Social Problem and Personal Statement
Part 1: Trauma and Resilience of the Karen Population
Traumatic and stressful experiences usually characterize migration and resettlement processes. Immigrants may experience pre-migration trauma in their home countries and trauma during and their migration (Goodman et al., 2017). Immigrants are at a more significant risk for pre-migration exposure to violence making them susceptible to trauma- and war- connected mental health conditions such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and psychological distress (Arnetz et al., 2013). In the recent years, the resilience concept as a protective factor against the trauma-related psychological disorder development has garnered growing consideration. The Karen population from Burma that has settled in Saint Paul, Minnesota has found sources of resilience to help them get through the hardships (Voigt, 2016). This paper highlights the essentiality of acknowledging the resilience of refugees and the need for social workers to have a better understanding of the different methods of coping with traumatic events or new and challenging displacement circumstances.
The World Health Organization presents a definition of health that encompasses more than the mere absence of a disease and entails the presence of the conditions and capacity that promote wellness (Goodman et al., 2017). Ideally, refugees move from a distressing life to a new world where they relearn to live and survive. They grapple with the new language, work, food, and interactions that affect emotional strains on them. They face discrimination and mostly have to choose between abandoning their heritage, committing to their culture or striking a balance between the two (Arnetz et al., 2014). Such emotional and logistical stressors pose a significant threat to the behavioral and psychological well-being of refugees of all ages.
After resettlement, mental health concerns like depression and PTSD are major concerns for refugees. Refugees learn to face the traumatizing post-migration experiences. Their resilience is measured in all spheres including the places they try to get social services, the schools they go to and the communities in which they settle (Voigt, 2016). It is vital that social service providers and social workers become aware of the contributors to resilience to offer the necessary resources and support while facilitating a positive resettlement experience for the refugees.
The Karen Population of Minnesota
Through the years, there have been an increasing number of immigrants resettling in the United States. In the state of Minnesota, there have been more than 90,000 refugees since 1979, and the population keeps increasing (Voigt, 2016). With the increasing refugee population, social workers face newer challenges and have to discern the factors that contribute to resilience for better service provision.
Some of the people settling in Karen are refugees. With their origin in Burma, they were forced out of their villages after civil wars in the 1990s. They fled to Thailand, but their illegal status exposed them vulnerabilities such as exploitation, violence, and harassment from the Thai police and authorities (Voigt, 2016). They stayed in the Thai camps for more than twenty years. While in the camps, they grappled with cases of malnutrition, rape, drug and alcohol abuse, crime, and domestic violence. They did not enjoy educational and vocational training services and the freedom to work or farm, which led to feelings of despair.
The Karen population decided to leave the refugee camps in Thai and moved to the United States. They were drawn to the United States because of the hope a better future with better job opportunities and education. However, they also dealt with issues such as lack of English skills, concerns about the high costs of living in the U.S, uncertainty about being able to find a job, and reluctance to leave behind the Karen community and culture (Voigt, 2016). The issues of discrimination, family changes, access to healthcare were also matters of concern to them.
Trauma Mental Health Issues among Refugees
Mental health is important for refugees considering the several traumas they have encountered in their lifetimes as well as the cultural dissimilarities (Goodman et al., 2017). Mental health concerns result from both pre-migration factors within home nations like loss of security, social support, income, employment and home as well as post-migration stressors like social, language, cultural, and economic barriers. Higher levels of PTSD are associated with resettlement stressors and discrimination. Refugees also experience trauma before and after migration resulting from witnessing of torture and killings, rape, being threatened with a weapon, incarceration, physical injury, and torture, as well as starvation (Voigt, 2016). Trauma results in high rates of adjustment disorders, brief reactive psychoses, somatization disorders, anxiety, depression, and PTSD.
Several studies indicate that refugees continue to struggle with mental health concerns several years after resettlement. The cultural...
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