lanaudière heaven for colombian refugees-the reality of what is and the dream of what could be
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8/15/2019 Lanaudière Heaven for Colombian Refugees-The Reality of What is and the Dream of What Could Be
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LIFE: International Journal of Health and Life-Sciences
ISSN 2454-5872
Fanny Robichaud et al.
Special Issue Vol. 2 Issue 1, pp. 01-17
DOI-http: d!.doi.o"# 10.20$1% li&hls.201'.s21.0117
LANAUDIÈRE HEAVEN FOR COLOMBIAN REFUGEES:THE REALITY OF WHAT IS AND
THE DREAM OF WHAT COULD BE.Fanny Robic a!"
Université du Québec en Outaouais, Campus de St-Jérôme, Canada, fanny.robichaud@u o.ca
Ca#$ Lac a#i%&Université du Québec ! "rois-#ivi$res, "rois-#ivi$res, Canada,
car%.%acharite@u tr.ca
F#ancin' "' Mon%i(nyUniversité du Québec en Outaouais, &atineau, Canada,
francine.demonti'ny@u o.ca
Ab)%#ac%Considerin' the steady increase in the arriva% of refu'ee fami%ies, it seems essentia% to point out
the cha%%en'es this ne( rea%ity raises and to e)p%ore avenues that (ou%d resu%t in a positive
e)perience for fami%ies. "he authors su''est cha%%en'in' our perceptions of the refu'ees*
e)perience by 'ivin' a voice to these fami%ies and darin' to consider them as e)perts in their
o(n e)perience. +ppreciative in uiry (as used to e)p%ore not on%y the cha%%en'es faced by
refu'ee fami%ies, but a%so to uncover the successes and shed %i'ht on ne( so%utions. "heimportance of inc%udin' fami%ies in the research process and in discussions re%ated to the
deve%opment of services stands out, as (e%% as the empo(erin' effect of reco'ni in' the fami%y
(isdom.
*'y+o#")
( 201' )he autho" and *RDS +ublishin#. ll "i#hts "ese" ed.Available Online at: http: #"dspublishin#.o"# &ou"nals- IF/-ho e
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Appreciative inquiry, families, parents and partners, refugees
,. In%#o"!c%ionThe last twenty years have been marked by numerous conflicts and natural disasters, and
the number of families found outside their country or region of origin is growing. Given this
steady increase and the fact that the majority of refugees and displaced persons are in developing
countries, the United ation !igh "ommissioner for #efugees $U !"#% urge developed
countries to maintain and increase their efforts to receive them $U !"#, &'(', &'()%.
*n (+ -, new protections for refugees were built into "anada s immigration policy,
thereby opening the door to families seeking asylum. /etween &''0 and &''-, (0.01 of
immigrants to the province of 2uebec were refugees $3*"", &''+%. 4f the (5 regions in
2uebec, the 6anaudi7re region ranks si8th in the number of refugees hosted $3*"", &''+%.
According to data available in &''+, the region hosted more than &,''' immigrants of all
categories $3*"", &''+%. These newcomers come from many different places, although &&.51
of the immigrants to 6anaudi7re between &''9 and &'' were refugees and 51 of these were
from "olombia $3*"", &''+%.
To assist families in the arrival and integration process in 6anaudi7re, several programsand various resources have been developed. :ducation, health and other institutions have
reviewed their service offerings to include a component on cultural diversity that would meet the
needs of immigrant families. !owever, despite the avowed intention to consider the needs of
immigrant families, the families themselves are rarely involved in the process of program
development; the same applies to research that focuses on their situation $tein et al., &''&; Usita ? /lies=ner, &''&%.
According to "annon, !igginbotham, and 6eung $(++-% and Alvare=, @asque=, 3ayorga,
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communication, Canuary, &''&%. This may e8plain why !ispanic women are particularly difficult
to recruit $Alvare= et al., &''5%; they occupy a central role within the family, which also has animpact on their ability to engage in activities outside the home. ummerfield, (+++%. The usual modus operandi introduces a bias from the outsetD the perspective
of the observer whose training and culture will have an impact on the analysis of the situation.
