few of the boys it only took about three months and for others it took considerably more time than that. One boy says that he has good experiences from the meeting with the Swedish Migration Board, but that he considers it far too long a time to have to wait 10 months for a decision about the residence permit. The large majority of children with a residence permit also find that they received sufficient amount of information during the asylum process. All of them, including those who had their application rejected or are still in the asylum process, have had their legal guardian, a public council, and an interpreter with them during the investigations at the Swedish Migration Board. This gave them a feeling of security. Among the children who had their application rejected in all instances of the Swedish asylum process, they all feel that the asylum process has been bad for them and they are furthermore not satisfied with the treatment they received from officials. One boy, who has been in Sweden for a year, says: First they welcome you. And then they say, after you have spent a long time in Sweden, that you are not welcome. He does not think he received enough information about the fact that he could also have his asylum application rejected. When it comes to possible improvements, one boy says: It is difficult to think of changes of any kind when you do not have a residence permit. In a similar way, another boy says that he no longer wishes anything: I have lost the motivation. He has been in Sweden for 11 months and does not think that one should have to wait that long and then be sent back. He says: The time I have spent here has gone to waste. Another boy says that his friends who have the same asylum grounds as himself were granted residence permits, whilst he was not. What did the others do that I didnt? he asks himself. Another boy who now has been in Sweden for one and a half years says that when he first came they said at the Swedish Migration Board that it would take three months and that he most likely would be allowed to stay. He finds that the information from the Swedish Migration Board should be clearer and more coherent from the start about the fact that you may get a rejection as well as a residence permit. It clearly emerges that the childrens experience of the asylum process is directly related to the decision from the migration authorities. The waiting time and the unpredictability are tough in many ways for the children. They are obviously in great need of support and information about what happens in the asylum process.

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4.2. Living conditions

An overall conclusion from the interviews is that the children have varying thoughts concerning their living conditions and their housing, but that in most cases they are satisfied with the form of housing as such. The children that have been granted a residence permit generally perceive their living conditions as more positive, even if there are also some exceptions within this group. Children living in group-homes have thought about eventually getting an apartment or moving to a larger city. Children who live together with relatives or other close persons in their own accommodations are generally satisfied with their living conditions. Also the majority of the other children who are living in group-homes are under the circumstances satisfied with their housing. All but one child highly appreciates the staff that work there. It feels as if they listen to us when we need it and comfort us when we are sad, says one child who has been living in Sweden for eight months and who stays at a group-home with eight places in a smaller town. Most of the group-homes have between five and 10 places and there is staff working around the clock in all of them. The children all have their own rooms, and in most cases share toilets and shower areas as well as the kitchen. One boy says that he would prefer to stay in a more apartment-like type of housing and that he eventually would rather like to live alone. Another child expresses that he would like to live in an apartment in the future, but then preferably together with others. Many of the children say that communion with others is important for them to feel good in their everyday lives and the majority like their housing as such. However, the fact that it tends to get loud is at times frustrating, some children explain. One boy says that it is difficult to live together with other children as arguments easily occur and it gets noisy. He thinks this sometimes affects his ability to do homework. Another boy says: There is always happening so much here, its always crowded. That it becomes noisy in the housing is also something that a few other children say. One boy explains that he thinks the arguments may be due to cultural clashes between the children, while another boy instead highlights that he is surprised by how little arguments/fights there are, as children of so many nationalities and language groups live together. All of the children describe the time in the transit housing, i.e. the housing where they stayed prior to arriving to the assigned municipality, as good, apart from a few of the children who brought up that it was a worrisome time since they did not know if they would be allowed to stay in Sweden or not. Several children say that they even found it better at the transit housing than where they are currently staying because there were so many children to spend time with in transit and because there were many activities to participate in. They also mention that the staff was supportive. To participate in decision-making about food and cooking with the staff give the children a feeling of being included. Overall the children are positive about the food they receive in the group-homes, in their own accommodation, and in the family homes. In most of the group-homes, the children are also

