The author discusses various aspects of childhood and impacts on childhood as they are mirrored in literary works written by sixty Slovenian émigré writers. She is interested in how émigré literature pictured for Slovenian emigrant children themes like childhood in the old country and life in the new homeland, what these children actually experienced within and outside their families in different historical periods of Slovenian emigration, and how all this influenced their world views as well as the typical features of the generation gap in migrant context. The author compares some thematic characteristics of Slovenian émigré literature with similar elements found in the works written by immigrant writers in Slovenia.
KEY WORDS: Slovenian émigré literature, childhood, idealisation of homeland, nostalgia, generation gap

The author discusses various aspects of childhood and impacts on childhood as they are mirrored in literary works written by sixty Slovenian émigré writers. She is interested in how émigré literature pictured for Slovenian emigrant children themes like childhood in the old country and life in the new homeland, what these children actually experienced within and outside their families in different historical periods of Slovenian emigration, and how all this influenced their world views as well as the typical features of the generation gap in migrant context. The author compares some thematic characteristics of Slovenian émigré literature with similar elements found in the works written by immigrant writers in Slovenia.
KEY WORDS: Slovenian émigré literature, childhood, idealisation of homeland, nostalgia, generation gap

(Continuous) temporary employment of diplomats abroad is a form of migration. The article focuses on the population of children of diplomats and the question of the (re)socialisation processes they experience when moving abroad with their parents. The interpretative scheme of the article is based on the theory of the social construction of reality (Berger, Luckmann) and the theory of acculturation (Redfield), while employing the concept of hegemony (Althusser) and processes of stigmatisation (Goffman). Examples of turbulences discussed are: language competence, status incongruence, status of a foreigner, stigma, split personality, generational conflict, and processes of reintegration upon returning back home, bearing in mind that return in the social/cultural sense, and above all in terms of identity, is not possible.
KEYWORDS: migration, resocialisation, acculturation, diplomacy, children

(Continuous) temporary employment of diplomats abroad is a form of migration. The article focuses on the population of children of diplomats and the question of the (re)socialisation processes they experience when moving abroad with their parents. The interpretative scheme of the article is based on the theory of the social construction of reality (Berger, Luckmann) and the theory of acculturation (Redfield), while employing the concept of hegemony (Althusser) and processes of stigmatisation (Goffman). Examples of turbulences discussed are: language competence, status incongruence, status of a foreigner, stigma, split personality, generational conflict, and processes of reintegration upon returning back home, bearing in mind that return in the social/cultural sense, and above all in terms of identity, is not possible.
KEYWORDS: migration, resocialisation, acculturation, diplomacy, children

A presentation of the difficulties of defining the childhood and children in cultural and historical studies is followed by a presentation of the different forms of positioning children in the migration process and the making of decisions about them. Each form is illustrated with examples from research projects, based on auto/biographical sources and narrative descriptions of subjective migration experience. The conclusion argues that migration researchers take into account the subjectivity of the “objects” of their research projects and humanize the migrants, especially their children. In this way, the text combines the children in the historical context of Slovenian emigration with the children in the context of immigration to Slovenia today in a united story.
KEY WORDS: the positioning of children in migration contexts, Slovenian emigration, stigmatization of children migrants

A presentation of the difficulties of defining the childhood and children in cultural and historical studies is followed by a presentation of the different forms of positioning children in the migration process and the making of decisions about them. Each form is illustrated with examples from research projects, based on auto/biographical sources and narrative descriptions of subjective migration experience. The conclusion argues that migration researchers take into account the subjectivity of the “objects” of their research projects and humanize the migrants, especially their children. In this way, the text combines the children in the historical context of Slovenian emigration with the children in the context of immigration to Slovenia today in a united story.
KEY WORDS: the positioning of children in migration contexts, Slovenian emigration, stigmatization of children migrants

