Global Child

Children and Families Affected by War, Displacement, and Migration

Edited by Myriam Denov, Claudia Mitchell, and Marjorie Rabiau

SERIES: Genocide, Political Violence, Human Rights

Rutgers University Press

Armed conflicts continue to wreak havoc on children and families around the world with profound effects. In 2017, 420 million children—nearly one in five—were living in conflict-affected areas, an increase in 30 million from the previous year. The recent surge in war-induced migration, referred to as a “global refugee crisis” has made migration a highly politicized issue, with refugee populations and host countries facing unique challenges. We know from research related to asylum seeking families that it is vital to think about children and families in relation to what it means to stay together, what it means for parents to be separated from their children, and the kinds of everyday tensions that emerge in living in dangerous, insecure, and precarious circumstances. In Global Child, the authors draw on what they have learned through their collaborative undertakings, and highlight the unique features of participatory, arts-based, and socio-ecological approaches to studying war-affected children and families, demonstrating the collective strength as well as the limitations and ethical implications of such research. Building on work across the Global South and the Global North, this book aims to deepen an understanding of their tri-pillared approach, and the potential of this methodology for contributing to improved practices in working with war-affected children and their families.

Global Child is a gift. It enables the reader to see and understand what ecological, participatory, ethical, and collaborative work looks like; and it makes me hopeful for research, practice, and policy in contexts of conflict and migration that embodies the listening, unlearning, and re-envisioning that this book illuminates. Sarah Dryden-Peterson, Author of Right Where We Belong: How Refugee Teachers and Students Are Changing the Future of Education

'Global Child, skillfully edited by Denov, Mitchell, and Rabiau, is a richly textured collection that highlights the impact of war, displacement, and migration on children and families worldwide. The compelling use of participatory, arts-based research makes visible the courage, integrity, and creativity of both researchers and participants alike. Their difficult knowledge needs to be widely shared in the Global North and the Global South.' Bonny Norton, Author of Identity and Language Learning

Global Child is a gift. It enables the reader to see and understand what ecological, participatory, ethical, and collaborative work looks like; and it makes me hopeful for research, practice, and policy in contexts of conflict and migration that embodies the listening, unlearning, and re-envisioning that this book illuminates. Sarah Dryden-Peterson, author of Right Where We Belong: How Refugee Teachers and Students Are Changing the Future of Educat

'Global Child, skillfully edited by Denov, Mitchell, and Rabiau, is a richly textured collection that highlights the impact of war, displacement, and migration on children and families worldwide. The compelling use of participatory, arts-based research makes visible the courage, integrity, and creativity of both researchers and participants alike. Their difficult knowledge needs to be widely shared in the Global North and the Global South.' Bonny Norton, author of Identity and Language Learning

MYRIAM DENOV is a full professor and holds the Canada Research Chair in Children, Families, and Armed Conflict at McGill University in Montreal. She is the author of Child Soldiers: Sierra Leone’s Revolutionary United Front and co-editor of Children Affected by Armed Conflict: Theory, Method & Practice.

CLAUDIA MITCHELL is a Distinguished James McGill Professor in the faculty of education at McGill University. She is the co-author of Participatory Visual Methodologies and is the Editor-in-Chief of Girlhood Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal.

MARJORIE RABIAU is an associate professor in the School of Social Work at McGill University. She is a psychologist and a couple and family therapist.

1 A Tri-pillared Approach to Studying Children and Families Affected by War, Migration, and Displacement
Myriam Denov, Claudia Mitchell, and Marjorie Rabiau

PART I: SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL APPROACHES

2 Unlearn and Deconstruct to Collaboratively Build a Sense of Well-Being around
Children Affected by War: A Family and Community Approach
Marjorie Rabiau, Myriam Denov, and Karen Paul

3 A Case for Preservice Teachers Reflexively Engaging in Work with War-Affected Children in Canadian Schools
Nagui Demian and Claudia Mitchell

4 The Thunder of War Is Much Less Heard: Engaging Young People and Older Adults to Restore Social
Cohesion in the Midst of Crisis in Eastern Ukraine
Karen Paul, Inka Weissbecker, Katie Mullins, and Andrew Jones

5 Best Practices for Children and Their Families in Postconflict Settings:
A Culturally Informed, Strength-Based Family Therapy Model
Sharon Bond and Jaswant Guzder

PART II: PARTICIPATORY APPROACHES

6 Navigating Participatory Research with Children Affected by Armed Conflict: Conceptual, Methodological, and Ethical Concerns
Neil Bilotta, Maya Fennig, Myriam Denov, Alusine Bah, and Ines Marchand

7 The Right to Be Heard in Research: Participatory Research Ethics in Kakuma Refugee Camp
Neil Bilotta and Myriam Denov

8 Ethical Tensions in Participatory Research with Queer Young People from Refugee Backgrounds: Critiquing a Code of Ethics
EJ Milne, Churnjeet Mahn, Mayra Guzman, Farhio Ahmed, and Anonymous Members of RX

9 An Arts-Based Participatory Approach to Research with Migrant Young People in South Africa
Glynis Clacherty and Thea Shahrokh

PART III: ARTS-BASED APPROACHES

10 Arts-Based Approaches Research Innovations in Work with War-Affected Children and Youth: A Synthesis
Warren Linds, Miranda D’amico, Myriam Denov, Claudia Mitchell, and Meaghan Shevell

11 Creative Arts Therapies in School-Based Interventions with Children and Youth Affected by War
Miranda D’amico

12 Drawing to Be Seen and Heard: A Critical Analysis of Girls’ Drawings in Three Refugee Camps
Fatima Khan

13 Young People with Refugee Experiences as Authors and Artists of Picture Books
April Mandrona, EJ Milne, Thea Shahrokh, Michaelina Jakala, Mateja Celestina, Leesa Hamilton, and Claudia Mitchell

Acknowledgments

Notes on Contributors

Index

Related Titles