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SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONS of CHILDHOOD and MIGRATION: What Does It Mean for Child Participation in NGO Programming in Guatemala?

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SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONS of CHILDHOOD and MIGRATION: What Does It Mean for Child Participation in NGO Programming in Guatemala? SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONS OF CHILDHOOD AND MIGRATION: What does it mean for child participation in NGO programming in Guatemala? By Tamara Britton, BA, Trent University, 2013 A Major Research Paper presented to Ryerson University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Program of Immigration and Settlement Studies Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2015 © Tamara Britton 2015 Author’s Declaration I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this MRP. This is a true copy of the MRP, including any required final revisions. I authorize Ryerson University to lend this MRP to other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research I further authorize Ryerson University to reproduce this MRP by photocopying or by other means, in total or in part, at the request of other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research. I understand that my MRP may be made electronically available to the public. Tamara Britton i SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONS OF CHILDHOOD AND MIGRATION: What does it mean for child participation in NGO programming in Guatemala? © Tamara Britton, 2015 Master of Arts Immigration and Settlement Studies Ryerson University Abstract This MRP uses a children’s rights theoretical perspective to explore the connection between child participation and the surge in unaccompanied child migration to the United States. It argues that children’s rights in the Northern Triangle have been missing from the discourse, with a focus on the lack of participation and empowerment of Guatemalan children and youth, in the creation of policies and programs that directly affect their livelihoods. Therefore, development interventions must include both children and youth in participatory planning processes in order to work towards a future of a more empowered generation that can create sustainable alternatives to migration. This MRP analyzes social constructions of childhood and migration extracted from interviews and observations, as well as YouTube videos on the influx of child migration to the United States, in order to understand how these conceptualizations inform the role that child participation plays in NGO programs in Guatemala. Key Words: Unaccompanied minors, migration, child participation, Guatemala, NGO programs. ii Acknowledgements I would like to thank Dr. Francis Hare for his valuable advice as second reader on this MRP, as well as my supervisor Dr. Tara Collins for her guidance, flexibility, expertise, and constant support during the process. Without her motivation, professional rigour and connections in this field, this MRP would not have been possible. I would also like to thank Dr. Rachel Hall-Clifford and the NAPA-OT child migration research team (Ryan Lavalley, Briana Nichols, Lisette Farias and Karla Umana), for their collaboration on this project. I gained so much personally, academically and professionally from our research together, and sincerely appreciate my experience working with each of you. I would like to acknowledge the participants in this study who took the time to share their personal opinions with our research team, and whose contributions were the heart and soul of this investigation. Finally, a special thanks to my family and friends for their understanding and encouragement during this arduous process. Honourable thanks to my cousin Lyndsay Boyes for her dedicated assistance, attention to detail and positivity throughout the final stages of my MRP. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Author’s Declaration ........................................................................................................................ i Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................. 7 Unaccompanied Child Migration to the US .................................................................... 8 Child Participation......................................................................................................... 19 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................ 23 Qualitative research approach ....................................................................................... 23 Research location .......................................................................................................... 25 Data Collection .......................................................................................................................... 26 Semi-structured in-depth interviews .......................................................................... 27 Structured observations ............................................................................................. 31 Directed content analysis ........................................................................................... 34 Ethical Considerations............................................................................................................... 40 Positionality ............................................................................................................................... 40 CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS .................................................................................................... 43 Interview and Observational Data Results ................................................................................ 43 Constructions of childhood and migration ................................................................ 44 NGO services in Guatemala ...................................................................................... 56 YouTube Content Analysis ....................................................................................................... 65 US perspectives ......................................................................................................... 65 Sending country perspectives .................................................................................... 68 Conceptualizations of child migrants ........................................................................ 69 CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION ................................................................................................. 73 CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION ................................................................................................. 80 APPENDIX A ............................................................................................................................... 82 APPENDIX B ............................................................................................................................... 85 APPENDIX C ............................................................................................................................... 87 APPENDIX D ............................................................................................................................... 88 iv APPENDIX E ............................................................................................................................... 89 APPENDIX F................................................................................................................................ 90 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 91 v CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Guatemala is considered one of the worst countries in the world to be a child (Sheen, 2015; UNICEF, 2015). The lasting effects from the civil war have created a society in which violence has become normalised, where disappearances have become a common part of daily life for many (Yu-Hsi Lee, 2014; Save the Children, 2014), and gender-based violence has become an epidemic (WRC, 2012; International Commission against Impunity, 2012; Jonas, 2013). Guatemala has the second highest child murder rate in the world (UNICEF, 2014; UNODC, 2013) where every 17 hours a child or teen dies from gun violence, and every two hours a child younger than five years of age dies of preventable causes (Guatemala Human Rights Commission, 2014). Thus despite Guatemala’s ratification of the Convention of the Rights of the Child in 1990, designed to protect and promote children’s rights and best interests, “violence [continues to] permeate all aspects of society, and it seems there are few places where it is safe to be a child” (Sheen, 2015; UNICEF, 2015). According to Kennedy (2014), minors in Guatemala are disproportionately affected by violence and poverty based on their vulnerability, lack of opportunities, education, access to recreational spaces and activities, as well as high levels of family disintegration. In response to these rights violations, children and youth are migrating, many unaccompanied, to the United States (US), in order to escape extreme violence and poverty and to improve their livelihoods (IABD, 2014; McKibben, 2015; Kennedy, 2014; Yu-Hsi Lee, 2014; UNHCR, 2014; Council on Foreign Relations, 2014; Cantor, 2014; USCCB/MRS, 2012; Renwick, 2014; Congressional Research Service, 2014; Olson, 2014; WOLA, 2015; WRC, 2012). These numbers have been on the rise
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