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involved in the cooking in one way or another, either by helping to decide what food should be cooked or by helping to cook it. The children in housing where they are not allowed to be involved in deciding on the food or cooking their own food have the most negative attitude towards the food they receive. A number of children also say that, even if they like the food at the housing, they miss certain dishes from their country of origin. To adjust the food somewhat and to sometimes let the children cook food from their home countries seems to be a good solution that the children themselves are satisfied with. It appears in the interviews that meetings with friends and peers are important to the children and opportunities for activities and meetings are greater in the cities than in the countryside. The children that have been placed in housing or family homes located in the countryside or in small towns are not too happy with this. In almost all cases, they express that they would rather live , or Stockholm. Several of them also in a larger city such as Gothenburg, Malmo have friends living in these cities. In most cases where the children do not enjoy rural living they think it has been difficult to get to know people living there. They also find that there are not enough activities. To sum up, children arriving unaccompanied in Sweden to seek refuge need, as other children, to do things in their spare time and to feel that they have an active social life. As many of the children do not attend school more than a few hours a day, it becomes even more important that they have people to meet with and things to do in their spare time. Cities appear, in light of the childrens views, to be more attractive as a place to stay. Further, the children seem to develop a feeling of belonging as they get to participate in decisions regarding themselves, for example deciding on the menu or taking part in cooking. Finally, being in contact with the staff at the housing gives the children a feeling of having supportive adults around.

4.3. Access to healthcare and well-being

Regarding access to health and medical care in Sweden, and the treatment that the children get when they seek care, the system appears to be working well. But despite the fact that they are satisfied with the Swedish health-care system, the limited life situation and unpredictable future have an influence on the childrens health. The most common health conditions that the children talk about are stomach aches or sleeping difficulties. One boy was depressed during the asylum process. In all, it took one year and 10 months before he received his final permission to stay in Sweden. During that time, and currently, the boy has been treated by a psychologist. He says that it is because of a certificate from the psychologist that he ultimately received a residence permit in Sweden. Another boy who also stays in a group-home says he thinks a lot about his family and he often has stomach aches. The staff at his group-home said they would help him with contacting barn-och ungdomspsykiatrin (BUP) (the psychiatric services for children), but that in the end they have not done so. One boy who finds himself in the asylum process says that he

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called the hospital and complained of headaches and sleeping difficulties and that they then told him to visit the pharmacy and buy painkillers. He also expresses that he would like to have someone to just talk to. All but one child has at some point visited a health centre or physician in Sweden and many of the children have done so on repeated occasions. Several of the children also underwent a health check in the arrival municipality. The children residing in group-homes also think that the staff takes good care of them when they get sick. Repeatedly, the children talk about how important contact with the staff at the homes are for their well-being. In some cases, the children have sought help from a physician or psychologist during their time in the asylum process because of difficulties with sleeping and worrying, and they feel that they have received the help they needed. A couple of the children say that they have contact with BUP and a few of the others see psychologists. Regarding access to health care there is no difference in the answers from the children that have received a residence permit compared with those who have not, both groups apparently feel that their basic health-care needs are cared for and that they are well received within the health-care services. The childrens sense of well-being in general is however highly dependent on whether or not they had their asylum application rejected. Children whose application had been assessed in all instances of the asylum process feel the worst. A reasonable conclusion in several cases is that a residence permit appears to be a prerequisite for health. Another determining factor for a healthy life that emerges from the childrens stories is having access to supportive friends and adults in everyday life.

4.4. To educate oneself

In the interviews the children talk about school as something very important to them, for several reasons. It appears to be an investment for the future in the sense that, for them, education means knowledge and a possibility to develop ones capabilities. School is also important as a place for learning Swedish. Finally, it offers an opportunity to get structure in an abnormal situation and to meet with supportive adults. All children participating in the study attend school at different levels and the majority of them are satisfied with their education. Some of the children who had their asylum application rejected no longer view school in the same positive way. One child says that nothing feels important to him anymore, including school. Another boy reflects on his feelings after having his application for a residence permit rejected, now he feels like a visitor there [in school]. Some children also experience difficulty attending school during their time in the asylum process, as they are waiting for the decision from the migration authorities. This makes them worried and nervous. Some of the children say that they can hardly go to school at all since they are just sitting at home, thinking and worrying. As one child describes it: It feels as if my head is about to explode!

