Stories told by refugee youth: alternatives to dominant narratives

Abstract

Stories of children moving in and out of refugee camps are not uncommon yet are often overshadowed by the dominant narratives of oppression, political failure, and war—the stories told of rather than told by refugees. Dominant narratives on refugees largely shape perceptions about children and youth in displacement as vulnerable, voiceless, and passive. Instead, stories told by these populations highlight their identities as capable and determined. Employing a narrative approach to inquiry in relation to agency, this study seeks to understand how lived experiences of female refugee youth are shared through storytelling. Written narratives of 55 adolescent girls in Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya revealed not only the complex and complicated circumstances of their educational journey but also their agency. This paper concludes by emphasizing the importance of storytelling, which enables us to better understand the needs of the displaced populations, but also their capabilities, aspirations and agency.

Keywords:

• Refugee youth
• narrative inquiry
• dominant narratives
• agency

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Pseudonyms are used to protect the identity of the participants.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Minkyung Choi

Minkyung Choi is an Assistant Professor of Literacy Education in the College for Education and Engaged Learning at Montclair State University. Her research areas include critical literacy practices of youth, storytelling methodologies, and narrative inquiry.

Jihae Cha

Jihae Cha is an Assistant Professor of International Education at The George Washington University’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development where her teaching and research focus on international comparative education, international education development and education in emergencies, protracted crises and resettlement.