In a new article published in the Journal of Refugee Studies, Dr Hiba Salem utilises the notion of liminality to explore the experiences of young people in protracted displacement. Salem’s research focuses on Syrian refugee youth and their teachers to examine how young people, holding liminal social and legal statuses in Jordan, manage uncertainty.
In the article, she describes the different strategies that students developed to protect their sense of hope across time by maintaining ontological security, or an understanding of self. Unable to navigate uncertainty through their educational spaces, the students explored alternative ways to actively build hope and sustain a sense of control in their lives.
The article argues for the importance of integrating practices within education which respond to refugee youths’ needs to maintain ontological security and hope in the face of uncertainty.
The article is available here: Education, ontological security, and preserving hope in liminality: learning from the daily strategies exercised by Syrian refugee youth in Jordan