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Some of the children attending upper secondary school say that they think it is bad that there are only immigrant children in their class, they would also like to attend class with Swedish children. Some of those who attend school together with Swedish children on the other hand find it difficult to get to know Swedish children, as they do not seem to want to spend time with them. As one child, aware of his position as a migrant expresses it, the school is good, but what feels in the heart is that the Swedish children in his class do not want to spend time with him. A few children say that it becomes more difficult to learn the language since they only spend time with other immigrant children. Several children are aware of the fact that they have limited access to school compared to other children in Sweden. A couple of the children are afraid of losing the knowledge they brought with them from their countries of origin since they hardly study anything but Swedish today. One boy describes in the interview that when he lived at the transit home the school was much better, since he had a teacher there who spoke his mother tongue. He found that this really facilitated the learning process. One conclusion from the interviews is that school is a key to the children, both when it works and when it does not work so well. It also appears that for many of the children who have had their application for asylum rejected, or who are still in the asylum process, school is viewed differently compared to children who have received a residence permit. From a human rights perspective, it is clearly important to invest in education for unaccompanied children, partly because it is their right and partly because the knowledge that they gain during their education in Sweden is of importance wherever they are going to live in the future. Still they feel a little better attending school than they do sitting at home since it eats ones heart out, as one child describes it. To summarise, the children show an awareness of their position as migrants with a conditional right to residence and limited access to school. At the same time, school is an aspect of building a future. It also helps in getting structure in everyday life and it is a place for meeting with friends and supportive adults.

4.5. Getting social support

The needs and thoughts around social support vary although this seems to be very important for all of the interviewed children. Some children feel that there are no important people around, whereas others feel that there are several. The people or things that the children often point out as most important for them are primarily friends, but also their legal guardian, their own family in the country of origin, staff in the housing, school and teachers, as well as sports and activities. One boy wishes that they had more activities at the housing so that his stomach ache would go away. Another child describes how one of his teachers feels like a mother to him and that the family he lives with is also very important. Activities that a volunteer organization in one town arranges with a group of children who have come alone to Sweden are mentioned as important to dispel thoughts.

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As one child explains: When you think a lot the meetings makes the thoughts fall back in to your head. All of the children in the study have had their legal guardians with them during the meetings/interviews at the Swedish Migration Board. Many of them think it is good to have the legal guardian present. As one child expresses it, it is nice having someone there on your side. The large majority also feel that they have a good relationship with their legal guardian. Some reveal that they can speak with their legal guardians about anything and that they have contact almost every day, while others mainly contact their legal guardian when there is something they need assistance with. The most common is that they meet between once a week and once a month. One child, who is yet to receive a decision, exclaims when speaking about his legal guardian: She is really, really, really good! He highly appreciates that she helps him with bus money and buys him clothes. They meet about once a month and the only thing that can be a bit difficult is that they sometimes have problems understanding each other because of the language, a difficulty that a few others also mention. Another child says that his legal guardian means a lot to him since he does not have any parents. He sometimes goes to visit her and she cooks him dinner. She also tells him that it is important to go to school and to stay strong and not give up. Several of the children with a residence permit say that they are now receiving assistance from the legal guardian to trace their families. One child who lives in a family home feels that on the one hand he has all the material things around him that he could wish for and people and friends to speak with. However, on the other hand, he considers the town that he lives in too small and that there are not enough things to do. The fact that there are not enough opportunities for activities in small towns is something that all of the children who live in small towns or in the countryside bring up. One boy who lives in group-housing in the countryside says that most often they just come home from school and then stay there. The children living in group-homes in the countryside or in small localities express that they have difficulties making friends. They generally wish that there were more possibilities to practice different sports and meet more people. The majority say that they would prefer to live in a bigger city. In some of the housing the children think that the staff arrange too few activities with them, whereas in other places they find that they get to do a lot, such as going to the movies and on excursions. It clearly emerges that the staff and care-givers in the housing are important to the children. One child in a group-home feels that he has a lot of support around him, and he says: To be with the staff and with friends makes me happy. All of the children say that they enjoy participating in different activities. Spending time in school and with their friends at school are also described as important. The answers from the children with a rejection in all instances differ from the other children in the sense that they perceive their overall situation as more negative. A couple of them say that all days look the same and that they find this boring. However, in most cases they feel that friends, legal guardians,

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and staff at the housing are supportive. One boy who practices dancing several times a week thinks that this is the greatest support for him. Another boy highly appreciates when the Red Cross comes and organizes activities and he also thinks that boxing and weight lifting gives him physical and mental strength. To summarise, for the children, relationships with friends, staff, legal guardians, as well as going to school and doing activities in their spare time constitute important social support. In cases where the children have family members left in their countries of origin, contact with their parents or siblings is also important for them.

