Walking together: Healing and hope for Colombian refugees

w a l k i n g
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Some ideas:
1. Would each member of the church refugee sponsorship committee consider inviting the
family to their home for a meal and using it as a time to get to know and listen to the
family? Ask them about their country, culture etc. Listen and discern what the family feels
comfortable talking about, and go from there.
2. If you sense that any member of the refugee family needs to be listened to by a
professional counsellor or psychologist, make sure that you let the person know where
the services are available, and that it is not something to be ashamed about. Encourage
them to connect to such a resource.
NARRATIVES - THE HEALING STORY
This section is complementary to the previous section on listening, but focuses specifically on giving the
family opportunity to share their story (not their current difficulties or problems, but rather their life story).
As you consider how you can provide safe environments for your refugee to heal through the telling of
their story, it might be helpful to refer back to the section Talking about Trauma. Pay special attention to
what refugees said about their experiences of telling - or wanting to tell - their stories.
Several refugees interviewed mentioned
the idea of wanting to share their story
with the church or even with a wider
audience, and their hopes that in sharing
their story, they might be freed from
some of the painful burden that they still
carry. Although almost all the interviewed
refugees agreed that telling their story
there story would be a helpful way to
deal with part of their trauma, several
also alluded to the pain and humiliation
that storytelling can bring if not done in a
safe and nurturing environment.
Because of both the potential for healing
of story telling and the potential for pain
and even embarrassment, it is important
that the church refugee sponsorship
committee think of ways in which they
could support the refugee family in
telling their story in a healing way and
safe atmosphere.
“The church doesn’t know much about the details,
they don’t know my situation in depth...I’d like to
write something in English, I’d like to write a letter
to be read in the church. I’d like to share my story.”
- Carlos
“It’s good for the church to provide opportunities
for the families to tell their stories, to talk about
their experiences in Colombia.... Actually, we were
asked if they could write a book about our lives.
We said yes, as long as they changed our names
and the place where we came from.”
- Pablo