Archive for the ‘alienation-isolation’ Category
Posted by Christopher Coen on March 27, 2012
A single mother of a refugee family from the Central African Republic finds herself alone and isolated (a condition correlated with refugee suicides) five months after resettlement to Portland via Lutheran Community Services Northwest. Interviewed about six weeks after her arrival, she only knew how to get to the grocery store and to an organization which offers employment training and referrals, though her resettlement agency was required to give her community orientation. The family’s apartment is sparsely furnished, with not enough heat to stay warm and little light (this, though the State Department’s Operational Guidance contract document supposedly requires resettlement contractors to provide refugees with one lamp per room unless installed lighting is present). An article in the Portland Tribune describes the refugee family’s initial resettlement to Portland:
Monique Detoloum…[a] new Portland resident has found peace for herself and her four children, after surviving a reign of terror in the Central African Republic and six years in limbo in neighboring Cameroon…
…Monique and her children arrived here in late October, settling in East Portland. They are among the 944 refugees from more than a dozen nations who resettled in Oregon last year, mostly in Portland. Nearly 60,000 refugees from around the world have landed here since 1975. That’s an average of 135 newcomers a month, a steady stream of foreigners who are gradually expanding the Portland area’s ethnic mix and forever changing its complexion…
…Somewhat arbitrarily, since Monique had no family or connections here, she was assigned to Portland, aided by Lutheran Community Services Northwest.
Agency staff picked up Monique’s family at the airport, found her housing in an apartment on Southeast Division Street near 126th Avenue, helped enroll her children into David Douglas schools, arranged medical screenings and financial support.
Within her first week in town, Monique was referred to East Portland’s Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization [IRCO], which offers employment training and referrals, among other services…
…Interviewed about six weeks after her arrival, Monique knew how to get to IRCO and the Winco grocery store on Northeast 122nd Avenue, but hadn’t ventured further on her own. She was too flustered to think about going downtown, feeling pretty helpless without any English skills…
…Now, after five months, here she is still having trouble adjusting to cold weather. She just experienced her first snow, and says she doesn’t like it.
The family’s two-bedroom, one-bath apartment is sparsely furnished, with little light and not enough heat to stay warm…
…Monique has found a Baptist Church she wants to attend. But she says she is feeling isolated here, with no friends to talk to, only her children…
…Refugees rarely go back to their home country, Tauch says, but they do move around once they’re here, especially to find work. In January, a recruiter came to town and offered seasonal jobs to 52 Portland-area refugees at a Kodiak, Alaska, cannery, Tauch says. Last year, a Nebraska employer offered 100 permanent jobs to local refugees… Read more here
Posted in alienation-isolation, Central African Republic, furnishings, lack of, housing, language, Lutheran Community Services Northwest, mental health, Operational Guidance, Portland | Tagged: Central African Republic, Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization, irco, isolation, Lutheran Community Services Northwest, Portland, refugees, resettlement | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on November 28, 2011
Researchers at San Francisco State University and the Burma Refugee Family Network (BRFN) released a report that claims almost 60 percent of Oakland’s refugees from Burma/Myanmar are living in extreme poverty, with 63% being unemployed. Those of Karenni origin from Burma fair even worse: 81 percent are unemployed, and 90 percent are living in extreme poverty. The report concludes that refugees from Burma in Oakland are at risk of becoming a permanent, poverty-stricken underclass, and that the local resettlement program has not been successful. An article at EurekAlert has the story:
Refugees who have fled Burma to live in Oakland, Calif., are at risk of becoming a permanent, poverty-stricken underclass warns a new report released today by researchers at San Francisco State University and the Burma Refugee Family Network (BRFN). The report found that almost 60 percent of Oakland’s refugees from Burma are living in extreme poverty…
…”These recent refugees from Burma are facing dire circumstances,” said Russell Jeung, associate professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University…
…Jeung and his students, together with BRFN and other community-based organizations, surveyed 194 refugees from Burma to assess the community’s needs. The researchers found that in addition to high poverty rates, these refugees face barriers to accessing employment, health care and government benefits caused by their lack of English. These barriers have been exacerbated by recent cuts in the provision of English as a Second Language (ESL) classes and a lack of appropriate interpretation services…
…The report found that among Oakland’s refugee population from Burma:
- 63 percent are unemployed. Those that are employed have sporadic, low-wage jobs.
