Time, support and patience needed to help refugees, volunteers told

Behaviours that allowed Syrian families to survive life in a war zone or refugee camp can be maladaptive to their new life in Canada, a therapist told volunteers at a workshop Friday.

Karin Linschoten, a senior therapist at the Mennonite Centre for Newcomers, hosted the workshop for volunteers who work with Syrian refugees to help them understand why refugees do what they do.

The life of most Canadians is highly structured with fixed routines around going to work or school at the same time every day, Linschoten said.

"For somebody in a camp where the situation is very dangerous, if they do the same thing every day at the same time, they won't do it very long," she said. "Their survival skill is to not have routines."

Linschoten said for a client who is very late for an appointment, it may be their survival instinct kicking in.

"If a volunteer has an understanding that this is not disrespect; this is not an 'I don't care' attitude, but it comes from a whole life experience this person had, it makes it easier to be patient and to teach rather than punish," she said.

PTSD affects learning, concentration

Struggling with trauma as a result of violence makes adapting to life in Canada even more difficult, she said.

"What trauma actually impacts is [the skills] they need the most when they come here. It has an impact on the ability to take in new information, to memorize, to concentrate."

Volunteers must offer time, support and patience to help the refugees, she said.

"These people have enormous strength, otherwise they wouldn't make it here," Linschoten said. "They have a lot of resilience."

The proper support initially is important to the long-term success, she said.

Refugees and immigrants want to contribute to their adoptive society, she said.

They not only bring a richness to society, but are willing to do jobs that Canadians don't want to do, Linschoten added.

"We are not just bringing them because we are humanitarian," she said. "Our economy is not sustainable with just the people who are born in Canada."