Category: Blog

Tuberculosis findings among immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers in Italy

Tuberculosis is an airborne, bacterial disease that effects the lungs that spreads when people cough and sneeze. The scary part about this disease is that people who are infected may not show any symptoms. Treatment for TB is a lengthy process that requires multiple antibiotics.

This journal analyses the TB outbreak among Italian immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers.  They looked at three interventions of the outbreak in Italy during a four-year period at five sites (primary centers and mobile clinics) in Rome and one in Milan.

TB cases have significantly increased in occurrence over the past few years. However, with the adaptation of a new prevention method in 2014, TB cases have seen lower levels and can, if treated correctly, be eliminated before the disease spreads.

Italy has no TB national screening policy for new entrants, which allows more cases to enter the country. So, this study was conducted to introduce interventions during 2009 and 2010 in Italian refugee areas and compare results of those same intervention methods being used in 2013 and 2014.

According to the research in this study, the interventions conducted helped to slow the spread of TB in Italy and surrounding countries. Refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants are the most suspetable to the disease and are considered more likely to be caring it. The interventions put in place require this group of people to get screenings for the disease before entering Italy.

Worked Cited:

Monica Sañé Schepisi, et al. “Active Tuberculosis Case Finding Interventions among Immigrants, Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Italy.” Infectious Disease Reports, no. 2, 2016. EBSCOhost, doi:10.4081/idr.2016.6594.

Experience of Immigrate/First Generation American College Students

This study observed, surveyed, and analyzed ten students enrolled in a bachelors or graduate program in the United States who were immigrates or first generation Americans. The study, was conducted in 2018 by Shabnam Brady, who is in the Psychology Department at Tennessee State University, and Michelle Stevens, who is in Educational Leadership Department at Middle Tennessee State University. After surveys and focus group meetings with the ten individuals, “two themes emerged as the findings. . . (a) immigrant culture and (b) collectivist culture” (Brady 2018). The immigrant culture implies that immigrants from different countries experienced similar experiences going through their own journey of immigration.

This brings up an interesting point, which I have not considered. To better understand immigrant’s experiences and how we can best serve them, whether have just come overseas or are completing their masters here in the United States, we must consider immigrates as experiencing the immigrate culture. For me, I’ve always considered that every immigrant has a different culture they are coming from, which is very true. But I have never thought to try and understand immigrates as a collectivist group. This makes sense because every immigrant must go through same immigration process with the United States. They share commonalities where they all face assimilation to our culture. This most certainly does not take away from their cultural identity from whatever country they came from. They are still Nigerian, Liberian, Chinese, etc. But for us as an American culture, I think this way of thinking can allow us to better accept immigrates and help us to understand, where we don’t seem to be doing that very well.

 

Brady, Shabnam Etemadi, and Michelle C. Stevens. “Is Immigration a Culture? A Qualitative Approach to Exploring Immigrant Student Experiences within the United States.” Translational Issues in Psychological Science, vol. 5, no. 1, Mar. 2019, pp. 17–28. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1037/tps0000187.

Refugee Children’s Experience in England and Denmark

The article titled “How do refugee children experience their new situation in England and Denmark? Implications for educational policy and practice.” was  written by Sara Amalie O’Toole Thommessen and Brenda K.Todd.The article explains the research method they plan to use while interviewing children who were refugees in England and Denmark to find the psychosocial factors that they were faced with.

The study found that the main aspects that the refugee in England were challenged with and sought to overcome the transition to the English language and the challenges they faced because of their lack of English knowledge, motivation to succeed instead of letting the comments or actions of others bring them down, and to gain strength through social support and empowerment (O’Toole Thommessen & Todd 228-238).

O’Toole Thommessen & Todd conduced research from individuals who moved to Denmark as a child refugee, and learned that they struggled with the language barrier, gaining strength through social support, for adults to notice or understand the needs of the child and the integration of the two words into one (O’Toole Thommessen & Todd 228-238).

