Voice of Ireland? Children and music within asylum seeker accommodation

Abstract

This article examines the musical lives of children of asylum seekers living under direct provision in Ireland. Direct Provision is a controversial state system of communal housing for asylum seekers while they wait for their refugee applications to be processed. One third of all asylum seekers living under Direct Provision in Ireland are children. A knowledge gap exists on the cultural rights and needs of these marginalised children. Through participatory methods, the research presented examines the role of music for these children within one of the direct provision settings as well as their musical values, identities, and types of musical participation engaged in. Data was collected through six participatory music workshops, video observations, a researcher reflective log and focus group interviews. There were 11 children involved aged between 7–12 years, representing six nationalities and both genders. Findings reveal the importance and relevance of the contexts of music-making within temporary accommodation settings as well as the broader national and international contexts of children living within asylum seeking systems.

Policy and leadership discourses in Sweden’s Art and Music Schools: the inclusion of refugee children

“…The SAMS system provides society with the opportunity to challenge exclusiveness and elitism, bridge between cultures and contribute to democratic participation. The potential of music schools to function as a 'change agent' has also been argued in previous research (see Burnard et al 2008;Karlsen and Westerlund 2010;Benedict et al 2015;SOU 2016:69;Björk et al 2018;Kenny 2018; Di Lorenzo Tillborg 2019); however, for SAMS, strategies to enhance accessibility and to include are also of utmost importance for the continued existence and legitimacy of the schools themselves. As has been argued, governmentally subsidised SAMS are required to be of relevance for all children and youth.…”

“…As mentioned, migration involves complex processes of cultural maintenance and acculturation for immigrants (Karlsen and Westerlund 2010;Kenny 2018). We would add that such processes are at play also for the SAMS themselves.…”

“…Because social constructions of target groups have an impact on the possibilities for individuals to be empowered (Ballantyne and Mills 2008) and to develop forms of agency (Schneider, Ingram, and Deleon 2014;Kenny 2018), the construction of 'newly arrived' as (at least potentially) similar and of individuals with 'foreign backgrounds' as different could empower and strengthen the social agency of people considered newly arrived, while those considered to fall within the category of individuals with foreign backgrounds could experience less support and encouragement from society. For the 'refugees', their construction as objects for inclusion policies might not enforce empowerment at all but rather instigate in the context a necessity for acts of care and concern.…”

Body Politics: Positioning the Pregnant Researcher Amongst Asylum Seekers

“…For the purposes of this chapter, I revisit a study carried out in one DP centre in the mid-west of Ireland (see Kenny 2018). The research took a qualitative case study approach where I was both researcher and music facilitator.…”

Flourishing in Resonance: Joint Resilience Building Through Music and Motion

“…Evidently, children do not start at zero after arrival in a host country. They bring along traditions, experiences, their language, beliefs and values, stories and songs, all being part of their cultural wealth (He et al, 2015;Kenny, 2018). This induces a renegotiation of cultural meanings and norms, which is arguably an important part of building resilience (Kenny, 2018;Erdemir, 2021).…”