Locational citizenship, exclusion and inclusion. The case of street children in Ethiopia

Abstract

Public space is a possible site for grounding a social psychology of citizenship. Locational citizenship speaks to the right to have a place in public space. Certain groups are however often excluded. Drawing on individual interviews and focus group discussions with street children in Gambella Town, Ethiopia, this study explores how street children talk about their lives on the street. The results demonstrate the children's lack of inclusion in locational citizenship, and how public space becomes contested space when different groups use these places in ways that clash. The children also speak to processes of inclusion, both among groups of street children, and kindness from individual adults in their environment. These children's their stories of both exclusion and inclusion are crucial to the developing social psychology of citizenship. The study emphasizes exclusion and inclusion as processes, and the children's active handling of their street life. We also problematizes the division between private and public space when the former is often no longer an available space for these children.