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unreasonable people they once knew as friends and neighbours as was the case in Bosnia, or whom they had convinced themselves were devoid of any human compassion. Once in Australia they carry this reality about human nature with them and combined with other traumatic reactions, this can effect their perception of the meaning and purpose to life. For example a Latin American couple whom were clients of the Foundation described their house being raided and ransacked. They told of how they were abused and beaten and then dragged outside and held apart. While held apart the intruders set fire to their house. Inside the house was their two year old son. As the mother looked up at me as this story was being recounted, her eyes filled with tears, she described how she could hear her son’s screams the entire time. Having survived such a horrific experience as this one it is not difficult to see how a person would question any previously held beliefs about human existence. When that sort of thing happens to a person it changes their fundamental view of what people are capable of doing. This needs to be understood because in working with people you need to be patient, and take such issues into consideration. Another example is that of a Turkish woman who, in surviving her detention and torture in a Turkish prison, she believed that her torturer was not human, but rather something else. This was one of the ways in which she managed to deal with her experiences. Then one night, from her cell window, she saw this torturer leaving the compound. As the doors to the compound opened, a young boy ran toward him and he picked up the young boy in his arms, gave him a hug and a kiss, walking away hand in hand. That scene devastated her because her belief that he was not human, in that instance was shattered. That’s what I mean by the manner in which it challenges fundamental assumptions about humanity. • Finally, guilt and shame. These reactions are very important to understand in the context of this conceptual framework because they are the ones that prevent people from seeking assistance, cause them to feel unworthy of assistance or that the assistance would not be forth coming anyway. It is not as straight forward as simply explaining to a survivor that they should not feel guilty. In some senses guilt and shame allow the survivor to have some control over who is to blame and while this may be considered maladaptive it is a complicated process to reverse such feelings. The Recovery Goals In order to respond, resettlement programs must focus on goals which emphasise recovery and re-establishment of the person’s life. As you can see from the framework this last column the recovery goals are broad and encompass the components that are important to all of us in our own desire and need to feel a functioning valued member of the community. I will turn to this section in more detail in a few moments. Restoring safety is the first and most critical issue. For those involved in counselling and provision of therapeutic services, it’s standard practice to understand that nothing much can be achieved until a sense of safely is guaranteed. That’s entirely critical in this situation. 6
Next is enhancing control. One of the things that we remember about this conceptual framework and about the experiences of refugees is that often, government sought to take control away from them, so in order to respond appropriately in a recovery process, strategies must be geared around giving people as much control over that process as possible. Restoring attachment and connection to others is also critical. The role of people providing services in this context is so important because where we talked earlier about that fundamental challenge to perceptions of humanity, acts which are caring, which are giving and which are kind, can begin to re-establish that connection. We need to begin to rebuild elements of trust and allow people to integrate back into their lives the fact that there are others in the community who would care for them. Restoring meaning and purpose to life, is one of the most difficult aspects of the recovery process. Often in our area of work people talk about the need for torture and trauma counselling and so forth, and naturally that is an absolutely critical issue. But people being able to find employment, people being able to communicate in the dominant language, those sort of things, people being able to pursue and education and further training, are absolutely fundamental to any recovery process. If we can’t help people establish some meaning in their lives and a sense of future, then all the counselling in the world will make very little difference. Settlement Factors and the Trauma Reaction The refugee experience of flight, long periods of harsh living conditions, separation from family etc prolong this sense of oppression. The subsequent trauma reactions have universal implications upon people regardless of ethnicity, gender, class or religious background. As outlined in the conceptual framework the experience of torture can generate severe depression and anxiety amongst survivors. This manifests in different ways including, complex loss and grief reactions, disturbed and poor sleep, difficulties with concentration, recurring and intrusive memories, a diminished sense of future, an erosion of trust in others and more. Understanding the universal effects of such extreme circumstances and how they interact with pre-existing cultural dimensions is central to developing culturally responsive service delivery programs. Inappropriate or insensitive service provision can reinforce the consequent effects ensuing from such experiences of persecution. For example, authoritative styles or failure to provide clearly understood information can reinforce the feelings of insecurity and powerlessness which form part of the aftermath reaction in survivors. The negative effect of this has many dimensions two of which include limiting the capacity of the professional to deliver the service required, and an erosion in confidence to disclose information which may be important to determining the most appropriate service. Cultural identity becomes important at this point as it is pivotal in determining the subjective meaning of trauma, the way in which distress associated with violence is experienced and reported and the type and extent of service provision required 4 . For example it has been recognised in the work of the VFST that people who had a strong political framework within which they can locate their experience coped better than people who did not have a political analysis or history of political activity. People without a strong political analysis within their cultural identity tended to struggle more with existential questions such as ‘why me’ or ‘what did I do?’ to deserve this and therefore how to attach any meaning to their experience. 4 Individual Counselling and Group Work Services For Young People Who Are Refugees, Victorian Foundation For Survivors Of Torture Inc. Melbourne, 1996, pp 74. 7
Page 1 and 2: DEVELOPING CULTURAL RESPONSIVENESS
Page 3 and 4: When discussing policy and service
Page 5: Social and Psychological Experience
Page 9 and 10: Issues In The Resettlement Process
Page 11: Acts Perpetrated by the Persecutory

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