Freedom of movement
All of the participants mentioned the need to autonomously explore their
environment and to feel free from movement constraints as a precondition
to enjoying their lives despite their adverse settings. The importance
of the freedom - or alternatively the prohibition - to physically
explore their surroundings emerged as an important factor from both the
children’s maps and walking tours. Some drawings included different
streets and paths, showing the ability of children to move around and
their awareness of the appropriate roads to reach their favorite places.
In contrast, other maps offered a more schematic collection of places
the children liked, without any precise or accurate geographical
connection between them.
- - Insert Figure 2 - -
The imposed restrictions effectively limited children’s opportunity to
explore their environment and denied them access to many resources,
which reduces children’s ability to engage and develop their own
independent survival strategies.