02/11/2024
🔄 FREELANCER
Sheikh Musse [ 2024 ]
From the of people with an immigrant background : & Challenges of . !.
Living as a young person with an immigrant background brings with it many challenges, especially when dealing with authorities, guidance counsellors or other actors.
The attitudes and practices of these professionals directly affect how young people are treated and how their needs are met. If counsellors approach their work through stereotypes, unconscious prejudices or even overt anti-immigrant attitudes, this will prevent equal treatment and increase the risk of exclusion.
When young people feel belittled or excluded, this undermines their trust in the authorities and reduces their willingness to participate in social activities such as education or employment.
It is clear that the attitudes of authorities and guidance staff have a profound impact on young people's lives: Whether they are treated as individuals or only as immigrants.
As a " young person with an immigrant background"?
CulturalSensitivity & the importance of AntiRacism work.
Many young people stress that cultural sensitivity is key to their encounter. This means that counsellors should be aware of different backgrounds and cultural backgrounds, but without exaggerating or simplifying these differences.
Young people's identities can be multidimensional and they may not want to be defined only by their culture. Young people need to be recognised as individuals with their own unique needs, interests and interests.
Active anti-racism work is also expected from actors and facilitators.
Simply identifying discrimination is not enough - it must also be systematically addressed.
This requires continuous training and self-awareness-raising for counsellors to understand their own potential privileges and the impact of structural racism. Equality requires that young people feel heard and seen without being automatically perceived as problematic or at risk of exclusion simply because of their background.
Young people hope that mentors will not only support them in individual situations, but will work on a long-term basis to dismantle discriminatory and racist structures.
This is essential for successful integration and for young people to feel part of society. Without this ongoing work, the risk of exclusion increases.
- Heritage Inclusion Collective
Responsibility & Penalties
Collective responsibility and punishment are particularly harmful for young people.
This means that a whole group or community is held responsible for the actions of one individual.
For example, if a young person from an immigrant background commits a crime or behaves in a disruptive way, the whole group is easily labelled as "problematic" or "maladjusted". As a result, all young people from a migrant background face suspicion, discrimination or even outright racism, even if they have nothing to do with individual cases.
For young people, this is deeply unfair and affects their perception of their opportunities. Constantly living under suspicion increases the sense of inequality and can create deep frustration. Collective punishment often reflects unconscious prejudice and structural racism, where young people from a migrant background are automatically seen as suspect and problematic.
In addition, young people from a migrant background may be expected to constantly prove their "worthiness" or "integration" into society. This creates additional pressures that can affect their well-being, school performance and mental health. When young people feel that they are judged more harshly than their peers of the same ethnicity, this increases the sense of injustice they experience.
- The Way Forward.
Young people want to be treated as individuals, on the basis of their own actions and abilities, without their background determining how they are treated. Instead of collective punishment and blame, it is important to promote individual encounter and support. Each young person is unique and their experiences and needs vary greatly. This will avoid reinforcing stereotypes and allow all young people to develop to their full potential without additional barriers.
Young people from a migrant background want to be treated equally and without prejudice. They want their potential to be recognised and to be given the opportunity to build their lives without their background creating additional barriers. Cultural sensitivity, anti-racism work and individualised support can create an environment in which every young person has a genuine chance to succeed and become part of society.
Summary
From the perspective of a young person from a migrant background, it is clear that attitudes play a huge role. Equal attitudes on the part of instructors and actors, as well as cultural sensitivity, are key to enabling young people to feel part of society. Instead of collective responsibility and punishment, the focus should be on individual encounter and support, so that every young person can feel seen as themselves, without any additional prejudices or stereotypes.
By: Mahad Sheikh Musse's experience as an immigrant, youth work professional and media freelancer,with years of experience working with authorities and different communities.
SFP MEDIA 🔄 FREELANCER episode 1/2024
Sheikh Musse [ podcast ]
