A change of state

"In 2009, when we met, Georgiana was a 14-year-old girl attending a state school in the area of Greater Accra, Ghana (all names are pseudonyms). Her mother and father had migrated to Italy when she was just a toddler. She was expecting that her mother, who had now divorced her father, would soon obtain a family reunion visa that would allow Georgiana to join her. In common with many other children of unskilled labour migrants worldwide, Georgiana had been left in the care of extended family members while her parents migrated. I met her, and 12 other young people in a similar situation, during my fieldwork in Ghana. I was researching the ways in which children imagine Italy, the country where their parents are, and I was also seeking to capture young people’s expectations, hopes, and concerns at the prospect of moving to join them. To read the rest of this post follow the link http://bordercriminologies.law.ox.ac.uk/a-change-of-state/ "