Unpacking Refugee Flight: Critical Content Analysis of Picturebooks Featuring Refugee Protagonists

Abstract

In this paper, I analyze representations of refugee flight in children’s literature to extrapolate related assumptions about power and agency. The findings suggest that picturebooks tend to adhere to refugee flight as a bureaucratic process and refugee as an institutionally imposed standardized identity. Specifically, stories canonically mirror the legal UNHCR definition of a refugee, establishing forced-to-flee narratives, centering persecution, and corroborating well-founded fear. Collectively, stories mask what leads to persecution and distribute power to essentialized “safe” countries resettling refugees. The implications call for diversity of representation and invite teachers to critically unpack contexts of refugee flight.

It’s all about the story: Personal narratives in children’s literature about refugees

“…Strekalova‐Hughes's (2019) analysis of picture books about refugees argues for an increase in the diversity of representations of refugee experiences, suggesting ‘Families and children could add their own representation in the stories for authentic purposes’ (p. 37). The stories in the books we are focusing on are a type of representation that Strekalova‐Hughes calls for.…”

“…Encouraging personal storytelling can ‘[help] … young asylum seekers to reestablish their sense of the past in relation to the here‐and‐now’ (Baraitser, 2014, p. 29). But in doing this, it is important to not ‘perpetuate assumptions that children from refugee backgrounds are defined entirely by their traumatic experiences’ (Strekalova‐Hughes, 2019, p. 34). Notwithstanding this caution, Parsons (2016) articulates the significant role that educators have in being open to stories their students tell: ‘Listening to our students' stories, bearing witness to them, and responding in ways that validate children's realities and experiences are among the most important things teachers do’ (p. 25).…”

“…Children's asylum‐seeker life writing has received less direct scholarly attention (Douglas, 2006). The development of RefugeeCrit and its application to children's literature and storytelling has opened new ways of examining how power, agency and authority are interrogated in the field (Strekalova‐Hughes, 2019; Strekalova‐Hughes et al, 2019; Strekalova‐Hughes & Wang, 2019).…”

Countering Dominant Discourses and Reaffirming Cultural Identities of Learners From Refugee Backgrounds

“…Picture books about refugee flight often lack cultural depth as well as sociopolitical and historical contexts of displacement (Strekalova-Hughes, 2019). Without this crucial framing, these stories implicitly suggest that students' home countries are inherently broken and that their cultures are pathologically predisposed to senseless violence (Strekalova-Hughes, 2019). Although generally created with good intentions, such picture books do not support students such as Deng or Azzami-they fail to depict the rich histories or hopeful futures of their homelands.…”

“…Although Ms. Wolf's intentions were positive, assumptions about Azzami's identity and experiences reinforced negative perceptions among his classmates and spurred his discomfort. Picture books about refugee flight often lack cultural depth as well as sociopolitical and historical contexts of displacement (Strekalova-Hughes, 2019). Without this crucial framing, these stories implicitly suggest that students' home countries are inherently broken and that their cultures are pathologically predisposed to senseless violence (Strekalova-Hughes, 2019).…”