The individual in question is a remarkable woman; a mother of five who fled unfathomable horrors with her children in tow. She crossed borders on foot during the harshest of winters, and eventually, some years later, made her way to England. Because of her medical needs, she had to be seen at her home, and each time I’d visit, one of her children would make the interpreter and I some Syrian coffee. As some may know, Arabic coffee ( قهوة) is typically bittersweet, and like a lot of endings, our final session, and my overall work in this area, was also bittersweet. When we parted, I knew that like most refugees, her journey was far from over, sometimes only beginning on arrival here (wherever “here” is). It is well known that refugee integration can be traumatic. Listening to her, and others, I learnt that many factors can accentuate previous traumas, create new ones and some that buffer against it.
Refugees I encountered described navigating cultural dissonances, sometimes moving away from their own culture to integrate, only to be pushed away from integration by experiences of not being understood, not being validated and enduring racism and/or islamophobia. They often found themselves caught in between, belonging nowhere. It was a further sense of loss for many, and grief was a recurring theme which manifested in different ways, but notably left refugees feeling “incomplete” as integral parts of them (e.g. family, homes, culture, vocations and identities) were stripped away. After all, Syrian refugees belong to a collective culture, underpinned by an Islamic belief that the faithful are like one body, such that when a part of it suffers, the whole body suffers.
Consequently, the psychological distress caused by their experiences of incompleteness sometimes impeded integration. However, I learnt that their losses also became motivational, fuelling determination to achieve goals and reunite with families. Thus, many refugees I spoke to were integrating as a by-product of “seeking completeness”. The more complete they felt, the more integrated they felt and tended to be. “Completeness” then, and the lack thereof, influences acculturation and integration, which, as I have learnt, is not an ‘end-goal’ but continual and everchanging. Reflecting on this process, many refugees felt they were responsible for “integration” but also advocated the need for society and host organisations to take more accountability and facilitate a reciprocal exchange. This challenged the idea that integration is a one-way process, with most of the responsibility being placed on refugees.
By now, 20,000 Syrian refugees have been resettled in the United Kingdom (UK) through a scheme born out of a conflict that began over a decade ago. This has led to similar schemes (2) following events in Afghanistan and Ukraine. Yet, those resettled have markedly different experiences from those who attempt to reach the UK themselves, creating inequality in the asylum system. Resettlement schemes provide a “nurturing structure” as my own findings highlighted. However, the focus tends to be on the pragmatic elements of what we consider as “integration” and can neglect the nuanced, cultural and gender-sensitive understanding of refugee needs and distress.
Therefore, we need to understand the impact of refugee experiences within their sociocultural contexts and lives, consider their collective cultures, whilst encompassing cultural curiosity, sensitivity, and trust. Doing so will accommodate cultural manifestations of distress, and, importantly, empower refugees’ own resources and resilience. Recognising refugees’ skills and facilitating the conversion of qualifications or transition into required training will encourage independence and assist in integration. Together with access to legal support, help to apply for family reunification, or facilitating temporary visas, it will help refugees “seek completeness”. As hosts, we should be honoured to welcome individuals who surpass expectations of human determination and perseverance. We should hasten to learn from them and facilitate their own success and contributions to society.