4.6. Being without family members

It becomes obvious in the interviews that family is both an important and sensitive topic, at moments painfully difficult to talk about for the children. It also emerges that there seems to exist some unclearness around family reunification and family tracing and that several children want more information concerning this, including where to turn for help and whose responsibility it actually is to trace their family members. In one case, a boy with a residence permit asks whether this can actually be done and if so, where he should turn for further information and follow-up. There are also large differences concerning the amount of help they receive with family tracing and family reunification and from whom. One boy, who has given the Red Cross the task of tracing his family, is now waiting for a reply. It is not easy to wait, he says. In five cases, the children have contacted the Red Cross to receive assistance with tracing their families. It is often the legal guardian who helps to facilitate the contact. In a few cases the legal guardian is now also assisting with arranging the papers in order to apply for family reunification. Then it is up to the Migration Board to decide if they can come or not, one boy says. In all but one case, where the child has family in the country of origin or another country, the children say that they want to be reunited with their family in Sweden.

4.7. Plans for the future

The childrens thoughts about the future vary, but for those with residence permits it becomes clear that it is important to finish school and to learn good Swedish. To first and foremost learn the language is something that almost all point out to be of great importance. A few children also want to continue studying and one dreams about working as a psychologist, another as a businessman, and yet another as a hairdresser. They describe it as important for them to get an education so that they can support themselves in the future. One boy says: I want to be able to support myself and to show everyone that here I am, I am also an individual. Some of the children think about their parents when we speak about the future and hope to be able to reunite with them. One boy says that he dreams about a house, a family, two cars, and to be able to make people happy. Someone

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also speaks about moving to his own apartment or to a bigger city. One boy with a residence permit says that he does not want to think about the future at all. For the children that are still in the asylum process the thoughts are partly different from those who have received a residence permit. One boy says that when he thinks about the future he is mostly worried about his family in his country of origin and when he will get to meet them again. Another boy says that when he first came to Sweden he could not think about the future because he worried so much about his family. Now he is thinking about maybe becoming a pizza baker in the future and to opening his own restaurant. Another child says that what he mostly hopes for is to get to stay in Sweden, to find his family, and to become a football player. One boy wants to go on to study at the university and another does not know at all what his plans for the future are. It is completely different to speak about the future with the children who have received a rejection in all instances of the asylum process. A couple of them say that they do not want to speak about the future at all, but that they are worried about what will happen to them. One boy says that you cannot think about the future if you do not have a residence permit. How the children view their future is strongly connected to whether or not they have been granted a residence permit. It becomes clear in the answers above that the boys who have had their asylum application rejected in all instances feel great insecurity about the future and that the future is a sensitive topic for them to discuss. For the children who have not yet received a decision on their asylum case or those with a residence permit the thoughts about the future vary, but it is possible to see that what they first and foremost think about is learning the language, getting an education, and eventually finding work. The family in the country of origin is also present in the childrens thoughts about the future.

5. Lessons learned
What most clearly emerges when meeting with the children participating in the study presented above, is that they are all individuals with different experiences and views that in varying ways affect each one of them. Still, their common experiences are important to grasp when trying to improve the current reception system. The childrens statements provide knowledge about whether the efforts undertaken in the reception system serve their intended function, thereby also raising awareness of other actors. Groups of children as the one at hand tend to be invisible because they are not yet recognized. There is always, on the other hand, a risk in characterising a group of people after certain expected needs, especially when the people involved are outside the normal models of perspectives. This often has a stigmatising effect and therefore it needs to be borne in mind that a particular childs own capabilities and experiences is an important starting point when that childs best interests are to be fulfilled. One thing that the children have in common, even though their background and life experiences vary, is that they find themselves far away from

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home without their family and their normal social context. As unaccompanied, or separated from persons close to them, the children are easily put in exposed and vulnerable situations. It can be assumed that these children are in need of extra support and tailored interventions in the new society. Having access to adapted support and resources is also their human right according to Article 22 of the CRC, which sets out an obligation for the authorities in the receiving State to ensure that the children get appropriate assistance in the enjoyment of the rights in the CRC and other documents of Public International Law. How then should assistance be designed?

