Written by Aida Alayarian
Reviewed by Nancy Eichhorn
Afghan police beat deported asylum seekers in front of Danish officers
Refugees in Serbia sprayed with insecticides before forceful eviction
250 refugees feared dead after shipwreck
Gruesome headlines.
Startling photos.
Reality.
We are living amidst an unprecedented global crisis with men, women, and children fleeing war, violence, persecution, torture, poverty, discrimination and exclusion only to face more of the same when they arrive betwixt and between—there are few safe places to call home. They leave cruel, inhuman, degrading treatment and punishment only to be exposed and often victimized further while traveling toward longed for international protection and services.
These people need our help. They deserve our attention. They’ve witnessed and survived atrocities so heart wrenching I can’t bear to write about them in detail. Thankfully clinicians are responding. People like Aida Alayarian, MD are providing services to this vastly under-served client population.
Aida Alayarian, MD, the founder and current Clinical Director of the Refugee Therapy Centre in London, Great Britain, shares her experiences working with people impacted by the refugee crisis. She has previously published books and papers on this topic (click here to read her 2009 article entitled: Children, Torture and Psychological Consequences). In her latest publication, Children of Refugees: Torture, Human Rights and Psychological Consequences, she once again contributes her thoughts on how to support the complex needs of this clientele and identifies the different layers of discrimination and violence that interact to exclude children from resources “required to nurture their full potential” (pg. xiv).
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Photo retrieved from http://www.indialivetoday.com/refugee-crisis-boat-sinks-mediterranean-sea-carrying-300-migrants/5503.html
