Invisible children? Non-recognition, humanitarian blindness and other forms of ignorance in Sabah, Malaysia
Invisible children? Non-recognition, humanitarian blindness and other forms of ignorance in Sabah, Malaysia
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DOI：
10.1177/0308275x20959435
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发表时间：
2020-10-12
影响因子：
1.2
通讯作者：
Allerton, Catherine
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Allerton, Catherine
在马来西亚的沙巴州，公众对大量移徙工人的存在感到反感，这使人们普遍不了解他们的子女在教育和其他方面受到排斥。移民的孩子在沙巴文化话语中被忽视，因为他们不被认为是适当的主体，甚至不被认为是“正常”的孩子。当地报纸的报道认为，这些儿童担心“非法移民”及其对未来沙巴公民的威胁。这种论述借鉴了对儿童应得性的特殊理解，并利用了科恩所描述的“中和技术”。然而，这种明显的故意视而不见，最好是通过考虑不同形式的无知和否认来理解。这包括有权有势的人公然不承认，他们本应更了解其工人的子女，志愿教师无视人道主义，过分强调教育的拯救力量，以及移民子女本身对复杂情况的无知。了解其他可能更善意或保护性的拒绝形式，对于理解对移民儿童处境的复杂性的无知如何继续下去至关重要，即使是在那些希望解决这个问题的人中。
In the Malaysian state of Sabah, public antipathy towards the presence of large numbers of migrant workers influences a widespread ignorance of the educational and other exclusions of their children. Children of migrants are rendered invisible in Sabahan cultural discourse because they are not recognized as proper subjects, or even as 'normal' children. Cultural denial of such children's circumstances can be seen in local newspaper reports that consider such children with reference to fears of 'illegals' and their threat to future Sabahan citizens. This discourse draws on a particular understanding of child deservingness, and utilizes what Cohen describes as 'neutralization techniques'. However, such apparently wilful blindness can best be understood by considering it on a spectrum of different forms of ignorance and denial. This includes the blatant lack of recognition afforded by powerful individuals who should be more aware of the children of their workers, the humanitarian blindness of volunteer teachers who over-emphasize the saving power of education, and the complex and situational ignorance of children of migrants themselves. Appreciating other, potentially more benign or protective, forms of denial is crucial to understanding how ignorance of the complexity of the situation of children of migrants continues, even among those hoping to resolve it.