General Reminders:
The goal is to go in-depth into the reasons for migration. A story should evolve about ‘why the child left his/her home’ or a story about ‘why now’.
Therefore, these questions should just guide the conversation. It is fine if the child wants to tell a story related to a question. The questions aren’t only to collect data- they should also generate a stories. Simply take notes on the story, and ask further probing questions if appropriate, then return to the listed questions.
Of course, adhere to all of the points made during preparation, including making the child comfortable, the voluntary nature of the interview, finding a quiet space, and anonymity.
The interview is estimated to take 60-90 minutes.
Purpose- Introduce yourself; explain your role in ORR. The reason we want to talk with you is to understand why children leave Central America. We are going to ask you some questions. We are going to take notes during the conversation so that we don’t forget what you say. However, your name will not be in these notes. Anything you say will be kept anonymous unless you tell us that someone is hurting you. Your safety in the shelter is very important. So, if someone is hurting you or has hurt you, we have to tell someone, just like the staff at the shelter have to tell someone.
We are talking to 25 children like you. Because we are not using your name or anything to identify you, nobody will know which 25 children of the thousands of children in shelters told their stories to us.
Like we said, the stories will not have anyone’s names. Plus, if you tell us something that is so particular about you, so unique that someone would know it is you, we will not include that information.
The people reading the stories will be people who work for the government and people who work to help immigrant children.
This is voluntary. You can stop answering questions at any time. You can also take a break at any time. (offer a break at each section, suggesting water or the bathroom)
We are going to ask questions very similar to other people, but we are trying to better understand why children leave Central America, so we have to begin at the beginning again. We want to know your story- why did you leave your home.
You
can ask questions if you don’t understand a word that we use,
or don’t understand why we are asking the question, do not
hesitate to ask us; you are more adept at the language than we are.
First we are going to talk about you and your life in our country of origin. Remember that we will not use your name in our work but I would like to use the name that you prefer while we talk during the interview. We will use a pretend name when we write down your story.
Biography:
Create an ID#: (this can be Interviewer’s name followed by the case number. For example, if Mary was the interviewer, the cases would be Mary1, Mary2, Mary3)
Gender: (selected by the interviewer)
Male
Female
Intersex
How do you feel speaking Spanish? Would you prefer an interpreter to help us in the interview? If an interpreter is preferred, pause the interview until one can be obtained.
Is Spanish your first language?
Yes
No
Do you speak another language?
Yes
No
What other languages do you speak with your family, with your friends, and in school (give examples: Quiche, Canjobal)
Indicate if the child belongs to an indigenous group
Yes
No
To which indigenous group does he or she belong?
How old are you?
What year were you born?
Where are you from?
Guatemala
Honduras
El Salvador
City or village:
Is the place you were born urban (city/village) or rural (countryside)?
Urban
Rural
Did you grow up in the same place you were born?
Yes
No
If no: Where else have you lived since you were born? (during the summer or other times with family, went and returned for work or study for a time, at a boarding school or other shelter, etc.) and with whom did you live in each location?
What did you do before you left your country (may be more than one)?
Study
Work
Help the family
Other
Describe your studies: What grade did you go through? Did you go part time or full time? Why did you stop going?
Describe the work: did you work part time or full time? What work did you do? What was it like?
Describe the help you gave your family: How did you help your family? Where?
What did you like to do in your country (for fun, care for animals or have a pet)?
What was a normal day like. Describe a typical day. You woke up, and then what, and then what, and then what. (If possible, have them describe the chores, what their home was like, who they ate with, a day in their life, this type of information)?
This is a good time to remind the children that all the information they share is anonymous, and that we will not share the identities of them or their families.
Family
In this section, draw a Family Tree to aid the conversation about family structure. Write the interview ID number on the document. Reiterate during the questions and at the end that identities will not be shared.
Now we are going to focus on your family. Please remember that this information is anonymous. We are going to use this paper which is called a “Family Tree” to help us. Do you have any questions before we continue? (Offer water, the bathroom, or a snack)
Do you have brothers or sisters or half-brothers or -sisters?
Yes
No
If yes: How many total?
If yes: What number are you (in the birth order)? (ex:1/4)
Are they all brothers/sisters of your two parents?
Yes
No
Describe (are they half brothers/sisters, on which side, mother or father, if it’s applicable):
Do you have children?
Yes
No
If yes: How many
If yes: Where are they?
Are there other children that lived in your house that aren’t the children of your mom or dad?
Who raised you? (father, mother or other family members like grandmother/grandfather or aunt/uncle or stepfather/stepmother. If someone else raised them, note if they refer to them as “mom” or “dad”)
Father
Mother
Grandfather
Grandmother
Step-father
Step-mother
Uncle
Aunt
Brother
Sister
Other
Where are the people who raised you?
