ABSTRACT
At the time of writing this chapter there has been much comment in the UK media on “economic” migrants entering Europe and the social tension that will result. Political debate has focused on how to deal with the flow of refugees from wartorn Syria, and those attempting to escape the persecution, violence and poverty in other parts of the Middle East and Africa. Leaders from across the western world have expressed concern at the numbers dying in the attempt to enter Europe. The UK media has reported on families packed into leaking and rudderless boats setting off from Libya or Turkey and drifting towards Italy or Greece, with recurrent tragic deaths by drowning of children and their parents. This political context has similarities with a period when I was engaged in therapeutic work with a young Kurdish adolescent male from Northern Iraq. At that time there was considerable public disquiet at the UK’s military involvement in regime change there and to some extent a sense of responsibility for the suffering they witnessed of innocent civilians. Whilst concern was expressed for the young men seeking refuge from the violence and chaos of war-torn Iraq, there was anxiety about how the numbers of refugees entering the UK and their different background might impact adversely on society. Thus, during both periods there was a certain acceptance of the need to care for those fleeing conflict, and disquiet about offering them refugee status in spite of the traumatic events they had experienced. In writing this chapter I am reminded that the work we undertake as therapists is always influenced by the wider context and what is possible therapeutically at one point in time may become much more challenging at another. The uneasiness expressed by some in society about those seeking refuge from violence and persecution will be an aspect of our work for the foreseeable future, as will the willingness to provide therapeutic intervention as part of the care they might need to move forward in their lives.
