In most cases refugee families come from war-torn countries and many have spent years in refugee camps where they have witnessed violence and deprivation on a daily basis. In many cases these students appear to adapt remarkably quickly, but there are others who experience significant difficulty in adjusting to their new culture. It is only when these students have been allowed the time to recover that learning in school will be able to take place.

Refugee students will have experienced some or all of the following:

• Loss of physical and emotional safety
• Death of family and friends
• Witnessing horrors
• Being forced to leave home
• Separation from relatives and friends
• Physical injury
• Torture
• Rape
• Political harassment
• Detention and disappearances
• Deprivation of normal developmental opportunities
• Poverty and poor nutrition

As a result these students can experience betrayal e.g. a sense of being let down by parents or other adults; loss e.g. close relatives, friends, teachers and others, home, pets, toys and culture; and, trauma e.g. confused thoughts, flashback memories and hyper vigilance.

ESL students who have experienced trauma may have difficulty learning and may exhibit the following signs:

• physical – aches and pains, appetite problems/eating disorders, sleep problems, skin disorders
• emotional /behavioural – daydreaming, externalising (anger/aggression/rebellion/truancy), attention seeking, disinterest
• neural – recall of images, memory disorders, “live for today”, poor concentration.

In order to recapture and/or develop a capacity to learn these students must have:

• opportunities to form stable relationships with an adult whom they can trust;
• opportunities to express anger in a secure environment;
• time to grieve, express sadness, rebuild trust and develop a sense of self worth;
• time for new experiences e.g. hot water and soap, time to get used to school routines, learn basic skills eg. learning to draw, colour in, use scissors, and learn social skills;
• short periods in the classroom and time out for some physical activity.

Decisions regarding class placements are sometimes difficult. While ESL students should generally be placed age appropriately, some have had little or no schooling or have had very different experiences of schooling in their country of origin and this may need to be taken into account.

Recommended references:

• Guide to Working with Young People who are Refugees. Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture, Parkville, Victoria, 1996.
• Rebuilding Shattered Lives. Kaplan, I. Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture Inc., Parkville, Victoria, 1998.
• Refugee Families in Child Care Training Kit. Low, C. Queensland Program of Assistance to Survivors of Torture and Trauma, Fairfield, Queensland, 1997.

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