Psychosocial Distress Common Among Iraqi Refugees, IOM Study Finds
A study by IOM aimed at assessing the mental health and
psychosocial needs of Iraqi refugees in Jordan and Lebanon has
found high levels of emotional and psychological distress.
The assessment, carried out between November 2007 and January 2008
among 200 families (800 people) in the two countries, revealed that
more than half of those interviewed disclosed distress factors
including panic attacks, anger, tiredness, sleep problems and
fears.
For those who had experienced direct violent attacks – 21
per cent of the refugee sample in Jordan and 34 per cent in Lebanon
– including witnessing assassinations of relatives and
friends, torture, rape or kidnappings, psychological distress was
overwhelming.
The insecurity of their refugee life, a lack of employment and
the de-professionalization of Iraqis whose
qualifications are unrecognized, poor living conditions and access
to health and social services, including education, has further
aggravated the situation, particularly among Iraqis who have been
displaced for two years or longer.
Domestic violence is on the increase among the refugee families
as men lose their traditional role of breadwinner with the
breakdown of social structures, a sense of disorientation within
the Iraqi communities in the two countries, and few opportunities
to engage in social activities leading to physical expressions of
anger and frustration. Fifteen per cent of the women interviewed in
female-only focus groups reported an increase in violence in the
family. "A well-raised Iraqi woman should tolerate everything in
silence…my husband has no other way to get rid of his
anger," one woman told researchers.
With 80 per cent of the interviewed families in both countries
saying they want to resettle in a third country or return to Iraq
but with little opportunity to do so in the near future, the report
highlighted the impact of such uncertainty over their future on the
mental health of the families.
Although children were found to be more resilient to their new
situation, many showed behavioural and learning difficulties
attributed not to just distress and stress in the family but also
due to differences in the school curricula between Iraq and their
host country and prolonged absences from school during the
displacement process. A lack of educational infrastructure to meet
the increased demands on the systems in addition to financial
hardships forcing children to seek work also meant that many
children were simply not enrolled at school.
The study, implemented in partnership with a host of
international and non-governmental organizations, including the
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) which provided
financial assistance, as well as the Iraqi Youth League and the
Jordanian Women’s Union, stressed that despite their obvious
problems and need for psycho-social assistance, Iraqi refugees are
unlikely to refer to such assistance due to a traditional
stigmatization of mental health problems, the lack or
difficulty in accessing appropriate services in the two
countries and the lack of outreach on this issue among the refugee
communities.
Assistance is particularly hampered in Jordan by a shortage of
mental health services while in Lebanon, such services are
privatized and lack of financial resources prevents Iraqi refugees
from using them.
The report recommends urgent intervention in order to avoid
long-term psychological problems and to help alleviate the
immediate sufferings of the refugees. In addition to providing
training to various community and health professionals in order to
create national response systems and to avoid the overuse of
medications in dealing with symptoms, IOM recommends direct
interventions. These include multi-functional centres and safe
spaces offering recreational and counselling services as well as
vocational trainings.
"The level of instability is very high among the refugees. We
see humanitarian agencies and governments responding to the basic
needs of displaced Iraqis at home and abroad and we need to see a
similar response in dealing with their equally important
psychological well-being," said Guglielmo Schinina, head of
IOM’s psychosocial office in the Middle East.
To access the study, please go to:
"/jahia/webdav/shared/shared/mainsite/published_docs/brochures_and_info_sheets/report_psy_assessment.pdf"
onclick=
"javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/downloads/pbn/04032008/report_psy_assessment.pdf');"
target="_blank" title="">Assessment on Psychosocial Needs of
Iraqis Displaced in Jordan and Lebanon
For any further details, please refer to the Report on
Psychosocial Needs of Iraqis Displaced in Jordan and Lebanon or
contact:
Mio Sato (Jordan)
Tel. +962 65 65 96 60 ext 1002
E-mail:
"mailto:msato@iom.int" target="_blank" title=
"">msato@iom.int
Rocco Nuri (Lebanon)
Tel. +961 01 752 118 ext 37
E-mail:
"mailto:rnuri@iom.int" target="_blank" title=
"">rnuri@iom.int