This impact begins from the point of view of problemati=ation, which has been the subject of
numerous studies $/reslau, Eavis, Andreski, ? Beterson, (++(; Ee Cong et al. &''(; 3ooren,&''(; #edwood "ampbell et al., &''9%. ummerfield $&''), &''-%,
an accurate understanding from the perspective of people who have e8perienced the situation isessential. Using such an approach, this study aims to identify the best practices and strengths of
refugee families arriving in rural areas of 2uebec. 3ore particularly, it aims toD
• Brovide a different perspective on the e8perience of immigrant families, specifically
refugees, using appreciative inquiry to give voice to those families and their partners.
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• !ighlight the value of the successes and the paths to solutions $"ooperrider,
>orensen, Hhitney, ? Iaeger, &'''; Eunst, Trivette ? Eeal, (++)%.The research questions we would like to answer areD
• Hhat strengths identified by refugee families and partners facilitate integration and
family life in communities in northern 6anaudi7reJ
• Hhich best practices are identified by the families and partnersJ
• !ow can the establishment or maintenance of these practices be promotedJ
-. M'% o"
&.(. O '# i'+ o/ % ' M'% o"This study was based on appreciative inquiry $A*%, which begins by recogni=ing the
e8perience of its participants. 3eetings are planned to move through four phases. The first phase
is iscovery . This phase e8plores, evaluates, and describes the group or organi=ation and what is
working well $"ooperrider ? al., &'''%. The second, reamin' , e8plores what the organi=ation,
group or service could be. This phase has three elementsD a vision of a better world, a powerful
goal, and strategic findings $"ooperrider ? al., &'''%. The esi'n phase involves the
operationali=ation of the project, that is, the creation of the ideal organi=ation, during which it
becomes necessary to prioriti=e, to make choices. The last phase, estiny , is the creation of the
network that will allow the project to be achieved and to facilitate connections.
-.-. S'%%in(The area encompassed by this study is northern 6anaudi7re. The 6anaudi7re region of
2uebec is among those targeted by a provincial program for the location of refugees since (++5.
*n the region targeted by the study, refugees have settled mainly around Coliette because of the
pro8imity to services, so researchers for this study have focused primarily on these services.
#efugee origins vary from year to year, depending on conflict situations. Therefore, to provide a
portrait of the situation in the Coliette regional municipal county $#3"% for the clientele of
health, social and education services, the researchers invited participants from diverse
backgrounds. !owever, only families of "olombian origin indicated an interest in taking part in
the study. 6imitations related to this situation are addressed in the discussion of results.( 201' )he autho" and *RDS +ublishin#. ll "i#hts "ese" ed.Available Online at: http: #"dspublishin#.o"# &ou"nals- IF/-ho e
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-.0. 1a#%ici2an%)
*n all, 9- individuals were interviewedK&- adults, as well as (' teenagers, who areidentified as partners $as defined below%. 4f the adults, (& are parents who live with their
spouses, 9 are single parents, and (9 are adult partners, of whom some are parents. The parents
have at least one child and they arrived in the 6anaudi7re region under refugee status in the four
years prior to the beginning of the study.
-.3. 1a#%n'#)Bartners are people who have been involved in the reception, integration, or support
provided to refugee families in the 6anaudi7re region. A previous study $#obichaud, &''0% found
that several partners become involved when a refugee family arrives and settles in a community.
Those partners, identified by families, come from various organi=ationsKschools, health centers
and social services, refugee shelters, volunteers, church services, and community policingKas
well as host families.
To be considered as partners, they had to have interacted, either in their workplace or
volunteer work, with refugee families, or to have participated in planningLprogramming services.
Bartners may also be caregivers, refugees, or people of 2uebec origin $2uebeckers% who offer
their assistance to families or individuals.
