Presentation Istanbul - Final

ENSACT Istanbul April 2013

25 years challenge of reception, rehabilitation and inclusion of refugees – experiences, evaluation and

recommendations based on a focus group of “the experts” = well experienced refugees.

Good practice – Next Practice

Margrethe Bennike, Clinic for PTSD and Transcultural Psychiatry, Denmark - 2013


The focus group:

6 refugees - have been forced to leave their countries because of war and personal persecution

From Iran, Afghanistan, Eks-Jugoslavia, Chile, Sri Lanka and Irak

All have asylum and some of them also Danish citizenship.

In Denmark between 25 to 10 years

All of them have with success been to the labour market for several years in ordinary work – that means not subsidized

Now after accidents on the job unemployed and have contact with my institution because of depression according to this situation

The members knew each other from daily activity in our centre

2 sessions of 2 hours – semi-structured free exchange of experiences, evaluation and recommendations

As one of them said “I have had 20 very good years in Denmark, but now I feel, I am back at the starting point – who am I? I don´t feel accepted – everything is about having a job, and I would wish I had it, but with so much unemployment, it is very difficult – I feel like a foreigner again.”

TO HAVEMoney / income

Housing

Employment

Health

Education

TO BEAchieving one´s potential all-round

Social status

Political resources

ReligionTO LOVE

Relations to other people:Family

Friends

Colleagues

Fellowships

Erik AllardtMargrethe Bennike, Clinic for PTSD and Transcultural Psychiatry, Denmark - 2013

Best practice - What has reinforced the inclusion?

Legal rights – and to trust that they are equal for all (as they are)

To be secured housing, food and clothing

Being part of labour market / education

Good, free health care

Next practice - What could we need more?

Stable rules and not too minimized income to be able to wish, plan and have profit of your work

More constant and understandable / simple legislation

Repeating / ongoing courses about the rules

Institutions / social workers being better to recognize people’s skills / educations, support and guide them into labour market

Having different opportunities to try work areas

One comprehensive case- / health manager (they may have 4-5 today)

TO HAVEMoney / incomeHousingEmploymentHealthEducation



The right to family reunification and help to bring the family to the country


To recognize the family as the most important base for security, stability, raising children, to continue the family values.”Support us, so we can support our children to be full members of society!”

Extend family reunification to include also children more than 18 years, could be up to 25 years

Rules making it possible to – at least once – revisit the lost country, reconcile with the imposed change of life

TO LOVERelations to other people:FamilyFriendsColleaguesFellowships



Meeting competent professionals having empathy, feeling simple human warmth recognizing the person as unique, trying to see the resources in spite of the diversity

Help to understand the crisis being a refugee and facilitate the process of recovering – to repair ”the broken life” - psycho education


Demands should be formulated as an expectation and wish to have the refugee included, not only a pressure

Give chances several times - when the problems turn up later, we need support again

Remember the men, respect their values. These men had great respect for supporting women’s better conditions and possibilities, but felt themselves lost in finding identity

Self-help groups for exchange of knowledge, support, counselling – and building trust

Mentoring groups, contact families, organized friendships

Appreciation from other people to make you feel valuable, be reinforced in your dignity and gain a positive relationship to yourself

TO BEAchieving one´s potential all-roundSocial statusPolitical resourcesReligion


Final comments

The Danes are good at handling inequality, but not at handling diversity – the focus group said.

Confronting diversity is a possibility for us to develop beyond our self-knowledge and adjust to new economic and global challenges – I say.

As a dear friend of mine – refugee 40 years ago – said:

“Now I have realized, that I am not a Slovak, I am not a Dane – I am just myself.”

Social workers can and should contribute to that process with our skills, empathy and trust.

.

Documents

Presentation Istanbul - Final