Occupational Upheaval during Resettlement and Migration: Findings of Global Ethnography with Refugees with Disabilities

Abstract

There is an emerging interest in issues of occupational justice and occupational deprivation within contemporary occupational therapy practice and theory. To inform this emerging agenda, research with populations at risk of occupational injustice is crucial. This study used a global ethnography framework to explore disabled refugees' access to occupational participation in the context of the U.S. refugee resettlement program. Narrative data from eight Cambodian and seven Somali refugees were combined with documentary analysis and information obtained from service providers. Data were analyzed using grounded theory techniques. Findings revealed a strong policy emphasis on employment and self-sufficiency within the U.S. refugee resettlement program. Consequently, resettlement service providers focused on the dichotomous options of work or welfare, overlooking the broader occupational needs of disabled refugees. Lacking supportive services for developing vocational skills or exploring occupational alternatives, the refugees struggled to find occupational avenues that would earn them social validity and integration into American society, leading to feelings of isolation and inadequacy. Research and practice initiatives with this population need to consider the role of institutional factors in shaping their occupational participation and evolving occupational needs.

Keywords

refugees disability occupational justice occupational deprivation

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Albrecht

G. L.

Devlieger

P. J.

, & Van Hove

(2009). Living on the margin: Disabled Iranians in Belgian society. Disability & Society, 24, 259–271.

Boas

H. H.

(2007). The new face of America's refugees: African refugee resettlement to the United States. Georgetown Immigration Law Journal, 21, 431–468.

Breeden

(2012). Transformative occupation in practice: Changing media images and lives of people with disabilities. OTJR: Occupation, Participation & Health, 32(Suppl.): S15–S24.

Center for Applied Linguistics. (1981). Your new life in the United States. Washington, DC: Author.

Davies

(2008). Working with refugees and asylum seekers. In Pollard

Sakellariou

Kronenberg

, & van Bruggen

(Eds.), A political practice of occupational therapy (pp. 183–190). Edinburgh: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone.

Dossa

(2009). Racialized bodies, disabling worlds: Storied lives of immigrant Muslim women. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Gille

, & O'Riain

(2002). Global ethnography. Annual Review of Sociology, 28, 271–295.

Goza

(2007). The Somali diaspora in the United States: A socio-economic and demographic profile. In Kusow

A. M.

& Bjork

S. R.

(Eds.), From Mogadishu to Dixon (pp. 255–274). Trenton, NJ: The Red Sea Press.

Hasnain

(2010). Brokering the culture gap. Forced Migration Review, 35, 32–33.

10.

Kim

Y. Y.

(1980). Population characteristics and service needs of Indochinese refugees. (Research Project on Indochinese Refugees in the State of Illinois, Vol. 3). Chicago: Traveler's Aid Society of Metropolitan Chicago.

11.

Mirza

(2010). Resettlement for disabled refugees. Forced Migration Review, 35, 30–31.

12.

Mirza

(2011). Disability and cross-border mobility: Comparing resettlement experiences of Cambodian and Somali refugees with disabilities. Disability & Society, 26, 521–535.

13.

Mitchell

(2008). Reflections on working with south Sudanese refugees in settlement and capacity building in regional Australia. In Pollard

Sakellariou

Kronenberg

, & van Bruggen

(Eds.), A political practice of occupational therapy (pp. 197–206). Edinburgh: Elsevier.

14.

National Organization on Disability. (2004). NOD/Harris Survey of Americans with Disabilities. Washington, DC: Author.

15.

Office of Refugee Resettlement. (2011). Refugee Resettlement Program: Report to the Congress, FY 2008. Washington, DC: Author.

16.

Patton

M. Q.

(2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

17.

Roberts

, & Harris

(2002). Disabled people in refugee and asylum-seeking communities in Britain. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation series on social care: Race and ethnicity. Bristol, UK: The Policy Press.

18.

Smith

(2005). ‘Feel the fear and do it anyway’: Meeting the occupational needs of refugees and people seeking asylum. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 68, 474–476.

19.

Stone

J. H. E.

(2005). Culture and disability: Providing culturally competent services. Multicultural Aspects of Counseling Series 21. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

20.

Strauss

, & Corbin

(1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory, procedures and techniques. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE Publications.

21.

Townsend

(2003). Reflections on power and justice in enabling occupation. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 70, 72–87.

22.

Townsend

E. A.

, & Wilcock

A. A.

(2004). Occupational justice and client-centered practice: A dialogue in progress. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 71, 75–87.

23.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. (2011). 60 years and still counting: UNHCR global trends 2010. Geneva: Author.

24.

Whiteford

(2004). When people cannot participate: Occupational deprivation. In Christiansen

C. H.

& Townsend

E. A.

(Eds.), Introduction to occupation: The art and science of living (pp. 221–241). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

25.

Whiteford

(2005). Understanding the occupational deprivation of refugees: A case study from Kosovo. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 77, 78–88.

26.

Wilcock

A. A.

, & Townsend

(2000). Occupational terminology interactive dialogue. Journal of Occupational Science, 7, 84–86.

27.

Wilson

(2008). Illustrating occupational needs of refugees. In Pollard

Sakellariou

Kronenberg

, & van Bruggen

(Eds.), A political practice of occupational therapy (pp. 191–196). Edinburgh: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone.

28.

Women's Commission for Refugee Children and Women. (2008). Disabilities among refugees and conflict-affected populations. New York: Author.