"Nobody was on my side." The Longing for Belonging of a Former Unaccompanied Refugee

Researching migrated youths is a current topic due to the ongoing migratory movement in conflict zones and therefore also to Switzerland and other European countries. The 2015 refugee crisis brought the topic to the international agenda again. Children and youths who leave their country permanently without adult guardian are considered unaccompanied minor refugees. With no adult person to turn to, it is a burning question how he or she will create new bonds of belonging in an all-new environment.
This thesis is a case study portraying Ali, a young Hazara from Afghanistan, who came to Switzerland as an unaccompanied minor refugee in 2015. In order to examine how he engages in the process of creating new bonds, Elspeth Probyn's (1996) concept of belonging is applied as it includes dimensions of people, places, modes of being, and the desire of wanting to belong.
Over the past fourteen months I conducted qualitative research in Switzerland, spending most of the time one-on-one with Ali. With the chosen research design of anthropology at home and the focus on one research participant, methodological questions are addressed with a reflexive approach.
This thesis contributes to a biographical research whereby a holistic reconstruction of belonging is aimed for. Through the topics of war memories, sports and language, important insights about Ali's seeking for belonging are explored. By his example I draw a nuanced picture of the big actions in the process as well as the subtleties that allow him to create a sense of belonging.