-.4. 1#oc'"!#' /o# Da%a Ac5!i)i%ionTo promote a consistent flow and rhythm during meetings, the Eiscovery and Ereaming
phases were discussed over two meetings. These meetings were held in peopleMs homes or in
their workplace, while the Eesign phase was developed at meetings attended by participants in a
room specifically booked for this purpose. The Eestiny phase is reserved for the final meeting to
which all participants as well as various guests are invited. The four phases often overlap
throughout the researchKA* is a continuous, not a linear process $Hhitney ? TrNsten /loom,
&'('%. Given the variety of partners, the principal investigator chose a strategy used by "arter
$"arter, personal communication, Cune &''5% to perform the first meetings in Finterviews
targeting the situation of a family Kby undertaking interviews individually, in pairs, or with one
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parent and one or more partners, depending on preferences and the particular situation of each
family.The subsequent meetings were held mostly in the form of groups. >pecial attention was
given to the balance of the groups formed to ensure the sharing of power. *n addition, the
principal investigator reserved the right to meet individually with anyone who might have been
uncomfortable contributing to group e8changes. At any time, participants could join or leave the
group meetings. This openness was part of a process that promotes the empowerment of the
families. To facilitate e8changes, parents and partners were free to use the language of their
choice during meetings. Hith an interpreter present, everyone could e8press themselves and
understanding of the contributions was more likely because e8changes were translated in the two
languages usedK>panish and
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The first level analysis was done in two waysD at the end of the first interviews,
participants were invited to make a synthesis of discussions that occurred; then the principalinvestigator confirmed all perceptions with them and any information that seemed significant.
Barticipants then took part in the second level of analysis; they were asked to clarify, discuss,
adjust and summari=e the issues that they believed were representative of their collective
e8perience and of individual participants. Euring meetings, consensus was the goal, although
according to A*, in the event of any disagreement, the researcher should ensure that the all
messages are represented in the final report on the e8changes and mentions the presence of, and
respect for, differences among participants. *n a third series of interviews, participants went
deeper into the second level analysis. Horking from syntheses developed in the preceding series,
were asked to develop a summary of the elements essential to creating success stories. Thus they
not only determined the elements that directly resulted from the study, but also those for which
the principal investigator could make connections with current knowledge.
Barticipants also took part in planning meetings and their content.
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0. R')!$%) an" Di)c!))ion
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themselves; and sensing interest and a mutual commitment. *t is interesting that the partners
identified certain conditions that are more in the realm of perception, while the conditionsrevealed by the families seem to focus more on actions.
9.9. Co66!nica%ion"ommunication is cited as presenting many challenges. The ultimate goal is for families
to acquire the ability to share their e8perience, needs, and opinions in the language of the host
community. According to participants, there should be different kinds of groups with different
teaching methods tailored to individuals and their situations. This is key for smooth integration
and access to services. Eespite the high cost of such support, participants are in favor of the
presence of support for translation andLor interpretation and for guidance during training at work
or parent meetings at school to optimi=e their participation in society. To this end, they proposed
specifically that partnerships with students from language schools or translation training courses
be e8plored in addition to the use of current volunteers.
9.0. R')2'c%*t is interesting to note that participants dwelt for quite a while on the ways in which
respect presents itself, especially in connection with their arrival; the partners also raised
concerns with regard to their own culture and judgments that they sometimes perceive are made by the newcomers. Barticipants agreed on the fact that nobody likes to be labelled and that they
e8pect to be considered and treated as unique. They noted that there were differences within their
group just as within the "olombian and 2uebec communities and that respect for these
differences is essential. Aroian and orris $&'''% and Eesmet, 4rtuQo 4rtRn, and Hac=iarg
$&'()% have noted the importance of diversity within a cultural group and identified the impact
of diversity on needs. A sensitive issue concerns the housing provided to newly arrived families,
who believe that the type of accommodation offered is an indication of the respect accorded totheir situation, needs, and concerns. 4ne proposal the group puts forward to promote respect
through accommodations is to set up an association of immigrants that would come to the aid of
families looking for housing, offering choices to them when they arrive, informing them of the
laws that pertain to renting accommodations, homeowners interested in renting housing could
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tender offers to a government body that would follow this up with quality assurance measures to
ensure housing meets the minimum standards they would establish.9.). An A"'5!a%' S!22o#% N'%+o#7
The arrival e8perience is intense and unsettling, and participants e8pressed that the need
for personali=ed services that help one feel safe and welcome. An adequate support network was
identified as another success determinant.
