Psychosocial assistance to refugees and displaced persons in repatriation process - model proposal

Asistencia psicosocial a refugiados y desplazados en proceso de repatriación - una propuesta de modelo

Displacement and emigration caused by war and social conflicts can be divided into three periods of time. The first period often includes high exposure to acute intense traumatic events, the destruction of the social community and abandonment of homes and places of residence. The second period comprises of finding some temporary accommodation, further exposure to chronically stressfull events and attempts to grasp the situation. Possible concerns during this phase of displacement are they want to stay in the existing accommodation or plan to return to the former place of living. The third phase commences with the reduction or termination of conflicts and lasts until some final solution is reached which includes return or some other decision by which the status of the displaced person is terminated. The passing of this decision is often a very complex process that includes psychological, social, legal, economic and political factors.

Decisions concerning return, when the place of residence is under the supervision of another ethnic group with which there has been conflicts earlier, present a special problem. During the rehabilitation process with victims of torture and members of their families, a model was developed for psychosocial assistance to facilitate the process of making a decision concerning return. The specific feature of the programme is going into homes, in the company of experts, with the aim of creating conditions in which they can actively take and informed decision through confrontation with the reality.

A system of monitoring has been developed which includes measurement of the level of trauma, the degree of psychological and health-related problems, the hierarchy of factors which are important to making a decision concerning the future place of residence, some personality properties, expectations and sociodemographic variables.

Results were analysed before and after the visiting of homes, and predictors were determined concerning the degree of positivity about the decision concerning return. The model also includes monitoring of families that decided, and returned to, the former place of residence. The accessibility of accurate information, being realistic about one's expectations, traumatic experiences and social support have proven to be important aspects in making the decision concerning return.

We consider that this model may be widely applicable to various situations requiring a decision concerning the solution of the status of a displaced person.