This paper draws on Bourdieu’s concept of habitus to examine how a group of young refugees negotiated the challenges and opportunities they experienced in pursuit of their aspirations and educational desire during the early stages of their resettlement in Australia. Habitus is mapped through close examination of how they came to embody what they deemed worthwhile career goals and how their aspirations were predicated on the collective experiences of forced migration they had endured with their families and communities. Their stories were captured through interviews and visual narrative accounts of significant events in their lives before and during resettlement, as well as their aspirations for possible futures in Australia. The analysis of data revealed that, notwithstanding the challenges they had encountered, the young people had high hopes for the future and most of them aspired for high status jobs, such as doctors and lawyers, a phenomenon that had a much deeper resonance with the archetype of the ‘wounded healer’ (Jung, 1951) than a desire for high reward career prospects. Key to the success of their resettlement transitions was the compassionate approach adopted by the people who worked with them, many of whom came to Australia as refugees, and their active involvement in decision-making and participation in collaborative community building.

Authors:
Mohamed Moustakim, Western Sydney University, Australia

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Mohamed Moustakim is a University Associate Professor/Senior Lecturer at Western Sydney University in Australia

See this presentation on the full schedule – Sunday Schedule

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