Illustrative Cases

Published Oct. 1, 2011 2:41 PM

Florian was born in Bucharest, Romania, in a relatively wealthy family. His father is a retired officer from the Ministry of Work and Employment and his mother is a primary school teacher. Before Ceasescu's regime collapsed his father resigned and in the following years he started his own real estate business with strong linkages to Italy. After completing his secondary schooling, Florian joined his two brothers living in Italy. He soon built a life there and established a construction business alongside his brother. Throughout his struggles he always had the support from his family. Please read more about Florian's new life in Italy.

Published Oct. 1, 2011 2:31 PM

Mahmoud was born in Morocco in a rural large family composed of his parents and four brothers and sisters. His father migrated to Italy in 1975 while his wife and family continued to live in Morocco. At the time of the interview Mahmoud had lived in Italy since 2000 after joining his father. His migration experience is a typical one of migrants from the rural countryside in Morocco who move to Italy to join a family member in order to support them in building a better livelihood and income. After he had completed his compulsory education, Mahmoud's father wanted him to find work. Mahmoud had different plans for his life and wanted to build a better future through pursuing his studies. Please read more about Mahmoud's strong will to learn.

Published Oct. 1, 2011 2:19 PM

King Jefe is a 23 year old young man, who was born in Ecuador in a middle class family composed of two parents, himself and an older brother. After his mother developed cancer and moved to Italy, he began to involve himself in an organisation of Latino youths or commonly known as a 'gang.' When his mother discovered his, she brought him over to Italy, where his involvement in gang activity did not end. He has been in and out of jail for drug dealing and smuggling as well as some more violent crimes. Unfortunately, he has not had the support network to guide him in life. King Jefe's complete story can be found here.

Published Oct. 1, 2011 1:58 PM

Hervé is a 24 year old young man of Moroccan origin who is currently unemployed and looking for work. He has been married for two and a half years and has a young daughter. What is striking about him is his commitment to helping other young people in his neighbourhood, Haut du Lièvre, as vice-president of the youth community centre and involved in several other civic projects. Please read more about Hervé's involvement in his community.

Published Oct. 1, 2011 1:40 PM

Lucie is a 27 year old young woman from Morocco who arrived in France through family reunification with her husband, a French national. Among the French interview sample, she was the only Muslim interviewee who wore a headscarf. Her story reveals that of a young woman who has successfully integrated into French society and is satisfied with the new life she has created here. To read more about Lucie's story.

Published May 27, 2011 2:04 PM

Isabelle is of Sino-Laotian origin. The youngest of a family of four children, Isabelle is the only one among her siblings to have been born in France and to have been given a French name. She spent her childhood in the French neighbourhood of Haut Du Lièvre, but eventually decided to leave, due to the negative impression of the neighbourhood among outsiders, to pursue her education elsewhere. She credits much of her current success as a psychologist to the diversity of her former neighbourhood. To read more about Isabelle and her family's uplifting story.

Published May 10, 2011 2:08 PM

King is a 24-year-old from the Dominican Republic who came to live in Barcelona two and a half years ago, after having obtained a grant to study for his master's degree in International Relations. His story emphasizes the importance of education, participation in associations and social networks, all made possible through the economic and emotional support of his transnational family. Please learn more about King.

Published Mar. 25, 2011 2:44 PM

Suelí is a 29-year-old, of Brazilian origin, who has lived in Barcelona since the age of 24. She emigrated in search of a better future, however, following the financial crisis in Spain it had become more difficult for her to save money and what she manages to gather she uses to meet her family in Brazil. Neither is she sure whether she will continue living in Barcelona, although she likes it and feels adapted to the local conditions, she has failed to establish social networks.

Read more of Suelí's story.

Published Mar. 10, 2011 10:41 AM

Marc is eighteen, was born in the Philippines and moved to Spain at six years old. His story seems typical of many young immigrants growing up in Spain today, his father came first, spending three years living alone and working in order to facilitate the rest of his family's move.

Both of Marc's parents are from the Philippines yet Marc has been educated almost entirely under the Spainish system. He describes in great depth the differences he observes between the quality of education and students in public and private education. Since enrolling in a private school he has begun to construct a future for himself and recognizes the need to establish a positive friend circle.

Please read more about Marc's development in his illustrative story.

Published Feb. 23, 2011 3:40 PM

The Illuka Refugee Centre is located in the Estonian forest near the Russian border. It is isolated and difficult to reach without personal transportation.

The Centre houses several asylum seekers, some of which were interviewed in this story. There were four young men chosen for this story, three of which were from Afghanistan and one from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They described their experiences at the Centre, the difficulties they face residing there and their feelings of exclusion, but chose not to go into detail about their journey to Estonia or about their families.

