Explore the vast range of titles available.

ObjectivesParents are an essential source of constancy and support, and effectively promote children’s resilience even in adversity. To build on this potential, however, more information is needed about the realities of refugee parents in situations of extreme adversity such as war and displacement.MethodsThe present study draws upon data from collaborative family interviews with 46 families (n = 351) who fled Syria and are now living as refugees in Lebanon.ResultsThe findings describe the challenges parents faced and the ways they attempted to endure within three temporal dimensions: the past (pre-flight and flight); the present (initial resettlement in the Lebanon); and the future (hopes and aspirations for resettlement). From the start of the war, parents’ foremost priority was protecting their children. Parents spoke about distress caused by family separation, and the loss of the norms, social support, and sense of parental efficacy. Parents also described their own mental health issues related to war and displacement, which influenced their parenting. At the same time, parents’ narratives highlighted how they continued—and even amplified—their caregiving. Parents comforted and distracted their children to help them endure the challenging realties of war and displacement. In Lebanon, parents restricted their children’s mobility to try to keep them safe, provided moral guidance, increased family closeness and communication, and planned for children’s futures, particularly through education.ConclusionsPrograms to support child protection must broaden the focus to include the whole family unit, specifically the mental health of caregivers as a means of supporting family wellbeing. (250/250 words).

There are currently a record-setting number of forcibly displaced persons in the world. This number continues to rise as solutions to alleviate humanitarian catastrophes of large-scale violence and displacement continue to fail. The likelihood of the displaced returning to their homes is becoming increasingly unlikely. In many cases, their homes have been destroyed as the result of violence. Why are the homes of certain populations targeted for destruction? What are the impacts of loss of home upon children, adults, families, communities, and societies? If having a home is a fundamental human right, then why is the destruction of home not viewed as a rights violation and punished accordingly? From Bureaucracy to Bullets answers these questions and more by focusing on the violent practice of extreme domicide, or the intentional destruction of the home, as a central and overlooked human rights issue.

In August 2021, the United States withdrew from Afghanistan after 20 years. The fall of the Afghan government to the Taliban resulted in the displacement of some Afghans. Canada committed to welcoming thousands of refugees. Research suggests that refugees tend to have higher rates of post-traumatic stress, and Afghan refugees, in particular, have among the highest rates. Another body of literature suggests that religious coping has positive effects. This paper presents qualitative data from interviews with 11 Afghan refugees who arrived in Ontario after August 2021 with the intent to combine these two findings. In so doing, we sought to understand how Afghan refugees described their experiences of displacement and the extent to which those experiences were traumatic, but also how they relied on Islam to cope with the traumatic effects of displacement. The interviews we conducted suggested that our participants experienced exposure to death, exposure to threat of death and/or injury, and described some of symptoms of the criteria for PTSD. The interviews also suggested that the participants coped using Islamic concepts, beliefs, and rituals. The qualitative data we present provide rich descriptions of the experiences of trauma in the face of displacement and religious coping.

There are currently a record-setting number of forcibly displaced persons in the world. This number continues to rise as solutions to alleviate humanitarian catastrophes of large-scale violence and displacement continue to fail. The likelihood of the displaced returning to their homes is becoming increasingly unlikely. In many cases, their homes have been destroyed as the result of violence. Why are the homes of certain populations targeted for destruction? What are the impacts of loss of home upon children, adults, families, communities, and societies? If having a home is a fundamental human right, then why is the destruction of home not viewed as a rights violation and punished accordingly? From Bureaucracy to Bullets answers these questions and more by focusing on the violent practice of extreme domicide, or the intentional destruction of the home, as a central and overlooked human rights issue.

Thirty specialists in humanitarian work supporting the care and protection of children in crisis settings completed a 3-phase Delphi consultation. Proposals of best practice were elicited, reviewed, and rated by participants. A high level of consensus support was reached for 55 statements. These statements emphasized utilization of existing resources, participation, and inclusivity. The influences of resilience theory, social ecology, and cultural sensitivity were clearly evident. The utilization of developmental theory could be strengthened in relation to more differentiated understanding of the operation of protective influences and conceptualization of such influences in terms of \"adaptive systems/' Wider research engagement by development scientists in diverse cultural settings and clear formulation of findings for practitioners and policy makers would further support evidence-based humanitarian practice.

Developing sustainable efforts to address the psychosocial consequences of complex emergencies is often a challenge. There is a limit to what humanitarian efforts can achieve, even with the best of intentions. Locally based tertiary education programmes are needed to provide conceptual frameworks and to develop and sustain professional psychosocial support programmes both during and after the emergency. In Afghanistan, over 30 years of armed conflict and its sequelae have placed an extraordinary emotional strain on every member of the population, affecting not only individuals but also families and communities. The Ministry of Higher Education has therefore taken the initiative to develop two new academic programmes in counselling psychology in its public university system. These programmes are designed to prepare a new generation of academics who can come to understand the specific Afghan context of psychosocial suffering and prepare appropriate interventions to support transformation on an individual and communal level. They are also poised to educate a new generation of qualified practitioners to serve individuals, families, communities and the society itself. In this article, the authors describe a partnership programme with the two universities designed to provide external support for their efforts.

