International Journal of Education and Social Science (IJESS)

This paper examines the settlement experiences of young Karen refugee women in Canada and their contributions to family and community integration. Drawing on my PhD dissertation project, which focuses on intergenerational Karen refugee women from Myanmar resettled in London, Ontario, beginning in 2006 after prolonged displacement along the Thailand–Myanmar border. Guided by intersectionality, the study draws on semi-structured interviews conducted in summer 2024 with eleven first-generation Karen refugee women. The analysis centres on five young women who arrived in Canada between the ages of eleven and sixteen, some of whom were born in refugee camps. Findings show that young Karen refugee women perform indispensable yet often unrecognized emotional, linguistic, and caregiving labour that sustains intergenerational integration. By foregrounding these contributions, the paper addresses a gap in forced migration scholarship on the emotional and relational dimensions of integration. It highlights the need for closer collaboration among researchers, community youth leaders, and settlement agencies to better support young women in protracted refugee situations.