Transitions for young people seeking asylum

This chapter begins by referring to Eva Hoffman’s experiences of migration, because these reflect, in important respects, some of the core experiences of transitions for people moving from one country to another, from one home to another, and in the case of those seeking asylum, from a place of harm to a place of safety. When young people become refugees, they often undertake such extensive journeys towards political, legal, and psychological safety. As forced migrants, these young people make the journey and the journey makes them. For all young asylum seekers, the movements range from securely achieving a home and sense of place after obtaining leave to remain in the country, to prolonged, chronic uncertainty about where to go to be safe. In that respect, forced migration and resettlement yield many trajectories, only some of which are understood by researchers. The chapter analyses the research evidence of the sorts of changes and transitions young people seeking asylum make, and what helps them to feel safe in volatile situations and conditions.