The ongoing refugee crisis
Ignoring a massive humanitarian crisis does little to advance health
This week I had the good fortune to attend the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) in New York. I participated in a highly energized panel on what our communities can do to better address addiction and drug overdoses. We had everyone from clinicians to a pastor to an amazing yoga instructor who uses the practice to help those in recovery. I will likely share more about this in a future post.
While at CGI, I attended a session on our current refugee crisis. David Wright Millband, President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee shared not only what his organization was doing, but how significant the need was for our world to respond to these humanitarian crises. I learned a great deal of new information, and wanted to process out some of this experience here while sharing some thoughts on our collective responsibility to address this significant issue. You may be wondering what this has to do with mental health - in fact, quite a bit - but I’ll get there in a moment.
Did you know that there are 54 active conflicts in the world right now? I did not. These conflicts have displaced 100 million people with 55 million of those displaced in their own country. Add to this significant problem that 345 million people are hungry around the world, often related to conflict, pandemics (“Here’s looking at you, COVID-19”), and climate change, and you begin to see how significant this problem is and the global ripple effects it can have.
Imagine having to flee your home and leaving everything behind. Imagine a war being fought in your neighborhood. On your block. Shots fired. Bombs exploding. The fear of being taken or a loved one being taken. This does not create a healthy environment where you can thrive. In fact, we know from the research that consistent exposure to stress can have a profoundly negative effect on your health. To put that into context, the millions of people worldwide who are having not only their homes assaulted are also having their mental health assaulted.
The World Health Organization has outlined several issues related to mental health, conflicts, and displacement. Not only do you see higher rates of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), to be expected when one experiences such a trauma, but you also see increased rates of depression and anxiety. Where do you go? Who do you turn to for help? When these things happen and go unaddressed, for some they can lead to more significant health problems. This can become a problem on top of an already significant problem.
The Queen of Jordan, in a powerful conversation with Secretary Hillary Clinton, described how her country embraced displaced families from war torn conflict areas like Syria. She indicated that north of 90% of her country supported these refugee families. She went on to describe how the refugee families immediately began to improve her country and were accepted and integrated in a way that provided a safe and sheltering environment for them to create a new home. I imagine that having a welcoming country helps assuage some of the fear and concern of these displaced refugees.
There have been some excellent studies done on refugees and mental health, including one in 2018 by the National Academies.
This got me thinking a bit more about what we could do here in the U.S. to help refugees across the world.
Be aware of those refugees in your community. Everyone wants to feel a sense of connection and belonging. Being a stranger is never comfortable, especially for those who have had their entire lives upended by conflict. There’s a high likelihood that there are refugees in your community that you are not even aware of. Imagine how welcome someone would feel if you made a concerted effort to help them feel like they knew someone - felt like they had connections in their new home. This could be healing and helpful. Places like the International Rescue Committee website have resources to help as well as links to local chapters in some cities. Reach out, get involved. You never know how a small gesture could make a big impact.
Advocate for the essentials. For those refugees who have been relocated, they may benefit from getting help with the basics. They may not have access to the same services, at least initially, as others in our community do. From health insurance to a library care, we should make sure that there are policies and programs that can connect people to these essentials. Imagine being new to a country - all the unique rules, social norms, and complicated things to have to manage like health insurance! Let’s make sure that we are advocating for these essentials to help families and not add another burden or stressor on top of what is already a stressful situation.
Change the framing. Too often families who are displaced get put into stereotypical categories that may be damaging. Issues of immigration can be hot topics around the dinner table. However, it appears that while there are outliers (“Xenophobia” was the word of the year in 2016 according to Dictionary.com), most people are welcoming of refugees here in the U.S. A recent Pew survey found that seven-in-ten Americans believe that bringing in refugees from countries where people are displaced due to conflict should be a very or somewhat important goal for immigration policy. Keeping a positive frame on this this issue and making it about diversifying and strengthening our communities can be beneficial. Refugees are bringing new ideas and new talents to the table. Let’s embrace those assets and welcome our new neighbors with support. Most of these individuals have already been through enough stress and trauma to last a lifetime. Let’s not add more to their plate but do what we can to be there for them.
We should not turn a blind eye to these international conflicts that are displacing millions. We each should do what we can to support these families in what already is likely the worst, most traumatic times of their life. There are simple steps we can take to help refugees. Let’s recognize the scale of the problem, its impact on generation upon generation of these families health, and work to provide meaningful solutions to help.
Have a number of refugees in my apartment complex; have made a point of welcoming them to the neighborhood, and just being a good neighborhood to them. Most are Afghan, some are East African, I just figure "Welcome to the party, pal - let me know if you need any help or recommendations." That’s how to start, and then keep it up.
I think most people have no clue as to the trauma and stress that immigrants and the displaced face - issues that may last a life time particularly if not addressed.