The Journeys of Child Refugees, Lost and Rediscovered
Using the concept of place, this chapter explores the child survivors who came to Britain after the end of the war and initially settled in the Lake District. It explores how the heritage of the area, which is dominated by William Wordsworth, both excluded but has recently managed to include the experiences of these children as ‘Wandering Jews’. It provides a longer term history of such child refugees by incorporating the experiences of Serbian refugees who were sent to British schools in the First World War and how and why they have subsequently been forgotten. The experiences of the Holocaust survivor children is explored, especially with regard to place identity. Finally the chapter concludes by considering contemporary child migrants with the focus on those who attempt to reach the USA from central America and why concepts such as children’s rights has not impacted on their negative treatment,