The occupational nature of a refugee experience 

When fleeing for safety, living in refugee camps or on the streets in a protracted situation, or being detained uncertain of your visa outcome - distress is a normal reaction to an abnormal situation so it makes sense to be distressed!

When you've made it to safety and feel you can hardly cope in your "new world" sometimes this distress is harder to understand and you wonder "what's wrong with me, I survived and coped with so much, what's wrong with me now?"

If you think about your life before you had to flee, the actual flight, the time in limbo in each place, time in detention, time in re-settlement - it is many chapters of change. What changed? Probably lots of things, including invisible things like how you trust others, the world, or even your faith. But let's just look at the simple, practical, every-day things you do - your occupations and life roles.

The odds are that you have lost occupations and roles AND that what you need to know or do to manage your life roles has changed so they look and feel different, AND because you're in a "new world" you need to learn new occupations or step into new life roles. When you think about it - it's no wonder that "arriving" to safety is just the start of "another big story".

New life roles, loss of life roles, changed life roles

Think of all the things you did to look after yourself. . .then think of each chapter of change. . . then think of now. . .Have some occupations been lost? Have some changed to look different? Are there new things you have to do now?

• For example: What and how you eat, sleeping habits, how you keep clean, clothes you wear, looking after your teeth, what you did if you were sick, things you did to stay safe, how you stay mentally well, physical activity to stay strong etc

Think of all the things you did to look after your place. . .then think of each chapter of change. . . then think of now. . .Have some occupations been lost? Have some changed to look different? Are there new things you have to do now?

• For example: Keeping place clean, accessing water, storing food, dealing with rubbish, shopping, buying things/ bills, how you travel, what you have and use in your place, what you could grow, having clean clothes etc. 

Think of all the things you did to earn a living, study, or look after others. . .then think of each chapter of change. . . then think of now. . .Have some occupations been lost? Have some changed to look different? Are there new things you have to do now?

• For example: did your schooling get interupted, do you have to learn a language now, have you lost those you care for, are your qualifications and experience recognised now, are you in a very different situation caring for children alone?

Think of all the things you did to look after social connections to family, friends, elders, community . . .then think of each chapter of change. . . then think of now. . .Have some occupations been lost? Have some changed to look different? Are there new things you have to do now?

• For example: how you express hospitality, who do you look up to, where do you go to be with others, is there anyone that knows and respects you, has the way to do school, church, work etc changed so much that you're isolated?

Think of all the things you did for pleasure, to celebrate, pass time and restore your energy. . . then think of each chapter of change. . . then think of now. . .Have some occupations been lost? Have some changed to look different? Are there new things you have to do now?

• For example: how you observe occasions or festivities, was it solitary or social, do you have the resources you need for your usual interests, are you lost in new social and leisure situations, are there similar places or pastimes for you now?

Settling is the hard work of deciding what to keep, what to change, what to learn, what to let go - so these "every day" things take much energy! It's normal for this to be challenging. It's normal for this to feel hard. It's normal to need others to help you. This doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you. Use this understanding of your story as an "occupational journey" to be kind to yourself. And patient with others. And hopeful. Ask for help when you need it, and keep asking, and keep adjusting.

Refugee Contributions & Positive Stories

Someone created and enabled a musical opportunity for a man amidst his refugee journey. Today he shares his work, challenges, passion, and life music with refugees children here

From a youth escaping Vietnam on a boat, Michael Vo is now a member for local coucil. Read his story, including how he created occupational opportunities for new arrivals learning to drive here

Urim is a 12 year old with a refugee background from Congo who has become an awarded artist within two months of arrival - a reminder that each person is full of possibility and strengths to discover when given occupational opportunities - read more here

From escaping an arranged marraige and opression in Iran to a basement in Sweden, Zinat took public speaking to help improve her Swedish and ended up female comedian of year in 2010 - read more here

A wonderful collection of refugee stories from the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants that put "a face to the facts" and offer glimpses of both occupational distress and healing through occupation and occupational opportunities.

In “Starting From Scratch: Refugees Rebuilding Lives in Baltimore,” we hear the unusual story of a man who wasn’t happy simply making a new life for himself in the United States. He wanted to help others do the same." 

Maulid Warfa vividly remembers the pain of his own childhood and does all he can to help the impoverished, starving children of today. A story from the Los Angeles Times.

If you have settled and would like to share your story, we would love to learn about how you adjusting to lost roles, changed roles, new roles. Some people like to write (eg email their story, or respond to email questions), others like to talk (we summarise a conversation, or actually record it to share), either way contact us as we like to listen and learn to share with others on the site.  

Frequently Asked Questions

Can OOFRAS help me get a humanitarian visa or sponsor me? No, afraid not. Typically each government negotiates "off-shore" humanitarian visa quotas with UNHCR, and governments have their own way to process "on-shore" visa applications.

Where are occupational therapists located? You can see where OTs are trained and work on the World Federation of Occupational Therapy Human Resources Report. Where OTs are employed depends on trends within the country; typically hospitals, schools, nursing homes, outreach teams, community clinics, workplaces, prisons, disability organisations etc.

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If you have more questions, contact us and we will respond, and also update this page to be more helpful. We reply even when we can't help - to acknowledge stories, affirm dignity, and encourage tennacity.