Return visits and belonging to countries of origin among young people from refugee backgrounds

Bibliographic Data

ID4262883
AuthorsCelia Mcmichael (0000-0002-4572-602X, The University of Melbourne, corresponding author), C Nunn (0000-0003-3145-3099, School of Applied Social Sciences Durham University 32 Old Elvet Durham DH1 3HN UK, corresponding author), Sandra Gifford (0000-0002-8950-2677, Swinburne Institute for Social Research Swinburne University of Technology PO Box 218 Hawthorn Victoria 3122 Australia), Sandra M Gifford (Swinburne University of Technology, corresponding author), Ignacio Correa-Velez (0000-0003-1800-4475, Queensland University of Technology, corresponding author), Ignacio Correa‐velez (School of Public Health and Social Work, Faculty of Health Queensland University of Technology Victoria Park Road Kelvin Grove QLD 4059 Australia)
Year2017
Volume17
Issue3
Pages382-399
Publication date2017-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGlobal Networks (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1470-2266 • E-ISSN: 1471-0374
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/glob.12147
OpenAlexW2555663332
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited52

In this article, we explore the return visits of resettled young people from refugee backgrounds to their personal and/or ancestral countries of origin. We draw on qualitative data from a longitudinal study of people who fled their country of origin at an early age, many of whom were born or lived for protracted periods in countries of asylum, and resettled in Australia. We demonstrate that return visits are not simply a homecoming; the young people's narratives reflect ambivalent relationships to the homeland experienced across multiple domains of belonging. Accounts of return visits refer to three core domains of belonging - practical national belonging, family connection, and attachment to material places. We argue that a return visit gives these youths a valued opportunity to negotiate and develop their homeland connections, though not necessarily an unambiguous opportunity to belong

Ambivalence · Art · Country of origin · Geography · Homecoming · Homeland · Narrative · Negotiation · Political science · Politics · Refugee · Social science · Sociology · Gender Studies · History · Migration and Labor Dynamics · Migration, Health and Trauma · Migration, Refugees, and Integration · Psychology · Social Psychology

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