Transnational displacement of children : an Australian perspective

Abstract

Transnational displacement of children has become a global phenomenon and includes children of refugees, asylum seekers and voluntary migrants. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees estimates that 25 million children are currently uprooted from their homes. Australia claims to be one of the world’s leading resettlement nations, having accepted some 130,000 refugees, with 12,000 arriving in 2001-2002. This chapter examines Australia’s policies for the early education and care of displaced children and their families against the backcloth of the United Nations Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees 1951 and Australia’s National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention (2002). Of importance are children’s premigration, migration and postmigration experiences, their physical and mental health issues, and their treatment according to their status as ‘authorised’ or ‘unauthorised’ arrivals. The displacement of children presents significant challenges for early childhood practitioners working in education and care settings with these children and their families, particularly in the design of programs to promote resilience and to ameliorate the adverse effects of displacement.