Walking together: Healing and hope for Colombian refugees

More documents

Recommendations

Info

w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r 83 If they need any supplies (such as relaxing music, tea, latin music, books in their language), find ways to connect them with what they need. If they are interested in learning about centering prayer or other calming prayer techniques as a way to relax, perhaps you could find someone from church with a prayer ministry who would be willing to guide and accompany them, at least to begin. Other alternatives include yoga and tai chi, which both promote muscle relaxation. Community centres often offer classes in these activities, and may also offer “relaxation sessions” that use guided imagery, breathing exercises and gentle touch. If anyone from your church already participates in any of these classes, be sure to invite members from the refugee family along. If not, it would still be worthwhile to find out what is available and whether the refugee family would be interested. Another possibility is providing the family with relaxation CDs, which are often available through health care providers or even the local library. As refugees adjust to life in Canada they will regularly encounter new and stressful situations. At the same time, they are dealing with painful memories and anxieties from their past. It may be encouraging for the refugee family to know that by intentionally taking time daily, or as often as possible, to do something relaxing, they can actually reduce their stress and begin to feel a sense of balance and wellbeing again. Be aware of what doesn’t help: Sometimes refugees find themselves, inadvertently or intentionally, in situations that negatively affect their ability to heal from trauma and reconstruct their lives in Canada. Certain challenges are inevitable. For example, anniversaries of traumatic incidents such as dates of forced displacements, attempts against their lives or deaths of family members are often accompanied by a surge of trauma symptoms. Similarly, anything that reminds a refugee of a distressing memory from their past - an object, a face or voice that is similar to that of someone who hurt them, being asked questions by an authority figure, or even seeing a motorcycle or car of a certain color - can bring on the feelings and reactions they had when the original event occurred. While it is understandable that the Colombian refugees may want to follow the news coverage of their home country as much as possible, is is also possible that the events they watch on TV could cause upsetting reminders of their own past. While the church can’t prevent any of these situations from arising, it is important for the church refugee committee to be aware of the potential impacts of these different trauma reminders, and to be there for the family to comfort them and to let them know that what is happening to them is normal. See the section on flashbacks (p 63) for more details and information to help the refugee understand what they are experiencing. Other obstacles that the refugee may face in their journey to restoration and rebuilding their lives are avoidable. For instance, regularly watching violent TV programs or movies could reactivate traumatic memories. Since is possible that the refugee family may not be aware of the impact that seeing violence on TV could have on them, it could be worth while to encourage them to avoid such programs, explaining why. Occasionally refugee trauma survivors, even those sponsored by churches, will turn to alcohol and drugs as a mechanism to cope with issues such as sleep problems, anxiety, recurrent painful memories or hopelessness. Obviously, alcohol and drug dependency will have a harmful long term impact on the refugee, causing yet another layer of problems to be dealt with and slowing overall healing and
84 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r integration. Nonetheless, if a refugee has turned to alcohol and drugs, it is likely because that option seemed helpful at the time. Another unhealthy coping strategy that is often employed by people who have experienced refugee trauma is that of intentional isolation. After being subjected to such painful experiences by other human beings, the ability to trust and to open up to social contact and new friendships can be challenging, leading some refugees to choose to isolate themselves. Clearly, isolation is problematic: it provides excess time to dwell on the past, limits chances for positive and healing interactions, and stunts the process of integration and reconstructing life. As a church, the way in which you walk with, befriend, include, encourage and guide the refugee family will make a world of difference, and will likely be all it takes to keep them from turning to unhealthy coping strategies such as these. REFUGEE TRAUMA & HEALING For more information on refugee trauma and healing, the following are some useful resources: The Little Book of Trauma Healing: When Violence Strikes and Community is Threatened. Editors: Carolyn Yoder & Howard Zehr. This book, from the Little Books of Justice and Peacebuilding series, is easily read and an indispensable resource to have on hand. It should be available through your local MCC for borrowing. David Baldwin’s Trauma Information Pages. An award winning site with resources for people working with trauma survivors. http://www.trauma-pages.com. Sidran Institute: Traumatic Stress Education. Articles, links and tools for therapists, faith based caregivers, survivors and loved ones. http://www.sidran.org. International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. Trauma Resources section contains articles, fact sheets and videos about traumatic stress for caregivers and professionals. http://www.istss.org. Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture. Online and print resources on trauma, torture and accompanying survivors. http://www.ccvt.org. STAR toolkit from Eastern Mennonite University. Easily understood, printable resources for people who support trauma survivors. http://www.emu.edu/cjp/pti/star/toolkit/. The Center for Victims of Torture. The resources section has a series of excellent publications on refugee trauma healing. http://www.cvt.org/. Children’s Hospital Boston, Centre for Refugee Trauma and Resilience, Refugee Services Toolkit. A web-based tool designed to help caregivers understand the experiences and needs of refugee children and families. http://www.chcrtr.org/toolkit/. Boston Center for Refugee Health and Human Rights. This site offers a free online course on caring for torture survivors. http://www.bcrhhr.org/. Stress and Trauma Healing: A Manual for Caregivers. Authors: Karl and Evelyn Bartsch. This excellent manual covers both the process by which victims become survivors and the process by which they themselves may become healers or caregivers for others. It is useful for faith based small group settings. Available through the Mennonite Church Resource Library (ID 8650) and may be downloaded from the MCC Resources for Trauma Healing and Community Recovery website: http://healingtrauma.pdd.mcc.org/
Page 2:
WALKING TOGETHER Healing and Hope f
Page 5 and 6:
WALKING TOGETHER: Healing and Hope
Page 8:
There are stories embedded in our s
Page 11 and 12:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Shalom Wiebe serv
Page 13 and 14:
12 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r IN
Page 15:
14 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r A
Page 19 and 20:
18 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r ex
Page 21 and 22:
20 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r ha
Page 23 and 24:
22 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r Co
Page 25 and 26:
24 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r ca
Page 27 and 28:
26 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r Th
Page 29 and 30:
28 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r Id
Page 31 and 32:
30 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r un
Page 33 and 34: 32 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r Wi
Page 35 and 36: 34 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r Id
Page 37 and 38: 36 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r Di
Page 39 and 40: 38 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r Wh
Page 41 and 42: 40 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r Im
Page 43 and 44: 42 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r Be
Page 45 and 46: 44 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r ar
Page 47 and 48: 46 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r Ap
Page 49 and 50: 48 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r Us
Page 51 and 52: 50 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r CU
Page 53 and 54: 52 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r
Page 55 and 56: 54 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r pe
Page 59 and 60: 58 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r Fa
Page 61 and 62: 60 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r CO
Page 63 and 64: 62 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r CO
Page 65 and 66: 64 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r Af
Page 69 and 70: 68 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r co
Page 71 and 72: 70 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r TA
Page 73 and 74: 72 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r si
Page 75 and 76: 74 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r Re
Page 77 and 78: 76 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r I
Page 79 and 80: 78 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r Co
Page 81 and 82: 80 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r ca
Page 83: 82 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r Pl
Page 87 and 88: 86 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r LI
Page 89 and 90: 88 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r As
Page 91 and 92: 90 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r no
Page 93 and 94: 92 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r pe
Page 95 and 96: 94 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r So
Page 97 and 98: 96 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r He
Page 99 and 100: 98 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r re
Page 101 and 102: 100 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r M
Page 103 and 104: 102 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r M
Page 105 and 106: 104 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r S
Page 107 and 108: 106 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r G
Page 109 and 110: 108 w a l k i n g t o g e t h e r C
Page 112 and 113: Colombia - Suramérica Océano Atl
show all

Walking together: Healing and hope for Colombian refugees

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?