“Becoming Mama Montse”. Adolescent Central American Asylum Seekers in Mexico Fleeing Gangs

Keywords: Asylum, unaccompanied minors, gang violence, methodology
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Tuesday
Session Start / End Time: 3/1/2022 11:20 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 3/1/2022 12:40 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 13

Abstract

At this presentation I would like to present the first chapter of my dissertation thesis that examine in depth the experiences of Central American adolescents with backgrounds as gang members (MS-13 and 18th Street Gang) as they flee their home countries and traverse the asylum process in Mexico. The goal of the chapter “Becoming Mama Montse” is to discuss the methodological issues that I confronted while doing fieldwork on a migrant shelter in Mexico from August 2020 to March 2021. Methodology has always been a concern in feminist research, leading scholars to use innovative or participative methods, above all in doing research with vulnerable subjects, such as unaccompanied minor migrants. At the shelter I was collaborating not just as researcher but as a volunteer on a regular basis over the duration of eight months. In this chapter I define the work that I did as activist research. Particularly, I was in charge of the protection and integration for the unaccompanied minor migrants’ area. In this chapter I make a discussion about my journey as a volunteer-researcher, the challenges of doing activist research, as well as positionality and reflexivity issues. I’m going to explain why I became the adolescent’s mother, how my methods changed along the way in response to the adolescents needs, as well as my privileged positionality as a Mexican mestiza researcher.