Refl ections on the value of trauma-informed care in a refugee-camp setting in Greece
Jacqui Scott, Lotus Warren, Alex Sonkin and Batseba Asefaw
T e following article has been printed with permission from the Schoolbox project; however, the views expressed are not necessarily those of the project. To donate, or for information about volunteering for Schoolbox, please see the website for details: ht ps://
www.schoolboxproject.org/
“Volunteers are not just our teachers or our friends – they are our brothers and sisters” – refugee family, 2018
Madraaasa! (bang, bang, bang),
madraaaasa! (bang bang bang); the calls of young children announcing the start of the school day, whacking an empty pan with a spoon around their refugee camp as they round up any takers for the day’s activities. Alongside moments of connection, valued interaction and sharing, working with refugee children and families can be easily described as some of the most personally challenging work we have experienced. This article intends to offer our
modest reflections on the value and difference, limitations and dilemmas, that skilled practitioners can bring to voluntary support for families living in the context of forced migration and the accompanying punitive political landscapes. We draw on our experiences of working with the Schoolbox project in one small refugee camp in western Greece, which is the temporary home to Syrian and Iraqi refugees of Arab and Kurdish ethnicity. The Schoolbox project is a non-profit
organisation with an ethos of trauma- informed care (Fallot & Harris, 2008; Butler et al., 2011), aiming to provide mobile and responsive non-formal educational activities, play and support to children and families who are forcibly displaced by conflict. Families and individuals arrive in this
camp following a journey from their own war-torn country, including weeks, sometimes months or years, spent in Turkey, and then the overcrowded Greek island camps. For those who
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The beach at LM
reach the Greek mainland, families still face the unfamiliar and lengthy process of acquiring documentation for resettlement, and can spend interim months waiting for children to be enrolled in Greek schooling. While resettlement in EU countries has previously been difficult to attain, closing of borders and the introduction of the EU-Turkey deal in 2016 has made the process increasingly uncertain (BBC, 2016; European Council, 2016).
Who we are As professionals who want to offer
something, and hesitate to say ‘help’ in this situation, we were all drawn independently to this work, without fully knowing the implications: Lotus: I wanted to respond to the high need for volunteers on the ground and felt
my professional experience meant I might be able to contribute. Alex: I decided to contribute to use my skills in a context outside the UK educational system. I had heard about similar projects in Calais and felt like it would be a good way to help as I have a professional background in teaching so I would be bringing a skill where it may be needed. Batseba: After working in relationship and project management for 6 years, I decided to leave my job and follow my true passion – working towards a cause which helped people. I was moved by the 2016 refugee crisis and I always wanted to help in one way or another. I had experience working with children, I understood the basics of trauma-informed care and felt I could use my skills and compassion to meet the needs of the children in our care. I also felt my experience migrating from Eritrea to
Context 164, August 2019
Refl ections on the value of trauma-informed care in a refugee-camp setting in Greece
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