- 57 percent live below the federal threshold for extreme poverty, earning less than $1,000 per month for an average household size of five. Most of the remainder live below the federal poverty line.
- 38 percent speak no English at all. Another 28 percent speak English poorly.
- 74 percent report that lack of English is their biggest barrier to accessing health care.
- 47 percent report that English classes are the most-needed service in their community…
…Now resettled in Oakland, refugees of Karenni origin are struggling to adapt to life in the United States: 81 percent are unemployed, 90 percent are living in extreme poverty and 90 percent have no high school education…
…”Our findings suggest that resettlement programs in Oakland are not yet successful,” Maung said. “We would like to see federal and local refugee government agencies and nonprofits working together with and supporting grassroots community organizations in order to help members of our community achieve self-sufficiency.”… Read more here
Refugees from Burma/Myanmar have also experienced muggings and robberies in Oakland, as have refugees from Bhutan/Nepal.
Posted in alienation-isolation, Burma/Myanmar, dangerous neighborhoods, economic self-sufficiency, employment/jobs for refugees, ESL & ELL, Karen, Karenni, language, language interpretation/translation, lack of, Oakland | Tagged: Burma, Burma Refugee Family Network, Cesar Chavez Institute, From Crisis to Community Development: Needs Assessments of Refugees from Burma, Myanmar, Oakland, poverty, refugees, resettlement, San Francisco State University | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on November 20, 2011
A roundtable panel discussion In Austin addresses the issue of older refugees. Panelists included Zarni Tun (resettlement case manager with Refugee Services of Texas); Lorel Donaghey (employment specialist with Caritas of Austin); Casey Kasper (ESL teacher with Interfaith Action of Texas) and Rebecca Tulis (extended case manager with Refugee Services of Texas). The discussion is described at Austin Refugee Roundtable:
…Some of the problems faced by older refugees –identified as refugees over the age of 50- included:
- General fear of being a burden on family members.
- It is more difficult for them to learn English which makes it more difficult to pass the US citizenship test. This makes them not eligible to receive SSI/SSDI beyond 7 years.
- Employment difficulty since many jobs that would be a good fit (caring for others, childcare, sewing) require individuals to be fluent in English or able to work fast on big machines… Read more here
Posted in alienation-isolation, Austin, Caritas of Austin, elderly refugees, employment/jobs for refugees, ESL & ELL, language, mental health, Refugee Services of Texas, Refugee Services of Texas | Tagged: Austin, Caritas of Austin, elderly, ESL, Interfaith Action of Texas, panel discussion, Refugee Services of Texas, refugees, resettlement, Roundtable | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on September 9, 2011
An article in Malta News has some interesting advice about suicide prevention efforts that might be useful for those who work with refugees. Risk factors have both similarities and differences across cultural and ethnic groups, although care must be taken not to stereotype since each individual has their own beliefs, attitudes, understandings, thoughts, and knowledge. Use of interpreters from tight local ethnic communities presents a risk. Universally helpful strategies include cultural competence in social service workers as well as emphasis on experiences of connectedness in refugee communities. Communities that are well-integrated and cohesive may be suicide preventive. Last year we noted refugee suicides here and here.
World Suicide Prevention Day is held on September 10th each year. The purpose of this day is to raise awareness around the globe that suicide can be prevented. Disseminating information, improving education and training, and decreasing stigmatization are important tasks in such an endeavor. The theme in 2011 is “Preventing Suicide in Multicultural Societies.”
The themes of the last two years of the World Suicide Prevention Day have focused on suicide prevention in different cultures across the world. This year’s theme aims at raising awareness of the fact that all countries in the world are multicultural. Many countries harbor
different minority groups, in the form of various indigenous and/or immigrant groups, refugees and/or asylum seekers…
Risk factors for suicide vary across cultural groups. Knowledge about common risk factors in a society often stems from research in majority populations. However, in a multicultural context awareness is needed in that some risk factors may play different roles in the suicidal process as well as in suicide prevention for some minority groups compared to the majority population… In addition, other factors that might have a different impact on minorities compared to the majority population are attitudes towards suicidal behavior and suicidal people (e.g. taboo, stigma), religion and spirituality, and family dynamics (gender roles and responsibilities).
