Child Migrant Voices in Modern Britain

Eithne Nightingale is a Postdoctoral Research Assistant at Queen Mary University of London and V&A Museum of Childhood, UK. She is the co-editor, along with Richard Sandell, of Museums, Equality and Social Justice (2012). She is also an award-winning writer, photographer and filmmaker, and is currently involved in producing multi-media content on child migration (www.childmigrantstories.com) and experiences of home during the Covid-19 pandemic (www.stayhomestories.co.uk).

• List of IllustrationsAcknowledgementsIntroductionResearching Child Migration1. “If Then, Why Not Now?”: Blanca Stern (nee Schreiber) and Necha (Natalie) Gluck (nee Dux) who arrived from Austria, aged 8 and 10 respectively, in 1938 2. No Man’s Land: Duncan Ross who arrived from India, aged eight, in 19563. Precious Cargo: Argun Imamzade who arrived from Cyprus, aged fourteen, in 19644. Following Mum to the ‘Motherland’: Richard Lue and Roberta who arrived, aged 7 and 8 respectively, from Jamaica in 1964 5. “I Much Prefer Roasted Rat”: Maurice Nwokeji who arrived, aged nine, from Nigeria, in 19706. The Battle of Brick Lane: Six young people who arrived from East Pakistan subsequently Bangladesh, aged eleven to sixteen, between 1969 and 19737. A Pakistani Scot with a Mid-Atlantic Drawl: Zohra who arrived from Pakistan in 1975 8. Out of her depth: Linh Vu who arrived, aged seven, from Vietnam in 19799. A Child Soldier Who Knew Too Much: Henry Bran who arrived, aged seventeen, from El Salvador in 1981 10. “Caught in a Flow of Water”: Eylem Binboga who arrived, aged twelve, from Turkey in 198711. Love of the Motherland: Ahmed Ali, originally from Somaliland, who arrived, aged eleven, via Djibouti in 2004; Said who arrived, aged sixteen, from Somalia in 2012 12: Girl Power – finding a talent and following a dream: Bilqis who arrived from Yemen in 2005 and Nimo, aged fifteen, who arrived from Somaliland, in 200913: Chapter 13: On Her Own: Mariam who arrived, aged sixteen, from Guinea in 200614: “Home is Where the Love Is”: Yosef, originally from Eritrea, who arrived aged sixteen, in 2011 15. Seeking Sanctuary on a Scottish Island Syrian children who arrived from Lebanon, aged six – sixteen, on the Isle of Bute, Scotland in 2015 16“We will win”: Mariia who arrived, aged thirteen, from Ukraine in 2022 Conclusion: “If I had a magic wand”: Final thoughts and insights

Eithne Nightingale’s compendium of modern British child migrant stories is an important book. Yet for [the reviewer], it has been a difficult read; not because it is a bad book, but because of its sobering historical details and its ongoing tragic topicality.