Global Networks
Volume 17, Issue 3, 2017, Pages 382-399

Return visits and belonging to countries of origin among young people from refugee backgrounds (Article)

McMichael C.* , Nunn C. , Gifford S. , Correa-Velez I.
  • a University of Melbourne, School of Geography, 221 Bouverie St, Carlton, 3053, Australia
  • b School of Applied Social Sciences, Durham University, 32 Old Elvet, Durham, DH1 3HN, United Kingdom
  • c Swinburne Institute for Social Research, Swinburne University of Technology, PO Box 218, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia
  • d School of Public Health and Social Work, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Victoria Park Road, Kelvin Grove, QLD 4059, Australia

Abstract

In this article, we explore the return visits of resettled young people from refugee backgrounds to their personal and/or ancestral countries of origin. We draw on qualitative data from a longitudinal study of people who fled their country of origin at an early age, many of whom were born or lived for protracted periods in countries of asylum, and resettled in Australia. We demonstrate that return visits are not simply a homecoming; the young people's narratives reflect ambivalent relationships to the homeland experienced across multiple domains of belonging. Accounts of return visits refer to three core domains of belonging – practical national belonging, family connection, and attachment to material places. We argue that a return visit gives these youths a valued opportunity to negotiate and develop their homeland connections, though not necessarily an unambiguous opportunity to belong. © 2016 The Author(s) Global Networks © 2016 Global Networks Partnership & John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Author Keywords

youth Belonging Transnationalism Refugees transnational migrants RETURN VISITS

Index Keywords

return migration young population Imaginaries Cultural backgrounds refugee Homeland trip Return migrations Australia Young professionals nocv1 In-depth interviews Social aspects Armenia Social Sciences population migration motivation North America Computer networks
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85005991806&doi=10.1111%2fglob.12147&partnerID=40&md5=3434967f91db85f02b694e8e30ece67b
DOI: 10.1111/glob.12147
ISSN: 14702266
Cited by: 1
Original Language: English