Cycle of prejudice

The problems of refugee children in a foreign education system have become a well-known - but under-researched - issue in Europe and North America. In some countries, like Britain, it has contributed to a general disapproval or hostility towards asylum seekers. Following the influx of Somali refugees into Britain in the early 1990s, the tendency towards violence in schools created distrust and antagonism among other parents. A British official who had worked on immigration matters with asylum-seeking Somalis confirmed this: "The arrival of traumatized Somalis had a negative effect on the communities which took them in. In 1996 a six-year-old Somali child stabbed another in London, which caused the communities to turn against Somalis."

According to this official, there was no real effort on the part of the government and the local authorities to have an integration policy in the schools: "It would have been better to make a proper placement - the children came with a different religion, different language, a strong sense of culture, and because they came in such large numbers, they …were resented."

Building relationships

But where there had been efforts to understand refugee issues, the results were positive, psychiatrist Shelia Melzak told IRIN in London. Working with traumatized refugees, including separated Somali children, Melzak pointed to a case where complaints against the Somali community in a London borough resulted in a meeting between the headmaster and Somali parents and guardians. Guidelines to the school system, the role of teachers, and the expectations the school had of parents and guardians were then translated into Somali by the community and printed as a booklet. This improved the relationship with the school, and also helped the Somali children.

Other initiatives made by the Somali community include the setting up of homework clubs. For unaccompanied children, the battle to cope with life in a classroom is more than matched by the struggle to cope with homework - frequently not understood, and typically difficult to achieve at home.

Ahmad, who was sent to London when he was 15, was left in a phone box by the "fixer" who flew him from Nairobi, through Dubai, to Britain. He ended up with distant relatives, in a family of one woman and seven children in a small apartment. The other children became "abusive" towards Ahmad: "They treated me differently; they didn't like me." Ahmad ended up sleeping on the floor of a community organization, shifting around hostels for the homeless, and staying with various Somali families. For a long time, he didn't go to school; when he did, he hated it. "I had a problem at school…I had a language problem. I sat in the class, but there was a lot I didn't understand…it was very difficult to do homework because the place I was living was very overcrowded…I was always in trouble and eventually I stopped going."

Homework club in London - Negligence and frustration can lead to under-achievement. Photo :IRIN/Jenny Matthews-Network

Accessing education

Despite the fact that an unaccompanied refugee child is entitled to the same education rights as a native child in Western European and North American countries, much depends on the ability with which the foreign child can access such an opportunity. In the case of separated children, there are many internal obstacles - personal trauma, depression, preoccupation, homelessness and isolation - and external obstacles - language problems, xenophobia, bullying and religious intolerance - that are likely to interfere with the child's development and capabilities. The evidence suggests that it is unlikely that a child sent away by its parents will fulfil "the dream" of a superior education and good employment opportunities. Success stories are few.

If they fail to cope with the demands of a foreign education system, there is, moreover, a high probability that the child will become vulnerable to depression, abuse, drug dependency or criminal behaviour. It is at this stage that a dangerous gap opens up between the two worlds - or the two identities - and the separated child falls into an emotional chasm.