Solo Living outside Home: Case of Ukrainian Migrants

Abstract

The article considers such a category of migrants as solo refugees. The author substantiates the need to study this category of refugees from the economic, political, and psychological points of view. Solo migrants face several specific challenges. So, the purpose of this article is to characterize and describe the life strategies used by refugees who find themselves abroad in the status of solo refugees. The study is a pilot study and was conducted using the method of semi-structured interviews. The interviews were divided into main thematic blocks that consider the history of the decision to leave the country; the process of adaptation in a new country and the main difficulties; the process of organizing work; daily and communicative aspects of life, as well as emotional self-awareness; vision of life prospects. Two main categories of solo refugees were distinguished: those who have decided to stay in host countries for a long time and those who are in a «suspended» state. Features of each of these two strategies have been outlined. The possibilities for further research of this category of refugees were also outlined.

Keywords

• solo-living
• lifestyle
• migration
• refugees
• ukraine
• russo-ukrainian war