Somali Communities in Resettlement: Perceptions of Society and ...
Somali Communities in Resettlement: Perceptions of Society and ...
Somali Communities in Resettlement: Perceptions of Society and ...
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
<strong>Somali</strong> <strong>Communities</strong> <strong>in</strong><strong>Resettlement</strong>: <strong>Perceptions</strong> <strong>of</strong><strong>Society</strong> <strong>and</strong> SecurityB. Heidi Ellis, Ph.D.Harvard Medical SchoolBoston Children’s Hospital
Investigative team:PartnersPI: Heidi Ellis, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School <strong>and</strong> Boston Children’s HospitalCo-PI: John Horgan, Ph.D., University <strong>of</strong> Massachusetts, LowellJessica Stern, Ph.D., Harvard School <strong>of</strong> Public HealthSaida Abdi, MSW, Boston Children’s HospitalAlisa L<strong>in</strong>coln, Ph.D., Northeastern UniversityJoshua Kilberg, Ph.D., Carleton University, CanadaCommunity partners:Naima Agalab, Refugee <strong>and</strong> Immigrant Assistance Center (RIAC), Boston, MAFarah Aw-Osman, Canadian Friends <strong>of</strong> <strong>Somali</strong>a, Ontario, CanadaYasmeen Hassan <strong>and</strong> Ubah Farah, CFSSharif A. Mohamed, Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Civic Center (DAHICC), M<strong>in</strong>neapolis, MNFatuma Husse<strong>in</strong>, Director, United <strong>Somali</strong> Women <strong>of</strong> Ma<strong>in</strong>e, Lewiston, MERilwan Osman, Executive Director, <strong>Somali</strong> Bantu Youth Association <strong>of</strong> MEFunders:National Institute <strong>of</strong> Justice, DoJ, <strong>and</strong> M<strong>in</strong>erva Research Initiative, DoD
Refugees• Worldwide more than 40 million peopledisplaced by violence/unrest• US one <strong>of</strong> the largest resettlement programs(~60,000/year, 3 million s<strong>in</strong>ce 1975)• Dynamic nature <strong>of</strong> geopolitical conflict leadsto chang<strong>in</strong>g cultural groups resettled fromconflict regions• <strong>Somali</strong>s among largest refugee groupsresettled <strong>in</strong> US over past decade
<strong>Somali</strong> refugees <strong>in</strong> North• High levels <strong>of</strong> trauma• Discrim<strong>in</strong>ation• Poverty, educationalgaps, acculturativestress• Highest unemploymentrate among East Africanimmigrants, lowest rate<strong>of</strong> college graduation(U.S. Census)America
Domestic radicalization<strong>of</strong> <strong>Somali</strong>s• In 2007 > 20 young <strong>Somali</strong>s left M<strong>in</strong>neapolisto jo<strong>in</strong> Al-Shabaab• 15 Americans killed fight<strong>in</strong>g on behalf <strong>of</strong> Al-Shabaab, 3 <strong>in</strong> martyrdom operations• In 2010, <strong>Somali</strong> refugee <strong>in</strong>dicted forallegedly plott<strong>in</strong>g to bomb Christmas treelight<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> Oregon <strong>in</strong> FBI st<strong>in</strong>g operation
How do we underst<strong>and</strong> this?<strong>Somali</strong>experience <strong>in</strong>resettlement<strong>Somali</strong>communityperceptions<strong>of</strong> society<strong>Somali</strong>domesticradicalization<strong>Somali</strong>communityperceptions <strong>of</strong>securitySecurity /societyresponse
First.. How do we go abouttry<strong>in</strong>g to underst<strong>and</strong> this?
Community BasedParticipatory Research (CBPR)Pillars <strong>of</strong> CBPRCommunityownership <strong>of</strong>both researchtopic <strong>and</strong>solutionCo-learn<strong>in</strong>g:Of both theresearchculture <strong>and</strong> thecommunitycultureBalanceresearch <strong>and</strong>action:Does it leadcommunityprograms <strong>and</strong>policy change?Build capacityby develop<strong>in</strong>glong-termpartnership
School-basedmental healthprogramsPilot study:quantitative<strong>in</strong>terviews <strong>and</strong>focus groups (n=79)Multi-sitelongitud<strong>in</strong>al mixedmethodsstudy(n=400)<strong>Somali</strong>experiences <strong>in</strong>resettlementHowradicalization <strong>of</strong><strong>Somali</strong>s shapes<strong>Somali</strong>experiences <strong>in</strong>resettlementUnderst<strong>and</strong><strong>in</strong>gpathways to <strong>and</strong>away fromviolentextremism• Trauma• Mental Health• Belong<strong>in</strong>g• Trauma• Mental Health• Belong<strong>in</strong>g• Experience <strong>of</strong>media• Openness toviolent activism• Trauma• Mental health• Belong<strong>in</strong>g• Violentactivism, civicengagement,gangs,del<strong>in</strong>quency• Experience <strong>of</strong>formal <strong>and</strong><strong>in</strong>formal<strong>in</strong>stitutions
Approach• Pilot study: mixed methods (quantitative<strong>in</strong>terviews n=79 <strong>and</strong> 8 focus groups), <strong>Somali</strong> malesages 18-25• Longitud<strong>in</strong>al quantitative study– Structured <strong>in</strong>terviews with 400 <strong>Somali</strong>participants at 2 time po<strong>in</strong>ts separated by 1year (time 1 nearly completed)– <strong>Somali</strong> young males <strong>and</strong> females (age 18-30)
M<strong>in</strong>neapolis,MN50,000Toronto,Canada80,000Boston,MA10,000Lewiston,ME6,000Estimated <strong>Somali</strong> Population by State
Experience <strong>in</strong> resettlement,perceptions <strong>of</strong> society
