The management of time and waiting by unaccompanied asylum-seeking girls in Finland

Ravi S. Kohli, Mervi Maria Kaukko

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

    49 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    This article considers how asylum-seeking girls in residential care in Finland construct their everyday lives while waiting for asylum outcomes. These girls, from various African countries, are shown to experience waiting as both debilitating and productive. First, our findings confirm the established picture of asylum-seeking young people being in limbo, unable to influence the resolution of their claims. Second, we explore more hopeful ways in which they wait. We emphasize the complex responses and relationships they build in waiting times with each other and their carers. We suggest that waiting is not just 'dead' time, but is also lively in periods of uncertainty.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)488-506
    Number of pages19
    JournalJournal of Refugee Studies
    Volume31
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Dec 2018

    Keywords

    • Asylum seekers
    • Finland
    • Time
    • Unaccompanied girls
    • Waiting

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