issue 1 09 - APS Member Groups - Australian Psychological Society

Accessing Authentic Knowledge41Sudanese people. It is a series or astory of a journey between twoworlds. Because our people camefrom a first world to a secondworld, you can say. Yes, you cansay it is a journey between twoworlds and this journey betweentwo worlds- some people will notunderstand.Indeed, a refugee may be very cautiousabout what they say to another person- notbecause they are inherently dishonest or beingdevious, but rather because of the very realconsequences of a statement beingmisinterpreted or taken out of context(Jacobsen & Landau, 2003; McKelvey, 1994).In addition, refugee accounts of ‘hard’ factsmay not represent ‘objective’ reality orpossibly presented in conflicting ways(Kirmayer, 2007). Several men in this studyhave spoken about their perilous journeyfleeing civil war and walking hundreds if notthousands of kilometres across Sudan seekingsafe haven. Hearing such stories, I haveoccasionally noted time and date discrepanciesbetween their stories. Does one account negatethe other? Arguably not as both stories supportan understanding of a long and difficultjourney where time as measured by days or inother terms becomes obscured throughexperiences of hardship and survival. AsEastmond (2007, p.260) maintains:Stories are never transparentrenditions of reality, but partialand selective versions of it, arisingout of social interaction.‘Narrative truth’ refers to theinescapably imperfect and fluidwork of memory, organization andmeaning. Narration as purposiveaction also relies on a certainmeasure of control and a situationin which… the criteria ofcredibility and plausibility areknown to both narrator andaudience, if not shared by them.This quote illustrates the complexities ofunderstanding and documenting refugees inresettlement contexts. What then should wetake from a person’s story if it is clouded bynotions of power, opportunity, meaning andcontext? Kelley (1996) provides animportant distinction in documenting suchpeople’s lives noting that a person’s storymay not necessarily accurately portray thepast but it does say something about his orher present situation. Such a perspectiveallows a person’s narrative to be exploredbeyond a false dichotomy between truth andfiction as it thrusts the imperfections ofmemory into a context situated within aperson’s present and future. Embracing thisconcept allows the listener to grapple withand explore the hopes, dreams and aspirationsof those who have made a journey betweentwo worlds.A political exercise- Gaining access andentry“How stories are told, by whom, to whom,under what circumstances, and for whatspecific purpose – vary according tosociocultural prescriptions.” (Carter-Black,2007, p.32)Conducting research with the Sudanesecommunity, it was recognised that my roleneeded to be as transparent as possible. Toestablish this position, a number of severalkey elders and gate keepers provided adviceabout conducting the study in a sensitive andrespectful manner resonant with Sudanesevalues. These elders emphasised activeengagement with the community, and offeredmyself the opportunity to make publicannouncements at church and othercommunity events. They spoke of theimportance of not only talking about the pastbut also to ascertain these people’sexperiences of resettlement and current visiontoday. However, I was expected to make astand. Almost without exception, I have hadto address my opinions about KevinAndrew’s comments regarding Sudaneseresettlement and often my perspective on thetwo civil wars that raged for decades betweenThe Australian Community Psychologist Volume 21 No 1 June 2009