Complexity of Parenthood in Forced Migration: Risk, Commitment and Moral Dilemma

Based on the narration of Syrian refugees who were parents at the time of their migration to Europe, this study explores their understanding of the risks involved in the clandestine journey that included sea crossing. In particular, it delves into the transformation of their risk comprehension throughout their narratives. This highlights the contrast between their pre-migration and post-migration risk perceptions and their justifications for undertaking the perilous journey.

In the part of the narrative recalling their pre-migration risk assessment, the commitment to their children was an unstoppable driver for parents to face the perilous journey. At that time, their risk assessment was imbued with a personal and normative value rooted in the feeling of parental duty to provide a safe environment and a sense of future for their children. Parents reasoned that undertaking the risky migration journey was more reasonable than failing to save their children from life in Syria or Turkey.

Although migrating over the sea was fraught with danger, they saw it as the only way to fulfil their parental duty, viewing themselves as virtuous parents. However, when asked to reassess the risk from the perspective of their settled lives, they judged it generally as unrecommendable, unjustifiable, and irrational.

This contradiction is particularly pronounced among parents who embark on journeys with young children. Their testimonies highlight that the functional benefit of migration manifested in providing immediate safety and a sense of future for children does not alleviate the moral dilemma of exposing them to potentially fatal risks. A closer reading of the narratives revealed that the dilemma has a pronounced age- and gender-intersectional character.