1. The Refugee Experience
Marilyn Fellows Kellogg
Revised 6/01/2009 from
EP 7050: Qualitative Methodology & Applied Research
Plymouth State University
November 2005

2. To Raise Happy, Healthy, Well-adjusted Children
A parent’s role is to protect children physically & psychologically, provide resources, advocate, connect with the community, give spiritual fulfillment
A “family unit” is responsible for the transmission of culture
According to best practices: Bronfenbrenner –Adler – Bowlby & Ainsworth – Glasser - Walker & Riley

3. Manchester, NH Refugees 11. 5 Million are Children Of the 23 Million
Refugee: one outside his/her country, unable to return, due to well-founded fear of violence, injury, torture, death……because of social group, race, religion, nationality, political opinion or environmental disaster
Manchester, NH
Over 10 % of population refugees and immigrants
Over 72 different languages spoken
3-month moratorium in 2004

4. “Nothing of this magnitude since the Holocaust”
Research says
del Valle – Boswell – Daycare Trust
“Nothing of this magnitude since the Holocaust”
Must leave behind all familiar and known
Confused, frightened, overwhelmed
Major medical and psychological issues
Fear of government and social agencies
Some with little or no formal schooling
Language difficulties

5. Escape
From violence at home to shark-infested waters …night runs across borders unknown… to arrival into unfamiliar lands….

6. Survivors of torture & trauma in their homelands…
…escaping to dangerous, crowded camps of despair and hopelessness… physical & psychological traumas of war, torture, disappearance or death of family members and friends…

7. With all these Challenges
"The most effective kind of education is that a child should play amongst lovely things."  Plato
With all these Challenges
Are parents who believe in a better tomorrow…

8. …And are looking for A Safe Haven, Friendships, A New Start…
New opportunities and challenges for us all