RECONCEPTUALIZATIONS OF MIGRANT YOUTH SAFETY: LESSONS FROM PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH ALONG THE THAI MYANMAR BORDER

This qualitative, participatory study, guided by decolonial research theory and student-centered teaching methodologies, explores the complex experiences and perceptions of safety among migrant youth in Mae Sot, Thailand. Centered are the voices of twenty displaced youth from Myanmar/Burma, who were participants of a six-month Youth Champions fellowship hosted by an educational nonprofit in Mae Sot from July-December 2024. The study, conducted during the first four weeks of the fellowship, aimed to generate new knowledge on migrant youth safety through participatory research while also fostering youth personal and skill development through teaching and learning. In centering migrant youth perspectives, this research challenges dominant academic narratives and presents a framework for understanding safety that extends beyond traditional conceptualizations of migrant youth safety in international development.

Findings reveal that migrant youth in Myanmar have been deeply affected by the compounded crises of the COVID-19 pandemic, school closures, the military coup, and military conscription laws. Through an intersectional lens, this study underscores both the compounded vulnerabilities and complex strengths of migrant youth, including multiple forms of adaptive resilience. This study also highlights youth-led conceptualizations of safety, including conscious and unconscious safety, critical views of peace and governance as foundations for safety, and a liminal sense of relative safety between Myanmar and Thailand.

This study calls for integrated support systems that address migrant youth needs across multiple dimensions, with a focus on education, critical pedagogy, and systems thinking as essential tools to enhance both conscious and unconscious safety. Additionally, this research advocates for participatory, decolonial methodologies that prioritize youth voices, facilitate power-sharing, and provide opportunities for healing and cultural reclamation during transnational research.