SWIS News and Notes 15

SWIS News and Notes is the newsletter of the Settlement Workers in Schools program, a partnership of the Settlement Sector, School Boards and Citizenship and Immigration Canada. This newsletter promotes communication between the steering/operations committees of the eight SWIS projects and shares information about newcomer students and their families

Prolonged Time in Refugee Camps

Meeting the Needs of Refugee Families

Five communities in Southern Ontario are receiving newcomers who have endured considerable hardship as refugees and have lived for many years in refugee camps. Many of the newcomers are originally from rural Sudan and Somalia.

The 2000 newcomers will initially settle in Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton, Kitchener, London and Windsor, although they are not obliged to stay in those communities.

The families are government sponsored refugees and will receive one year of income support, orientation to the community and assistance locating housing.

Although it is impossible to generalize about the experiences of the refugees, school staff and settlement workers should consider the following when assessing the needs of these families.

How are these refugees different than other refugees?

Recent changes in the immigration legislation allow the government to sponsor refugees based solely on humanitarian considerations. “The refugees were deemed vulnerable by CIC because they had been experiencing persecution in the camp for many years.”[1]

Many of the children come from rural areas and may have grown up in a refugee camp. Compared to refugees who come from urban areas, it may take them longer to orient themselves to school and community expectations.

Did the children go to school previously?

Some children have attended school but others may have limited or no prior school experience. The children might have a difficult time adapting and may be dealing with the “…intellectual and behavioural requirements of a structured learning environment for the first time. Some may never have been separated from their parents previously, with the result that commencing school, pre-school or child care may involve considerable anxiety.”[2]

What have the children experienced?

Referring to refugee children in general, the UNHCR Refugee Resettlement Handbook says, “Refugee children and young people will have been exposed to many of the same experiences as their adult counterparts…All will have experienced some degree of dislocation, deprivation, disruption and loss. This may have included the loss of home and friendships as well as the more profound losses of parents, siblings and others through death or separation. Refugee children and young people are likely to have endured changes unheard of in the lives of children in resettlement countries.”[3]

What impact might the refugee experience have on the family?

“Families may not be intact on arrival, a particular concern for families who have lost a breadwinner. Others may be reuniting after prolonged separation and it may take time for them to re-establish mutual understanding. Some refugees, such as children and single men and women, may arrive without customary family support.”

“There may be some adjustment involved for refugee parents in receiving societies in which there may be very different approaches to child welfare and discipline. Children and young people are also likely to be accorded a greater range of rights and freedoms in their new country and this may lead to intergenerational conflict.”[4]

How can schools identify refugee students?

Usually a RAP Settlement Counselor will help the family register for school and may give some information about the family’s background. However, if the family changes schools, the receiving school may not know about the family’s refugee experience unless it is noted in the student’s OSR or if it is mentioned by a parent.

What resources are available to support these families?

The settlement worker can help orient the family. If a family has long term needs, the SWIS worker can work with the school to involve other service providers. Schools and service providers should investigate the resources in the Sudanese or Somali community.

What curriculum resources are available about refugees?

The UNHCR has prepared Teaching Tools, a series of curriculum resources about refugees that links with history, geography, civic education, language/literature and art. The units are designed for three age groups (9-11, 12-14 and 15-18). For more information see http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/publ and follow the link to Teaching Tools. Distributors of bilingual books can provide books in first language.

What information is available to counselors?

·  Refugee Resettlement -(UNHCR) an excellent handbook on meeting the needs of refugees

·  War Affected Children and Schooling in Montreal – Jackie Kirk, Conseil scolaire de l’île de Montréal, promotes community based intervention based on individual and community strengths

How can I get more information?

·  The settlement agency in your community.

·  The Somali and Sudanese organizations in your community.

·  Profile of Sudan, Settlement.org: http://www.settlement.org/cp/english/index.html

[1] CIC News Release Nov 4, 2003

[2] UNHCR: Refugee Resettlement: An International Handbook to Guide Reception and Integration, page 262

[3] ibid, page 263

[4] ibid, page