Studies have shown that stereotyping might be common in the health and social care system in dealing with minority groups. Therefore, care is needed in distinguishing between how the rules and traditions of a cultural group define how members of that group may or should behave and how individuals from a cultural group actually do behave. Stereotypes must not rule what is perceived or done… In the health and social care system the individual must not be met as a representative of a cultural group, but be allowed to be themselves with their own beliefs, attitudes, understandings, thoughts, and
knowledge…
…Gender issues and racism in therapeutic settings are important to be aware of in multicultural societies. Use of interpreters in the health and social care system also requires special attention when a sensitive issue such as suicide is on the agenda. Often, minority populations in a community are small and interpreters are recruited from the same social circle as the client. If suicidality is particularly taboo or stigmatized in the minority group, it may be necessary to check the interpreters’ attitudes towards suicidal behavior and suicidal people because these might affect both what is being said by the client as well as what is translated and how by the interpreter…
…Even though suicide is a complex and multifactorial phenomenon with cultural differences, there are still some suicide prevention efforts that might have “universal” effect.
- Experiences of connectedness are important in the mental health and wellbeing of all people. Thus, communities that are well integrated and cohesive may be suicide preventive.
- Educating professionals of health and social services as well as communities in general about how to identify people at risk for suicide, encouraging those who need it to seek help, and providing them with needed and adequate help can reduce rates of suicide. These efforts require both cultural sensitivity and cultural competence… Read more here
Posted in alienation-isolation, safety, suicide | Tagged: community, connectedness, culture, interpreters, isolation, minorities, multiculturalism, refugees, resettlement, suicide | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on September 7, 2011
An article in the AP reports that a Tennessee mosque struck by vandals and arsonists last year has now been the target of a bomb threat.
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) — Authorities say an unidentified man threatened to ignite a bomb inside a [Islamic Center of Murfreesboro] mosque in Tennessee on Sept. 11…
The Murfreesboro mosque…has seen vandals target signs at its new proposed site, which was also struck by arsonists last year who torched construction equipment that was being used to prepare the grounds. Read more here
A more detailed article is in the Daily News Journal.
Posted in alienation-isolation, anti-Islamic, Islamic, Murfreesboro/Shelbyville, right-wing, security/terrorism, Somali, Tennessee, unwelcoming communities | Tagged: arson, bomb threat, islam, Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, mosque, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, terrorism, vandalism | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on December 7, 2010
There is an interesting article in the Alternet about the Sudanese community in Nebraska. This is the single largest group of former Sudanese refugees in the US. Many of the Sudanese youth are fighting and joining gangs. Reasons for this disturbing trend include their families’ migration from a homeland in conflict, a difficult to adapt to (completely different from their own) US culture, parents who no longer discipline their children due to US laws against beating children, to youth dropping out of school after schools place them in grades way above their education level. In addition this second generation of immigrants has learned English much more rapidly than their parents and are able to manipulate their parents’ interaction with other members of the community, such as school officials and the police.
..early 8,000 miles away from the violence in Darfur [and southern Sudan], Sudanese residents of Omaha are experiencing their own share of turbulence in this unassuming Midwestern city. And they’re fed up with it…
…Bruce Ferrell, a retired Omaha police officer, is the chairman of the Midwest Gang Investigators Association estimates that there are three Sudanese gangs in Omaha right now (More claims there are fourteen.) Ferrell said the first gangs in Omaha began in 2004–MJ, a Nuer acronym for “Dog Pussy,” and Afrikan Pride. Others followed, like MOB, GBLOCK, 402 (the area code for eastern Nebraska), South Sudan Soldiers, and TripSet. Gang members are mostly Nuer and Dinka, and, predictably, live in low-income neighborhoods. They are the children of refugees or are refugees themselves, coming from camps in Ethiopia, Egypt, and beyond, but ending up adrift in the middle of America…
…”They’re doing graffiti, they’re wearing colors, they’re identifying by specific group names, they’re participating in crimes that are against rival Sudanese gangs. We’re seeing that more [in the past year].”… Read more here
I think what is good about South Sudanese is that they have a strong identity and pride in their culture. Sometimes pride can also be a downfall – for us all – as in the old proverb “pride does often go before the fall”, but I think what’s happening here is a generation who doesn’t yet know who they are. Are they South Sudanese or America? Trapped between? Its a hard road to travel.
Posted in alienation-isolation, Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska, men, mental health, Nebraska, Omaha, police, school for refugee children, South Sudanese, suicide, teenagers, teens, young adults | Tagged: Dinka, gangs, juvenile delinquency, Nebraska, Nuer, Omaha, refugees, resettlement, sudanese, youth violence | Leave a Comment »
Christopher Coen
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