Abstract
Nowadays humanitarian organisations are often keen to engage young displaced people in programmatic efforts. In such efforts attention is commonly paid to the impact of the social dynamics of gender. However, similar consideration of processes associated with age has been less apparent. This article explains the importance of attending to the ‘age position’ of young refugees from two interrelated perspectives: first, as a means to comprehend the forces that inform the expression of particular needs and aspirations by young people, and second, in order to grasp the historicity of their lives and of the larger displaced population. The article then moves on to offer a conceptual framework for investigating age position. The notion of ‘generation’ is central to this framework. Four distinct meanings of generation are identified and their application explored through reference to findings from research conducted in a Palestinian refugee camp in Jordan.
Abstract
Les organisations humanitaires sont aujourd’hui souvent désireuses de faire participer les jeunes déplacés à des initiatives de programmes. Dans ces programmes, l’attention se porte généralement sur l'impact de la dynamique sociale entre les sexes. On semble par contre accorder moins d’attention aux dynamiques liées à l'âge. Cet article explique, à partir de deux perspectives connexes, l'importance d’aborder la question du «rang d’âge» des jeunes réfugiés. Il s’agit, tout d'abord, de comprendre les forces qui conditionnent l'expression des besoins et aspirations particuliers des jeunes et, puis de mieux appréhender l'historicité de leur vie et de celle de l'ensemble des réfugiés. L’article poursuit en proposant un cadre conceptuel pour examiner l’importance du rang d’âge. La notion de «génération» occupe une place centrale dans ce cadre. Nous identifions quatre sens distincts de «génération» et examinons leur application en mobilisant des résultats d’études menées dans un camp de réfugiés palestiniens en Jordanie.
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Notes
This is by no means to deny or downplay the enormous obstacles or the violations of basic human rights that many refugee camp dwellers globally experience.
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Acknowledgements
The author wishes to acknowledge his gratitude to Roy Huijsmans, Roy Gigengack and the other editors of this special issue for their extensive feedback on earlier drafts of this article. I am also thankful to the two anonymous reviewers for their detailed responses and suggestions.
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Hart, J. Locating Young Refugees Historically: Attending to Age Position in Humanitarianism. Eur J Dev Res 26, 219–232 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1057/ejdr.2013.58
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/ejdr.2013.58