All four of them assessed Estonian asylum policy and uninamously agreed that Estonia had to redevelop it, particularly now that they are a member of the European Union and will have to expect an increase in the number of immigrants to the country.

To read more of the Illuka Refugee Centre story.

Published Jan. 28, 2011 11:54 AM

Oxana is originally from Ukraine and has lived in Estonia for six years. Similar to other immigrants in Estonia she has Estonian roots; her grandfather was Estonian. She came to Estonia to pursue a higher quality of education based on her brother's suggestion. She explains that despite moving to Estonia she has retained her Ukranian identity and enjoys being involved in the Ukranian diaspora. Learn more about Oxana's identity through her story.

Published Jan. 20, 2011 2:04 PM

Amon is twenty-two years old and was born in Uzbekistan. Several factors led Amon and his family to leave Uzbekistan when he was twelve years old. His journey to Sweden was circuitous, and, unfortunately, his immediate family still resides in France, one of the many destinations on his final route to Sweden. Initially, Amon lived on the periphery, however, through the Swedish Scout Organization, Amon has been able to reinvent himself by attending university classes and now sees himself as finally being accepted into Swedish society. Read Amon's story.

Published Jan. 13, 2011 11:16 AM

Efraim is twenty years old and was born in Iran. He arrived in Sweden eight years ago through family reunification. After facing initial difficulties adjusting to life in Sweden he has now gradually adapted to the new environment. He has begun to plan his future and aims to continue his education and become more independent. What is interesting about Efraim is that he emphasizes "the importance of becoming more Swedish" as a requirement to fit in to Swedish society and culture. Learn more about Efraim through his story.

Published Dec. 21, 2010 10:21 AM

Fatos is 22 years old, born in Macedonia, raised in Kosovo and, currently, living as a refugee, in hiding, in Sweden. After fleeing his home in Kosovo, he lives with his mother in a health centre run by an independent network in Gothenburg. As his story unfolds, one becomes acutely aware of the suffering and trauma he has had to overcome and how optimism has helped him dream big. Read more about Fatos's experiences.

Published Dec. 6, 2010 9:33 AM

Born in Central Ethiopia, Haile has only lived in Norway for four years after immigrating to Norway through family reunification with his mother. He is an ambitious young man who has undergone significant hardship to pursue a career that would meet his expectations as well as cultural background. Please read more of Haile's story to learn about his journey and his experiences in Norway.

Published Nov. 9, 2010 2:10 PM

Charlynne Bryan is a 22-year-old woman from Dominica living in Leyton, East London. She is often assumed to be ‘Jamaican’ and interpolated as part of the black community coming to London in the mid-twentieth century. As such, she has had to learn to put up with misrecognitions and misunderstandings. Charlynne came to Britain as an 18 year old student and obtained a first class degree in Psychosocial Studies at the University of East London in 2009. Her participation in the EUMARGINS project has offered a way for her to document her experiences; she has kept a scrapbook and written a poem, and shares parts of her life with us through words and pictures. Read Charlynne's story.  

Published Nov. 9, 2010 2:09 PM

Jengar was born in the Iraqi part of Kurdistan in 1984. He came to Norway as an asylum seeker in 2002. When we met him he had been in Norway for eight years. Having been rejected asylum for the second time, Jengar was supposed to leave the country, but he did not perceive it as safe to return to Iraq. His only option was to live in the deportation camp as an illegalized migrant. Read Jengar's story and learn more about the challenges of a young adult illegal migrant in Norway. 

Published Nov. 9, 2010 2:06 PM

Fatima is a 25-year old woman who has been willing to share with us her experiences of growing up in Norway with parents from Pakistan. It is based upon various interviews with her, a short story authored by herself, as well as pictures she has taken and shared with us. Fatima’s thoughts and pictures reveal how feelings of inclusion and exclusion change over time and how they may relate to both parent’s migration story and one’s own sense of isolation or community. Read Fatima's story. 

Published Nov. 9, 2010 1:59 PM

Born in Kinshasa, Congo, Joseph migrated to London as a refugee at the age of eight. He is now 18 years old and has UK citizen status. Shamser Sinha and Les Back from the London-based research team have met Joseph numerous times, and he has told them about growing up as a young migrant in London. Read Joseph's story and see his pictures of places that have a special meaning for him. Joseph's story is one of many so-called illustrative cases that will be published from the various EUMARGINS research contexts during the project period. 

Published Nov. 9, 2010 1:55 PM

'African Queen', which was the name the informant gave to herself to be referred to in this study, fled from Ethiopia in 2003. At the time she was 16 years old. She has now been living in London for seven years, but has still not obtained any legal status to reside in the UK. African Queen’s immediate problem is the health and safety of her two year old baby. She lives in local council provided emergency accommodation that has no heating and is damp. Read African Queen's Story.