Afghanistan continues to face extraordinary challenges after almost 40 years of continuous armed conflict. Despite these difficulties, many Afghans have been working tirelessly to protect, rebuild, develop and maintain their national institutions. One such effort was the National Strategy for a Mentally Healthy Afghanistan (Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GOIRA), & Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), 2009), which recognised the impact of conflict on mental health and psychosocial wellbeing. The National Strategy laid out an ambitious scheme for establishing integrated and comprehensive mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) in the country. Under the leadership of the Ministry of Public Health, professional psychiatric care is now part of the Basic Package of Health Services and Essential Package of Hospital Services. Furthermore, primary care doctors, assisted by paraprofessionals, are available to diagnose and treat people with mental health, neurological and substance use disorders, working in settings ranging from the hospital to the community. However, the National Strategy also noted that nearly four decades of armed conflict has overstressed many of the protective factors that were inherent in Afghan society. Many Afghans experience psychological sequelae directly related to the conflict, such as injury, loss and exile. However, many more experience the indirect effects of conflict, such as the ossification of family structures, erosion of communal protections, uncertainty about the future and stressors affecting familial and communal relations. In addition, economic deprivation caused by ongoing violence, severe drought and low levels of growth also take their toll on psychosocial wellbeing (Babury & Hayward, 2013; Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GOIRA) & Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), 2009; Miller, Omidian, Rasmussen, Yaqubi, & Daudzai, 2008; Ventevogel, Jordans, Eggerman, van Mierlo, & Panter-Brick, 2013). In fact, approximately 80% of Afghans who seek MHPSS services are experiencing non-psychotic disorders and adversity-related distress, requiring professional counselling and psychosocial supports rather than medical psychiatric care (Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GOIRA) & Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), 2009). However, until just two years ago, there was no university-level programme to educate Afghan counsellors, leaving a significant gap in the country’s capacity to respond to the large number of Afghans who enter mental health clinics in need of a broad range of professional responses to the adversity-related psychological and social problems.

Purpose As host to over one million Syrian refugees, Lebanon continues to experience challenges addressing the needs of refugee families. This research examined the experiences of Syrian families with the refugee support system in Lebanon. The purpose of this study was to better understand the strengths and gaps in existing mechanisms of support for these Syrian families, including informal support from family, neighbors and community and more formalized support provided through entities such as nongovernmental organizations and United Nations agencies. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 46 families displaced by the war and living in Lebanon (N = 351 individuals within 46 families). Collaborative family interviews were conducted with parents, children and often extended family. Findings The data identified both strengths and gaps in the refugee support system in Lebanon. Gaps in the refugee support system included inadequate housing, a lack of financial and economic support, challenges with a lack of psychosocial support for pregnant women and support for disabled youth. Despite these challenges, families and community workers reported informal community support as a strong mediator of the challenges in Lebanon. Furthermore, the data find that organizations working with Syrian families are utilizing informal community support through capacity building, to create more effective and sustainable support services. Originality/value This study provides an overview of strengths and gaps in supports identified by refugees themselves. The research will inform the development and improvement of better support systems in Lebanon and in other refugee–hosting contexts.

In diesem Beitrag befassen wir uns mit den ethischen Implikationen einer qualitativen Studie zu Mobilität im Alltag von syrischen Familien, die angesichts des Krieges in Syrien in den Libanon geflohen sind. Die Daten wurden mit verschiedenen Methoden erhoben – mit kollaborativen Familieninterviews, Zeichnungen und Karten von Kindern, GIS-unterstützten Spaziergängen sowie einem Logbuch für Aktivitäten – wodurch insbesondere die Teilnahme von Kindern und Familien ermöglicht wurde. Diese Methoden erlaubten es, familiäre Netzwerke und Beziehungen zu untersuchen und auch die Umwelten zu erfassen, die auf das Leben der Familien nach Krieg und Flucht einwirken. Unser Vorgehen, wie im Grunde jede Erforschung von vulnerablen Gruppen, war von ethischen Fragen begleitet. Auf Basis eines ethischen Reflexionsprozesses diskutieren wir in diesem Beitrag sechs Punkte, die sowohl mit Fragen der prozeduralen Ethik als auch mit Fragen der Mikro-Ethik verbunden sind. Dabei unterstreichen wir die Bedeutung von kreativen Forschungsmethoden, die es erlauben, alltägliche Erfahrungen von geflüchteten Familien zu erfassen. Darüber hinaus besprechen wir weiter gefasste ethische Implikationen, insbesondere wie sich eine respektvolle Arbeit mit vulnerablen Bevölkerungsgruppen mit einer Gewährleistung der Integrität als Forschende verbinden lässt.