5.1. Information, relations, and activities

The children interviewed in the above study generally think that relations and activities that keep them occupied are important for their wellbeing. Several of the children see advantages to living in a group-home where they find support and companionship among the other children who are in a similar situation as themselves. A general idea among the participating children is that cities provide more activities and more options to meet with friends. Further it emerges in the study that it is important for the children to receive correct and clear information about the asylum process and their case. It is probably not enough to provide the children with information on one occasion; rather this is something they need to receive repeatedly. The interviewed children in this study have to a greater or lesser extent described the time in the asylum process as difficult. Overall their perception of living conditions in Sweden is influenced to a large extent by whether or not they have a residence permit. As an asylum-seeker they find it hard to cope with the uncertainty of not knowing whether they will receive a residence permit or not. Before that they can not make any plans for the future. More meetings and continuous information about what is happening in the involved childs asylum case might facilitate the process.

5.2. Housing, school, and health care

It appears in the study that it is important to have continued flexibility when it comes to different types of housing. What is important in this context is that the municipalities look at each persons individual situation and needs, before deciding which placement and housing form is most suitable. The majority of children who participated in this study lived in group-housing, and even if the large majority are satisfied with their housing, some of them have thoughts about living in a family home or in their own apartment in a bigger city. To live in the countryside or in small localities is something that most of the children describe as difficult, partly because they find that there are not enough things to do and partly because, as several of them have experienced, it is hard to get to know people. School gives some structure in everyday life and is also a place where the children invest in their future. From the perspective of receiving municipalities,

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organizing good education appears to be a good investment partly for the childrens personal development but also from the perspective of equality and social contact. A well functioning, resource strong school creates better pre-conditions for the individuals in the future. School at its best is a forum for people to unite and feel included. To let the children attend ordinary school together with Swedish pupils can possibly further increase a sense of belonging. The study also shows that the children were eager to attend school as much as possible and that school has two important functions it is both a forum for learning as well as a social platform. The time in school is thus important and to give these children the same time in school as other pupils becomes desirable. When it comes to health care it appears necessary to have more resources and expert competency within the field of refugee psychiatry. Several of the children in the above study were in need of professional therapy, and increased resources to reduce the waiting times for BUP and psychiatry can reasonably be argued as a prerequisite for health. By offering more professional support an abnormal, unpredictable situation can possibly be de-dramatized. Consequently, it is important to give the children the possibility to talk about their experiences in different forms. The children also emphasised that everyday conversations are important for their well-being. A larger number of staff in the housing and greater possibilities for the legal guardian to spend time with the children is desirable.

5.3. Family reunification

Several of the children brought to light that they lack information on family tracing. In some cases, their legal guardians were helping them, but several lacked information about how tracing and family reunification is done and who can assist them with this. That the Red Cross is one of the main actors in the field is clear in the interviews with the children, but the children are not aware of the fact that it is also the responsibility of the municipality to trace the childrens families after the children have received a residence permit. When it comes to tracing and family reunification there is a need for increased clarity about whose responsibility it is to trace the family and to provide information about what help is available. The family as such and the need for contact with their parents are other important matters to point out. Several of the children said in the interviews that contact with their parents is important and also that longing for family members sometimes is difficult to cope with. If there are parents or other family left in the country of origin or somewhere else it is of utmost importance that the child and parents have contact with each other. It however emerges that the children many times do not want to speak about their parents or their family because the subject is so connected with whether or not they can receive a residence permit in Sweden. Their earlier life, including family life, is restricted to the parts of their life that may allow them to stay in Sweden.

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This confirms results from earlier research, that refugee children are compelled to squeeze their stories into the narrow channels acceptable to asylum givers in the country of asylum.38 If the children should want, and dare, to talk more about their relatives, in the country of origin or elsewhere, it seems necessary to see that this subject is not as closely linked to the assessment of the asylum application as it is today. Whether or not one has a family should not affect the right to apply for asylum or having their asylum grounds tested.