Sample characteristicsBoston(N = 83)M<strong>in</strong>neapolis(N = 115)Toronto(N = 118)Average age 21.59 22.58 19.97% female 48.2 26.1 32.2% born <strong>in</strong> U.S./Canada 4.8 3.5 74.6% born <strong>in</strong> <strong>Somali</strong>a 61.4 68.7 14.4Average years <strong>in</strong> U.S./Canada 10.54 12.86 16.60% <strong>in</strong> school 75.9 51.3 63.6% employed 51.8 52.2 37.3
Trauma
Trauma types(trauma <strong>in</strong> the United States/Canada)
Trauma types (War Trauma)
Everyday Discrim<strong>in</strong>ation(Top 3 Items Endorsed)
Lifetime Discrim<strong>in</strong>ation(Top 3 Items Endorsed)
Experience <strong>in</strong> resettlement,perceptions <strong>of</strong> security
Contact with Law Enforcement
Focus groups“The Americans liv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the US feel unsafe,<strong>and</strong> the <strong>Somali</strong>s feel, you know, disrespected”“… I’m plann<strong>in</strong>g to go to <strong>Somali</strong>a <strong>in</strong> June.I’m go<strong>in</strong>g to be pr<strong>of</strong>iled <strong>in</strong> June. Like, I’mgo<strong>in</strong>g to be pr<strong>of</strong>iled. I’m gonna get stopped,checked…‘Cause, look, <strong>Somali</strong> youth. I’malready a target… I feel that I’m a target <strong>and</strong>they feel that I’m a threat…”
Openness to Violent Extremism(mean)Moderation <strong>of</strong> Trauma <strong>and</strong> ViolentExtremism by Level <strong>of</strong> U.S.Importance54.543.532.521.510.500 1 2US low importance(n=37)US high importance(n=41)Trauma (Count)
A self-fulfill<strong>in</strong>g prophecy?Discrim<strong>in</strong>ationbe<strong>in</strong>g the‘target’Opennessto violentactivismSense <strong>of</strong>alienation
• The process <strong>of</strong> how we go about try<strong>in</strong>g tounderst<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> prevent radicalization canbe part <strong>of</strong> the problem or solution
Key measuresTrauma <strong>and</strong> Stress • War Trauma Screen<strong>in</strong>g Scale (WTSS; Layne, Stuvl<strong>and</strong>, Saltzman, Djapo, & Pynoos, 1999)Political Activism • Activism <strong>and</strong> Radicalism Intention Scales (ARIS; Moskalenko & McCauley, 2009)• Civic Engagement Measure (Stepick, Stepick, & Labissiere, 2008)Mental Health • Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PGI; Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996)• Harvard Trauma Questionnaire, Part IV (Symptoms subscale) (HTQ; Mollica et al., 1996)• Hopk<strong>in</strong>s Symptom Checklist 25 (HSCL-25; Parl<strong>of</strong>f, Kelman, & Frank, 1954)Social Bonds <strong>and</strong> Socialidentity• ARIS (Activism <strong>and</strong> Radicalism Intention Scale, adapted) (Moskalenko <strong>and</strong> McCauley)• Psychological Sense <strong>of</strong> Community Membership (PSCM; Goodenow, 1993; Hagborg, 1998)• Acculturation scale (developed by Barry, 2001, modified by Jorden, Matheson, & Anisman, 2009)• Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire (INQ; Van Orden, Witte, Gordon, Bender, <strong>and</strong> Jo<strong>in</strong>er, 2008).• Adapted Measure <strong>of</strong> Identification with the National Group (Roccas, Klar, & Liviatan, 2006)• Every Day Discrim<strong>in</strong>ation (EDD; Williams, Yu, Jackson, & Anderson, 1997)Neighborhood scale • Adapted from neighborhood assessment measures developed by Rothman et al., 2011, Brennan et al.,2007, <strong>and</strong> Boston Neighborhood Survey 2008Religiousness • A 10-item scale was developed for the current study to assess participants’ religious op<strong>in</strong>ions <strong>and</strong> beliefsSocial Media • The Social Media Use Questionnaire (7 items) was developed for the current study to assess thefrequency <strong>and</strong> types <strong>of</strong> social media that refugee youth use
Activism Radicalism Intention Scale(Moskalenko <strong>and</strong> McCauley), adapted1. I can underst<strong>and</strong> someone who would jo<strong>in</strong>/belong to an organization that fights for his people2. I can underst<strong>and</strong> someone who would donate money to an organization that fights for his people3. I can underst<strong>and</strong> someone who would volunteer his time work<strong>in</strong>g (i.e. write petitions, distribute flyers,recruit people, etc.) for an organization that fights for his people4. I can underst<strong>and</strong> someone who would travel for one hour to jo<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> a public rally, protest, ordemonstration <strong>in</strong> support <strong>of</strong> his people5. I can underst<strong>and</strong> someone who would cont<strong>in</strong>ue to support an organization that fights for his people even ifthe organization sometimes breaks the law6. I can underst<strong>and</strong> someone who would cont<strong>in</strong>ue to support an organization that fights for his people even ifthe organization sometimes resorts to violence7. I can underst<strong>and</strong> someone who would participate <strong>in</strong> a public protest aga<strong>in</strong>st oppression <strong>of</strong> his people evenif he thought the protest might turn violent8. I can underst<strong>and</strong> someone who would attack police or security forces if he saw the police beat<strong>in</strong>gmembers <strong>of</strong> his people