Beyond The Victim: The Politics and Ethics of Empowering Cairo's Street Children
Street children-abandoned or runaway children living on their own-can be found in cities all over the world, and their numbers are growing despite numerous international programs aimed at helping them. All too frequently, these children are viewed solely as victims or deviants to be rescued and rehabilitated. In Beyond the Victim, sociologist Kamal Fahmi draws on eight years of fieldwork with street children in Cairo to portray them in a much different-and empowering-light. Fahmi argues that, far from being mere victims or deviants, these children, in running away from alienating home lives and finding relative freedom in the street, are capable of actively defining their situations in their own terms. They are able to challenge the roles assigned to children, make judgments, and develop a network of niches and resources in a teeming metropolis such as Cairo. Fahmi suggests that social workers and others need to respect the agency the children display in changing their own lives. In addition to collective advocacy with and on behalf of street children, social workers should empower them by encouraging their voluntary participation in non-formal educational activities.
1008297138
Beyond The Victim: The Politics and Ethics of Empowering Cairo's Street Children
Street children-abandoned or runaway children living on their own-can be found in cities all over the world, and their numbers are growing despite numerous international programs aimed at helping them. All too frequently, these children are viewed solely as victims or deviants to be rescued and rehabilitated. In Beyond the Victim, sociologist Kamal Fahmi draws on eight years of fieldwork with street children in Cairo to portray them in a much different-and empowering-light. Fahmi argues that, far from being mere victims or deviants, these children, in running away from alienating home lives and finding relative freedom in the street, are capable of actively defining their situations in their own terms. They are able to challenge the roles assigned to children, make judgments, and develop a network of niches and resources in a teeming metropolis such as Cairo. Fahmi suggests that social workers and others need to respect the agency the children display in changing their own lives. In addition to collective advocacy with and on behalf of street children, social workers should empower them by encouraging their voluntary participation in non-formal educational activities.
21.99 In Stock
Beyond The Victim: The Politics and Ethics of Empowering Cairo's Street Children

Beyond The Victim: The Politics and Ethics of Empowering Cairo's Street Children

by Kamal Fahmi
Beyond The Victim: The Politics and Ethics of Empowering Cairo's Street Children

Beyond The Victim: The Politics and Ethics of Empowering Cairo's Street Children

by Kamal Fahmi

eBook

$21.99  $28.99 Save 24% Current price is $21.99, Original price is $28.99. You Save 24%.

Available on Compatible NOOK devices, the free NOOK App and in My Digital Library.
WANT A NOOK?  Explore Now

Related collections and offers


Overview

Street children-abandoned or runaway children living on their own-can be found in cities all over the world, and their numbers are growing despite numerous international programs aimed at helping them. All too frequently, these children are viewed solely as victims or deviants to be rescued and rehabilitated. In Beyond the Victim, sociologist Kamal Fahmi draws on eight years of fieldwork with street children in Cairo to portray them in a much different-and empowering-light. Fahmi argues that, far from being mere victims or deviants, these children, in running away from alienating home lives and finding relative freedom in the street, are capable of actively defining their situations in their own terms. They are able to challenge the roles assigned to children, make judgments, and develop a network of niches and resources in a teeming metropolis such as Cairo. Fahmi suggests that social workers and others need to respect the agency the children display in changing their own lives. In addition to collective advocacy with and on behalf of street children, social workers should empower them by encouraging their voluntary participation in non-formal educational activities.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781617975639
Publisher: American University in Cairo Press, The
Publication date: 05/01/2007
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 216
File size: 2 MB

About the Author

KAMAL FAHMI has a Ph.D. in social work from McGill University, Canada. In addition to teaching at McGill and the American University in Cairo, he works as an international consultant in child protection and education as well as in participative action-research methodologies.

Table of Contents


Acknowledgments     xi
Acronyms and Abbreviations     xiii
Introduction     1
Theoretical and Methodological Framework     7
Participatory Action Research     9
Historical Background     10
Values and Ideology in PAR Literature     17
Ontology, Epistemology, and Methodology     21
The Limitations of Participatory Action Research     27
Summary of the Literature Review     35
Reflective Commentary     36
Street Work     47
Historical Overview     49
The Parameters of Critical Street Work     64
Underpinnings     74
Concluding Commentary     78
The Story     81
The Beginning     83
The Context     83
How It Started     90
Street Ethnography     93
Reflective Commentary     96
Concluding Commentary     105
Conceptual Framework     107
Who is a Street Child?     107
Theoretical Considerations     118
Implications for Practice     122
Continuation of the Story     129
Opening the Drop-in Center     130
Reflective Commentary     142
Implications of the Open-door Policy     151
Impacts and Concluding Commentary     157
Impacts     157
Methodological Considerations     160
Unresolved Issues     165
Profiles of Street Children     171
Profiles of Street Localities     182
Notes     190
Bibliography     193
Index     201
From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews