What Stressors Do Refugees Face?

Life Under Stress

Life holds many challenges of its own. For a completely normal-average person with normal living conditions, he surely has challenges in his everyday life. 

Every stage of our life has challenging conditions of its own; the stress of education, the stress of working, the stress of healthcare, and the stress of financial stability! And that’s just the stressors you face as an individual!

When you’re part of a family, or you are that person who is responsible for a family of your own, things will be more challenging, for sure.

Now, let’s imagine a person living in a camp, on borders, who is responsible for a family or even more than a family. How much stress would he be dealing with every single day?

Refugees Stress

Refugees face unbearable conditions, as their everyday life has a shortage in every concept of their daily life routine. 

Thousands of refugees have fled their homes overnight, hardly carrying what their hands can hold!

The brutal war has stolen away everything from them; their loved ones, their safety, their health, and their life savings.

Out of the blue, refugee families found themselves in the open, with no descend food to eat, no clean water to drink, no shelter to keep them warm and safe, and no hope for tomorrow. 

Unable to go back, nor able to move forwards. 

The Stress of War and Persecution

During the war, people are exposed to various traumatic events; many who have witnessed the savage outcomes of war or been victimized or persecuted throughout this brutal war have for sure developed mental health problems, like post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression. 

Some of those refugees have been exposed to victims of violence or victims of persecution, and the stress that it leaves upon those refugees is unbearable symptoms like; 

• Physical and mental exhaustion.
• Decrease in responsiveness.
• Hesitancy and uncertainty.
• Feeling disconnected.
• The inability to focus.

Not to mention the physical injuries and the lack of healthcare that lead those refugees to much more miserable and poorer life outcomes as adults. 

The Stress of Displacement from Their Home

During the war and armed conflict, people find themselves forced to flee or leave their homes.

Those displaced people are generally subject to heightened vulnerability in many areas and on a daily bases.

Displaced people suffer from significantly higher mortality rates than the general population, as they remain at increased risk of physical attacks, persecution, sexual assault, and abduction, adding to the fact that displaced people are frequently deprived of adequate shelter, food, and health services.

Stress of Migration

War, armed conflict, or government persecution is a major key factor for migration.

The absence of a decent, safe life has forced thousands of people to leave their homes for a better safe place to live in.

Migration might sound like the ideal solution for those people; however, migration comes with a set of stress of its own.

Some immigrants experience racism, xenophobia, and anti-immigrant sentiment, and this discrimination can be a key cause of acculturative stress.

Stress of Poverty

Poverty impacts all sides of life for a person, young, adults, or even children! Poverty leads to many setbacks on different essential levels;

1. poor infrastructure.
2. Unemployment.
3. Malnutrition.
4. Domestic violence.
5. Child labor.
6. Various diseases.  

Financial stability keeps families safe and healthy and provides a decent life for them to live a healthy social life among their peers and society. 

The Stress of Family/Community Violence

Both refugees and migrants are subject to the stress of community violence.

As an outsider (displaced, refugee, or an emigrant) trying to start a new life in a new place – hosting country – there will be severe challenges they must face and overcome to reach a decent living level in the new home.

However, many facts have harmful impacts on their evolution.

Some of the primary key factors are;

• Language and cultural differences.
• Racism and intolerance of the newcomers.  

Exposure to violent events can be traumatic and negatively impact multiple factors such as development, academic functioning, coping skills, and relationships.

Kids are exposed to violence in their communities at a much higher rate and through technology.

In some cases, young children face family violence when forced to leave school and go to work instead to help with the family’s income.

Also, for some families, one of the parents or both find it hard to get to their child’s way of thinking because children can cope faster than their parents in the new community they’ve settled in, which leads to the presence of a generation gap between the family members and leading to the stress of family violence. 

Family and community violence can cause significant physical injuries and mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Living in a community experiencing violence is also associated with an increased risk of developing chronic diseases.  

Resettlement Stress

In countries of resettlement, refugees only receive limited attention from aid organizations, policy-makers, and service providers.

Some of the resettlements’ stressors are; social support, mental healthcare, housing, and employment.

Difficulties Finding Housing

Finding affordable housing is related to many factors.

The main two factors are; employment and community attitudes.

In some refugee-hosting countries, the people of origin do not feel safe around refugee families; therefore, they create obstacles wherever they can.

And many social and civil parties are feeding the racism talk into the community, making it even harder for refugees to afford a decent living place.

Difficulties Finding Employment

Finding employment depends on mastering the language of the refugee-hosting country and overcoming the communication barriers, which is something more complex than it may sound.

In many countries, employment is not offered on a silver plate, it’s so hard to find, and once you find it, you will face a long list of obligations you need to fulfill to be eligible to apply.

Finding employment is very crucial for an immigrant or a refugee person.

It helps people have a decent life, maintain the safety and health of themselves and their families, and be an active part of the community they live in.

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