The filsrouge of this thematic issue is migrations and children’s involvement in them, from all aspects and using theoretical and methodological approaches from various areas of the humanities and social sciences. In comparison with adults, children are a relatively unnoticed part of mobile populations. We cannot extract them from the family and the broader context, and definitions of when we are talking about children and/or youths are unclear. The line is hard to determine. They are more likely to be parts of unseen rather than noticeable events in the migration process. They are undoubtedly a part of the family environment, except in cases of forced migration, e.g. during wartime, when they become separated from their parents (Gombač 2005). Childhood is therefore relatively difficult to pin down. It is true that the world of adults prevails, and that children and youths are subordinated to the vicissitudes of the broader and not least the family environment. Particularly when they migrate abroad their lives, development and integration into the new environment is more difficult, since they face numerous obstacles, from unfamiliarity with the language in the immigrant environment to new foods, inclusion in various school systems etc. On the other hand we have to emphasize the positive aspects of their lives in immigrant environments, which include the learning of numerous languages, as they lived in many different countries and ethnic areas. They also had an advantage in education, as long as their parents encouraged them, which was dependent on their education and their desire to climb the social ladder. In Europe and overseas, e.g. in the United States of America, they had better living conditions, enjoyed the benefits of a high standard of living, but on the other hand had to work hard from an early age. There were problems for children and youths when families fell apart and were scattered over various parts of the world. This separation, particularly in early childhood, when they could not hide behind their parents’ skirts, gave many of them a feeling of being unwanted and different, while many children grew up in extended families and were passed from hand to hand. At least the male part if the emigrants worked from morning to night, while the mothers raised and cared for the children. In the case of seasonal work the mothers left their children at home with relatives. The majority of the children and youths abroad grew up in the streets, and received their formal education in church or school. This is particularly true of the early days of Slovenian migration, e.g. during the period of mass emigration to the United States of America and later in the 20th century.

The filsrouge of this thematic issue is migrations and children’s involvement in them, from all aspects and using theoretical and methodological approaches from various areas of the humanities and social sciences. In comparison with adults, children are a relatively unnoticed part of mobile populations. We cannot extract them from the family and the broader context, and definitions of when we are talking about children and/or youths are unclear. The line is hard to determine. They are more likely to be parts of unseen rather than noticeable events in the migration process. They are undoubtedly a part of the family environment, except in cases of forced migration, e.g. during wartime, when they become separated from their parents (Gombač 2005). Childhood is therefore relatively difficult to pin down. It is true that the world of adults prevails, and that children and youths are subordinated to the vicissitudes of the broader and not least the family environment. Particularly when they migrate abroad their lives, development and integration into the new environment is more difficult, since they face numerous obstacles, from unfamiliarity with the language in the immigrant environment to new foods, inclusion in various school systems etc. On the other hand we have to emphasize the positive aspects of their lives in immigrant environments, which include the learning of numerous languages, as they lived in many different countries and ethnic areas. They also had an advantage in education, as long as their parents encouraged them, which was dependent on their education and their desire to climb the social ladder. In Europe and overseas, e.g. in the United States of America, they had better living conditions, enjoyed the benefits of a high standard of living, but on the other hand had to work hard from an early age. There were problems for children and youths when families fell apart and were scattered over various parts of the world. This separation, particularly in early childhood, when they could not hide behind their parents’ skirts, gave many of them a feeling of being unwanted and different, while many children grew up in extended families and were passed from hand to hand. At least the male part if the emigrants worked from morning to night, while the mothers raised and cared for the children. In the case of seasonal work the mothers left their children at home with relatives. The majority of the children and youths abroad grew up in the streets, and received their formal education in church or school. This is particularly true of the early days of Slovenian migration, e.g. during the period of mass emigration to the United States of America and later in the 20th century.

Croats in Hungary have a long history. They are deeply rooted in the Hungarian territory. The cultural and linguistic diversity of the Croatian minority in Hungary is larger than in other countries. Each ethnic group of Croats in Hungary is distinctive. Some of them moved to parts of Hungary during the Turkish occupation of Croatian territory or during the Turkish occupation of central parts of former Hungarian territory, or after getting free from Turkish rule in the period from the fi fteenth to the eighteenth century.
KEY WORDS: Croats, Croatian minority, Hungary, policy, culture, language

Croats in Hungary have a long history. They are deeply rooted in the Hungarian territory. The cultural and linguistic diversity of the Croatian minority in Hungary is larger than in other countries. Each ethnic group of Croats in Hungary is distinctive. Some of them moved to parts of Hungary during the Turkish occupation of Croatian territory or during the Turkish occupation of central parts of former Hungarian territory, or after getting free from Turkish rule in the period from the fi fteenth to the eighteenth century.
KEY WORDS: Croats, Croatian minority, Hungary, policy, culture, language