Cultural clashes with trauma
What happens when new traumas occur in the lives of refugees in the U.S.? Sadly, so many refugees come here with nothing, having fled their homes with only what they could carry. They are usually placed in low-income housing areas and are only able to get minimum wage jobs if they are even able to work. Limited work opportunities, combined with minimal or nonexistent savings and the travel loan debt of about $3000 per person that refugees agree to take on before being allowed to come here, leave refugees living in poor areas for at least the first few years upon coming to the U.S. Many low-income housing areas have higher levels of crime. Therefore, it is only a matter of time before newly arrived refugees are exposed to the violence alive and well in this country. I have, for instance, supported clients in coping with gang violence including threats, physical assault, and sexual assault. I have written letters to city housing advocating for the early relocation of a family due to recurrent break-ins and racist intimidation by neighbors. While these extremes are not the norm, they are common enough to be of grave concern to many refugees and people who work to support refugees.
It is one thing to support a client in resolving past traumas that happened in another country. In this case, there is a separation from what happened of both time and distance: how the trauma was immediately dealt with was what is was. Often it was dealt with in a culturally congruent way, sanctioned by the greater society in which the person is culturally embedded. How does a host society support the resolution of a new trauma which has occurred to resettled refugees from elsewhere? What can we do when a.) the new trauma is rare in the refugee's country/culture of origin, and b.) the ways to comprehend and support such a trauma differ greatly between the host country and the refugee's country of origin? How do we support the stabilizing and resolution of such a trauma if our trained methods are so very different from what the client knows and expects - and the trauma itself occurred outside of the cultural context of the client? Such a trauma is culturally mixed, and it is quite possible that one cultural approach will not be adequate. The simple mixing of two cultural responses may be useless, damaging, or impossible.
As I contemplate this conundrum in my own practice, I can only say this: that each case must be treated as unique and with great care and thoughtfulness to all of those involved. In such situations I rely heavily on my interpreters, who interpret culture as well as words in my experience. I ask many questions of the clients themselves, looking to them to determine their best path. In the circumstances when this is not as possible, such as when a client or family is dealing with pervasive mental illness and violence from within, I seek a combination of feedback from the client, the interpreter, experts in the type of trauma that occurred (e.g., domestic violence, sexual assault, gang violence, etc.), and my own observations and analysis. If ongoing safety threats are involved, I get vastly increased support. As practitioners we cannot save anybody single-handedly-- I am no police officer, paramedic, martial arts expert or Hero of that sort. I really like life and I'm not ready to give it up anytime soon! But if I know my local resources and act quickly when I know more support is needed, I can be part of a team that saves lives.
It is one thing to support a client in resolving past traumas that happened in another country. In this case, there is a separation from what happened of both time and distance: how the trauma was immediately dealt with was what is was. Often it was dealt with in a culturally congruent way, sanctioned by the greater society in which the person is culturally embedded. How does a host society support the resolution of a new trauma which has occurred to resettled refugees from elsewhere? What can we do when a.) the new trauma is rare in the refugee's country/culture of origin, and b.) the ways to comprehend and support such a trauma differ greatly between the host country and the refugee's country of origin? How do we support the stabilizing and resolution of such a trauma if our trained methods are so very different from what the client knows and expects - and the trauma itself occurred outside of the cultural context of the client? Such a trauma is culturally mixed, and it is quite possible that one cultural approach will not be adequate. The simple mixing of two cultural responses may be useless, damaging, or impossible.
As I contemplate this conundrum in my own practice, I can only say this: that each case must be treated as unique and with great care and thoughtfulness to all of those involved. In such situations I rely heavily on my interpreters, who interpret culture as well as words in my experience. I ask many questions of the clients themselves, looking to them to determine their best path. In the circumstances when this is not as possible, such as when a client or family is dealing with pervasive mental illness and violence from within, I seek a combination of feedback from the client, the interpreter, experts in the type of trauma that occurred (e.g., domestic violence, sexual assault, gang violence, etc.), and my own observations and analysis. If ongoing safety threats are involved, I get vastly increased support. As practitioners we cannot save anybody single-handedly-- I am no police officer, paramedic, martial arts expert or Hero of that sort. I really like life and I'm not ready to give it up anytime soon! But if I know my local resources and act quickly when I know more support is needed, I can be part of a team that saves lives.
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