Country of origin
USA
Deceased
Imprisoned
Location unknown
Where are your brothers/sisters?
Country of origin
USA
Deceased
Imprisoned
Location unknown
Who kept the house/people in it?
Father
Mother
Grandfather
Grandmother
Step-father
Step-mother
Uncle
Aunt
Brother
Sister
Who in the house worked?
Father
Mother
Grandfather
Grandmother
Step-father
Step-mother
Uncle
Aunt
Brother
Sister
Other
What did they do for work?
Estimate the number of people living in the house:
With whom did you spend most of your time in the house?
Father
Mother
Grandfather
Grandmother
Step-father
Step-mother
Uncle
Aunt
Brother
Sister
Other
Do you have family in the United States?
Yes
No
If yes: Who are they?
Father
Mother
Grandfather
Grandmother
Step-father
Step-mother
Uncle
Aunt
Brother
Sister
Other
If yes: Do you know how long have they been in the United States (or in what grade you were or how old you were when they left)?
If yes, do they have other children in the U.S.
Yes
No
Do you know anyone else (friends or neighbors) in the United States?
Yes
No
If
yes: Who are they, do you know how long they’ve been in the
U.S.?
Leaving the Country
Now we are going to talk about your decision to come to the United States. Do you have any questions before we begin? (Offer water, bathroom break, or snack)
Did you want to leave your country?
Yes
No
If yes: Why? What was the most important reason?
Tell me more about that.
Beside the first reason, were there other reasons? What were they?
Tell me more about that.
If no: Where did the idea come from for you to make the trip?
If idea came from someone else: What was their most important reason? Why?
Tell me more about that.
If idea came from someone else: Did they have other reasons for wanting you to leave your country? What were they?
Tell me more about that.
Is there anyone who made you suffer anytime in your country or in your house?
If yes, please tell me about that.
Is there anyone who ever hurt you in your country or in your house?
If yes, please tell me more about what happened.
Did anyone ever hurt someone you know, like family, friend, or neighbor?
If yes, please tell me more about what happened.
Have you ever been in danger in your country or in your home?
If yes, please tell me about that.
In your home country, has anyone ever threatened you or your family?
If yes, please tell me about that.
In your home country, has anyone ever required “taxes” or “fees”, extorted money from you or your family?
If yes, please tell me about that.
In your home country, if something bad or scary were to happen to you, is there someone you can call or ask for help, like the police?
If yes: What would they do to help?
In your house, was there enough food for everyone? How often did you eat, and was there enough food?
Sometimes people cry. What things made you cry in your home country or your home?
Sometimes people laugh. What things made you laugh in your home country or your home?
What do you think would happen to you in the future if you stayed in your country?
When you were in your home country, did you know how the U.S. immigration system works or how to get your papers?
Yes
No
If yes, can you tell me more about that?
Did you make plans with people at home to earn money to send it back to them?
If yes, please tell me more about that.
While you were back home, did you make plans to go to school in the U.S.?
If yes, please tell me more about that.
Did you want to come specifically to the U.S.?
Yes
No
If no: Where did you want to go?
With whom did you plan to live in the U.S.?
Did anyone say or advise you not to make the trip, and what did they tell you?
Did you hear anything on the television about going to the U.S.?
If yes, please tell me about it.
Did you hear anything on the television advising you not to make the trip?
If yes, please tell me about it.
How about the radio? Did you hear anything about going to the U.S.?
If yes, please tell me about it.
Did you hear anything on the radio advising you not to make the trip?
If yes, please tell me about it.
If you heard anything on television or radio, what did you think of it?
Mark in the following boxes the reasons the child decided to leave if they are applicable:
To reunite with mother or father in the U.S.
To reunite with other relative / friend in the U.S.
To help the family
To pay off a debt (of the family)
Promise of work / study
Possible work / study
A better life / hope
Violence in the home
Violence in the community (gangs)
Violence in the community (police / government / military)
Fear for some reason
Possible trafficking case
Other
Do you know of other children leaving to go to countries other than the United States? In other words, do children from your home leave for any other country like Costa Rica, Belize, Nicaragua, Mexico, or other countries?
Why did you choose to go to the United States instead of going to another country?
This is the final part of our conversation, I know it has been long and I thank you for all your time and words.
You know that we are doing this work to better understand why so many youth are arriving in the U.S. Why do you think that more youth are migrating from your country to the U.S. now than a few years ago?
This year, there was a very big number of people who came to the U.S. in May and June. Do you have ideas about why so many people came in May and June?
Then, in July, August, and September, the number of people who came to the U.S. was lower? Do you have ideas about why the number is lower now?
Is there anything else you want to share with us?
Closure. Restate purpose and anonymity. Reintegration to shelter activity.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | UNHCRUser |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2021-01-26 |