Kenny (13) and Anderson (11) are brothers who regularly come to the Esch youth centre. Here they also meet with their cousin Ismael (13), and all three said that they are doing well at the moment. All three like spending their time at the youth centre: “It is fun to hang out and do stuff with friends.”
Kenny expressed frustrations with people who are unfriendly to him and said he is occasionally annoyed by girls. Ismael joined the conversation and, without providing many details, said that he has few concerns in life apart from bullying.
When asked what he wanted if granted one wish, Kenny said: “I want to become president of all of Luxembourg. But I would leave everything as it is.” To the same question, his brother Anderson replied: “I also want to be president, but only of the school. Then there will be less homework.”
Weimerskirch also talked to Tahiry (14) and Lara (15). Tahiry is originally from Spain and has only been living in Luxembourg for about ten months, so Lara acted as a translator during the conversation.
Both met at the Esch-Lallange secondary school. They said that they are mostly doing well and that they help distract one another occasionally. Based on their experiences, they think that the Grand Duchy is a great place to live: “Luxembourg offers many opportunities to young people. One problem that some individuals have is that they constantly want to attract attention.”
Tahiry and Lara said that they do not consume any classic media outlets, but spend their online hours on TikTok, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
Both also report that they have experienced violence in their school lives: “There are a number of people who use fights to solve their problems. The problems are not discussed. That has a lot to do with what they experience at home.”
Mike (19) has been interning at the Esch youth centre for six weeks and is on his way to become an educator. When asked how he was doing, he thought about it for a moment and then stated: “Sometimes it is a lot at the same time. My mother is Ukrainian, I still have family whose everyday life is war. That worries me. To that you can still add stress in school.”
Mike is pursuing a career as an educator to help others. He accompanied Weimerskirch the whole time he was interviewing the adolescents at the youth centre. Eventually he said: “When I was their age, I didn’t have any problems either. Most that I meet here at the youth centre are doing well. But, the older one gets, the more one realises that the load increases.”
Joyce and Chris are both social workers employed at the Esch youth centre. According to Joyce, adolescents all have problems, but the centre is a place for them to wind down: “This is the place where they are supposed to have fun. Youths have so many problems and crises that there is no room for adult concerns, such as climate change or the war in Ukraine.”
Both explained that school stress is a reoccurring issue, as is questioning one’s identity or place in society and family. Chris therefore stressed the importance of building a relationship of trust and taking adolescents seriously: “To people who always talk about setting boundaries I keep saying that this is not the right way and that it is difficult. Young people have to make their own experiences.”
