Adolescents in wanderland: a qualitative study on the immediate problems faced by unaccompanied and separated children seeking asylum on Lesvos, Greece

Abstract

This thesis is a qualitative study researching the immediate protection of adolescents, specifically Unaccompanied and Separated Children, in the current refugee crisis as they arrive in the European Union on the Greek island of Lesvos. The aim is to contrast the extent immediate protection mechanisms, required by both law and in theory, are being realised on Lesvos and to what extent they are failing the most vulnerable. Despite much quantitative research on the current refugee crisis, there is a serious lack of qualitative research to accompany it and this thesis will therefore attempt to illuminate the subjective experiences of those working, volunteering and arriving on Lesvos in order to further the discourse on the implementation of immediate protection mechanisms. Through interviews, observations and archival research I gathered enough information to be able to thoroughly analyse what has been happening there. Ultimately I have discovered that much more work and theorising is needed to adapt these mechanisms, and much greater efficacy is needed from all people involved if it is to be improved. In a world that is becoming more and more unstable, and with the amount of globally displaced persons increasing every year, this research, and more of its kind, is necessary to improve protection mechanisms that so far have been inadequate.