Drawing upon data from field work in a refugee transit camp in Hong Kong, this article attempts to focus on one phase of the refugee experience often overlooked by refugee research scholars and governments charged with the task of refugee resettlement: the phase between flight from persecution and resettlement. The article examines the relationship between culture shock, conditions of life and culture in refugee transit camps, and the emotional and psychological life of the refugees. Implications of the study's data for refugee resettlement are also formulated.
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