Walking together: Healing and hope for Colombian refugees

w a l k i n g
t o g e t h e r
57
Most Colombian refugees will have experienced several, if not most of these different layers of trauma.
Traumatic stress is the physical, mental or emotional response to having experienced traumatic events.
These responses to the traumatic event are normal, and can be understood as coping mechanisms that
trauma survivors use to get through difficult or traumatic situations. However, over time these responses
- the symptoms or expressions of trauma - if maintained, become dysfunctional. For example if a person
whose life is in danger wakes up frequently during the night, this trauma response/symptom may
actually save her life by ensuring that she is constantly aware of what is going on around her and able
to detect any potential danger. However, assuming this person is now in Canada and safe from danger,
constant waking up throughout the night now serve no useful purpose - this trauma symptom has now
become an inappropriate coping mechanism.
Although it might seem illogical that trauma symptoms would continue or return after the survivor has
arrived in a safe environment, the fact is they often do. Trauma symptoms often take time to go away,
even when the survivor is no longer in immediate danger. When refugees move to a different country,
they face many stressful life changes while at the same time the support systems that they had in place
to help them cope in their home country are taken away. The stressful events of the transition may trigger
earlier symptoms of trauma, causing those responses to show up again, even though they are no longer
appropriate or needed.
Despite the wide variety of ways in which humans respond to trauma, the same range of effects and
responses is common to all kinds of traumas. 18 This means that if you have ever experienced a traumatic
event, such as a life-threatening accident, a devastating storm or earthquake or a sudden death of a loved
one, you may have experienced some of the same physical, emotional and social trauma responses as
the refugee family has experienced. Nonetheless, it is very important to remember that when a traumatic
event was premeditated and carried out by other human beings, which is the case for war and human
rights abuses, the effects of the trauma tend to be more severe and longer lasting. Recognizing that
responses to different kinds of trauma are similar can take some of the mystery out of talking about
trauma and its effects while also helping us to empathize and to give more effective support.
Since many of the responses or symptoms of trauma are “silent” and could easily go undetected it is
important to listen and watch for both verbal and non-verbal signs of trauma. By learning what to look for,
how to look for it, and how to respond you can be part of the process of restoration from trauma.
Resilience is the capacity of individuals and communities to adapt, survive and bounce back in the midst
of or after hardship and adversity. The term resilience comes from the fields of physics and engineering,
and refers to elasticity - an ability to bend and stretch without breaking. Resilient people are able to return
to equilibrium and a level of functioning the same as or greater than before a crisis, tragedy or trauma,
and to live with hope and joy despite adversity.
18. Evelyn C. Lennon, MSW, MA. (2005) New Neighbours Hidden Scars, chapter 3 Healing the Hurt. Minneapolis, MN: The Centre
for Victims of Torture, www.ctv.org