Abstract
Refugees experience traumatic life events with impacts amplified in regional and rural areas due to barriers accessing services. This study examined the factors influencing the lived experience of resettlement for former refugees in regional Launceston, Australia, including environmental, social, and health-related factors. Qualitative interviews and focus groups were conducted with adult and youth community members from Burma, Bhutan, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Iran, and Sudan, and essential service providers (n = 31). Thematic analysis revealed four factors as primarily influencing resettlement: English language proficiency; employment, education and housing environments and opportunities; health status and service access; and broader social factors and experiences. Participants suggested strategies to overcome barriers associated with these factors and improve overall quality of life throughout resettlement. These included flexible English language program delivery and employment support, including industry-specific language courses; the provision of interpreters; community events fostering cultural sharing, inclusivity and promoting well-being; and routine inclusion of nondiscriminatory, culturally sensitive, trauma-informed practices throughout a former refugee’s environment, including within education, employment, housing and service settings.
Highlights
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) [1] defines a refugee as “a person forced to flee their country because of violence or persecution.” People fear persecution because of their nationality, religion, race, social group membership or political opinion, with the leading causes of refugees fleeing countries including ethnic, religious and tribal violence, and war [2].By the end of 2017, displacement due to armed conflict, violence or persecution occurred for 68.5 million people worldwide
The current study aimed to explore the lived experience of resettlement for former refugees in Launceston, a regional area of Australia
It aims to offset the scarcity of existing qualitative health and social research in this area, drawing on perspectives of former refugees as well as the essential service providers (ESPs) who work with former refugees through their everyday provision of services
Summary
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) [1] (para. 1) defines a refugee as “a person forced to flee their country because of violence or persecution.” People fear persecution because of their nationality, religion, race, social group membership or political opinion, with the leading causes of refugees fleeing countries including ethnic, religious and tribal violence, and war [2]. Several areas are highlighted as in need of further investigation, including a need to explore and acknowledge experiences of resettlement [5], to pick up where previous studies have fallen short by exploring how trauma impacts experiences of resettlement [11], as well as looking at how discrimination may be experienced in employment and in accessing housing [12,15], in regional areas where barriers to access to health and support services are pronounced [22]. The current study aimed to explore the lived experience of resettlement for former refugees in Launceston, a regional area of Australia It aims to offset the scarcity of existing qualitative health and social research in this area, drawing on perspectives of former refugees as well as the essential service providers (ESPs) who work with former refugees through their everyday provision of services
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