Independent not Unaccompanied, Ambitious not Afraid: A Rejoinder to Elaine Chase

May 30, 2016 – Stanford Mahati. Early this month, Elaine Chase told us how child migrants in Europe struggle to plan for their own future. In this week’s rejoinder, Stanford Mahati argues that we have underestimated the considerable capacity of child migrants to make their own migration plans and establish their own livelihoods in South Africa. He asks us to abandon the term ‘unaccompanied minors’ and instead begin to think about the ways we can assist ‘independent migrant children’ to realise their personal goals.