5.4. Trusted companionship and spaces of inclusion

While this study does not reflect unaccompanied refugee childrens past lives but their views of current life in Sweden, a significant aspect to keep in mind is what contentment and submissiveness, or silence, represents. During the project we often asked ourselves why the children appeared so content, as they apparently were also feeling very worried and at times traumatised. In earlier research analysing unaccompanied childrens silence, this has been understood as a measure of protection for the child.39 The fear of being returned to a country where one is denied access to fundamental human rights makes the children squeeze their stories into what was expected from them, or they just turn quiet. Kohli shows in his research with social workers that the childrens silence can sometimes become a burden as it can lead to scepticism and by extension to suspicion from the authorities.40 He concludes from an interview study with social workers that: [. . .] scepticism could build up into suspicion, and that suspicion could lead to cynicism. For example, they reported instances of other social services personnel becoming cynical about claims made by young African and Kosovan men, claiming to be younger than they appeared, and worrying that their services were being exploited and their resources drained. Similarly, some practitioners were concerned that, on the basis of becoming familiar with asylum stories which all sounded the same, some of their colleagues had became hostile over time, and rudimentary in terms of.41 The above is probably the most important ethical aspect that needs to be taken into consideration in the reception system, especially for the migration authorities to make correct assessments of applications for residence permits. In order for a correct handling procedure where the children can tell their complete stories, and for healthy relations to develop in the new country, we need to make sure that the children feel comfortable talking. In Kohlis study, he
38

P. Anderson, You Dont Belong Here in Germany . . . . On the Social Situation of Children in Germany, Journal of Refugee Studies, 14(2), 2001, 196; W. Ayotte, Separated Children Coming To Western Europe. Why They Travel and How They Arrive, London, Save the Children, 2000. R.K.S. Kohli, The Sound of Silence: Listening to What Unaccompanied Asylumseeking Children Say and Do Not Say, British Journal of Social Work, 36(5), 2006, 710. Ibid., 710, 717. Ibid.

39

40 41

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found that the social workers that aimed to become the young peoples trusted companions over time succeeded in the sense that they made the children feel safe.42 These social workers tried to be practical helpers, therapeutically minded listeners, and companionable people. This ultimately led to an understanding of the childrens situation as a whole and a constructive response to the unspoken worlds that the children carried with them in their search for asylum, they saw that wanting to get away from poverty, and get an education or making money could co-exist with asylum stories and be legitimate reasons for departure.43 For the children the approach led to a feeling of being welcome and being allowed to represent multidimensional people, not just asylum-seekers and refugees.44 Besides the importance of offering long-term companionship in the reception system, well-functioning reception of unaccompanied children also needs to make room for reflections regarding non-discrimination and equality. Are unaccompanied children treated as equal rights-bearers, or is their treatment in fact based on an idea of mercy? The political consciousness that appears in the interview answers above leads us to conclude that the reception system is characterized by the idea of mercy and not based on a rights-based perspective. The limited access to schools for refugee children is just one manifestation of this. In sum, this leads to a situation where a sense of belonging takes a backseat to a feeling of not belonging for temporary residing asylum-seekers. If the children are to take the lead and open up, they need to feel safe. This is a pre-condition for a correct asylum process. To be open to the childrens own needs and to see them as children primarily and asylum-seekers or refugees secondly is as vital in each individual conversation as it is when it comes to the way unaccompanied children are viewed and treated in general.45 A good start is to ask ourselves, as researchers as well as citizens in a reception State, how the children can be met as right-holders. The amount of unaccompanied children applying for asylum in Sweden does not appear to be decreasing but rather increasing. Studies where children are heard are therefore necessary, first because it gives insight into the everyday lives of the children as well as their views on what is important for their health conditions, and second because it contributes to an understanding of whether human rights protect those that they were developed to protect, the ones with no other protection. Future studies need to overcome the methodological and ethical challenges presented above. With the aim to further analyse unaccompanied childrens emotions, attitudes, etc., emphasis should be placed on the length of such observation studies. That way each individual childs opinions and perceptions can be taken into account in the best possible way.
42 43 44 45

Ibid., 218. Ibid., 718. Ibid., 720. See above footnote 40; A. Macdonald, Protection Responses to Unaccompanied and Separated Refugee Children in Mixed Migration Situations, Refugee Survey Quarterly, 27(4), 2008, 4862.