4ne such network is the organi=ationalLprofessional support network. A pivotal element
regarding this network is the information transmitted. Barticipants say this should focus on job
opportunities, recogni=ing the professional bodies to which they have belonged, the training they
have had, and any related mattersKall this while they are still in "olombia. *nformation on
education and qualification recognition must also be transmitted quickly since these are long
processes that have a direct impact on the family s integration. Barticipants say it is also
important to maintain a link with newly arrived families and to be proactive in offering support.
:qually important is the social support network, which is developed more informally in
the community through job shadowing and immigrant families helping their own or other
families. /OrubO s $&''0% work follows a similar path, maintaining that the support offered for
housing, access to information, improved living conditions, or access to employment helps a parent reconcile multiple roles, set e8pectations, and better steer the way to integration.
9.5. A!%ono6yAutonomy is a determinant that quickly obtained the group s consensus.
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meetings for this study. All in all, throughout the process of integration into a new community
and despite the obstacles and doubts they encountered, participants affirm the importance theyattach to the family unit and clarify the type of support needed to preserve this particular aspect
with reference to role transitioning. Another issue discussed at the meetings was the negative
impact their culture shock has on the family. To counteract this, in the opinion of participants,
families and partners must be involved at all levels of prevention, detection, and response. These
approaches are similar to the conclusions of @at= 6aaroussi $&''-% and /OrubO $&''0% in which
the family must guide the analysis and be at the heart of programming interventions for
immigrants.
9.-. Ti6' /o# R'$a8a%ion an" R'c#'a%ion3any mentioned the physical and mental benefits of sporting activities, as well as
associated effects such as being in contact with others in an informal conte8t, pushing one s
limits, and letting off some steam. 4thers are attracted more to cultural or social activitiesD group
dancing, going to see a movie, reading a good book, walking in a park. *t is interesting to note
that the children interviewed previously mentioned this need in themselves as much as in their
parents, acknowledging everyone s need to escape from a rather heavy daily routine. *n addition
to providing a sense of balance and recovery, recreation promotes community integration $Bau=O? GagnO, &'')%, thus contributing indirectly to maintaining and developing the social network.
9.+. Ho2'Although this aspect was less discussed, the group is unanimous about this aspect, yet it
is undoubtedly the most surprising aspect for the principal investigator. *n fact, although distinct
from the other determinants, hope is closely related to several of them.
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participants to get involved in co creating group measures that are closely related to practice
$"arter, &''5a%. Barticipants, as witnesses to change over the course of the study, reali=e that theycan have some control over their situation. The contributions noted during the study seem to
support /arrett $(++)%, for whom the underlying e8perience of A* is itself a source of
empowerment for participants.
Through the A* process, nine elements were identified as keys to improve the
immigration e8perienceD recognition, commitment, communication, respect, an adequate support
network, autonomy, family identity, time for rela8ation and recreation, and hope. The study also
showcases the successes and strengths of participants, including their abilities with regard to
facing their e8perience and identifying possible solutions. 3oreover, according to several
contemporary authors, the recognition of community and family strengths is essential for
identifying priority areas in intervention, research, and the development of health policy
$#ousseau, !assan, 3orneau ? Thombs, &'((; >ummerfield, &''); Usita ? /lies=ner, &''&%. *n
research as in clinical assessment, focusing on problems when developing services or teaching
and training professionals, does not take into account a global vision of the e8perience and needs
of families. The ownership of the research process demonstrated by the families of this study
shows that they have the ability to analy=e their e8periences and identify possible solutions.*n all the success determinants identified by participants, it is interesting to note the
pervasiveness of the concept of personal responsibility or action. This concept imbues the
descriptions of the determinants, the phraseology, the themes chosenKall reflect a concern for
action. According to A* researchers, adopting a statement on a change to be made is a harbinger
of change, just as, according to A*, the very discussion of change is already a change in itself
$/ushe, &'((%.
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