The researchers discovered that the refugee children in England were faced with more racism and stereotypes, which impacted the confidence and mental status of the children (O’Toole Thommessen & Todd 228-238). The biggest issue the researchers discovered for the refugee children who lived in Denmark was the merging of their two words, their home and their life in Denmark, which caused for identity issues and felt like a foreigner in their home country since they were viewed as part Danish (O’Toole Thommessen & Todd 228-238). The most interesting discovery from the research was that in both countries, the refugee children longed for social and educational support (O’Toole Thommessen & Todd 228-238).

The takeaway that was discovered from this study is the need for more support from the community the refugee children live in, as it is sometimes made difficult for them to adjust. The researchers suggested the need for more training on how to handle refugee children to help them better adjust and feel supported. The researchers believe that teachers should receive this training, as the most social interaction and support received is in school. If we took the initiative to support and be there for these children, their transition would be much smoother.

 

Sources:

O’Toole Thommessen, Sara Amalie, and Brenda K. Todd. “How Do Refugee Children Experience Their New Situation in England and Denmark? Implications for Educational Policy and Practice.” Children & Youth Services Review, vol. 85, Jan. 2018, pp. 228–238. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.12.025.

Policies and Poverty Among Refugees in Poland

Karolina Lukasiewicz published an academic article examining the asylum and social policies for refugees that force some migrants into poverty and social exclusion. A study was conducted in Poland because the author believed it has little experience with immigration and poorly monitors the situation of refugees. Poland’s asylum policy relocates refugees into areas that are distant from populated cities and are known for high rates of unemployment and levels of discrimination against foreigners.

A participant included in the study described how he was unable to provide basic needs for his family and was forced to live in overcrowded housing conditions, which is an experience other refugees reported. Others reported episodes of homelessness. Some refugee children could not attend school activities because their parents could not afford books and school trips. Participants reported that when their foreign status was disclosed, they were rejected for housing rentals, asked to pay more in rent, and offered lower salaries. Representatives of the public administration blame the refugees for living in those conditions and failing to use the opportunities given.

The author does have a bias throughout the academic article. It is clear that the author is in favor of the refugees who are settling in Poland and wanted to examine the refugee’s stories in order to prove that they are facing hardships. When the author speaks about the public administration, it is done in a negative light to give readers the impression that the administration does not help refugees successfully integrate within society. The author leans towards advancing the refugees’ positions that public policy is not relocating them into areas that will help them find good housings and jobs to provide for their families.

Lukasiewicz, Karolina. “Exile to Poverty: Policies and Poverty Among Refugees in Poland.” International Migration, vol. 55, no. 6, Dec. 2017, pp. 56–72. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/imig.12356.

“Salvini Law” in Italy

In Gostoli’s article, “‘Salvini Law’ could make thousands of refugees homeless”, it talks about how this new law pass, could effect vulnerable immigrants in a bad way. The “Salving Law” is basically a law, (named after Matteo Salvini), that abolishes humanitarian protection. In other words, it means it abolishes a stay permit issued to those who do not qualify for refugee status or subsidiary protection, but were recognized in being in a vulnerable state or situation.  This means immigrants that are minors, victims of trafficking, families with young children, and people with mental or physical vulnerabilities won’t be guaranteed protection to stay anymore.

The article explains Soumayla’s story, a migrant from Libya, and how he sought to move to Rome for a better life, having no money in his wallet. Being in Italy, he wanted to adapt to the Italian culture, as he went to Italian language school, worked at a summer camp for children, and is now studying to obtain a high school diploma. He explains that once he gets his documents, his dream is to play football professionally; while he is currently able to stay at an apartment through the “Refugees Welcome” organization.

Since this law passed, more critics begin to argue that it will end up condemning asylum seekers, who are already in Italy, (like Soumayla), to basically live a life without basic rights. This will wind up making these immigrants more prone to labor exploitation and easier prey to crime. This leaves many immigrants who arrive to Italy as minors having no sense of support when they reach 18. It also is predicted by Matteo Villa, immigration researcher, that next two years 70,000 more people living in Italy, will become undocumented.

This article overall truly reflects how important humanitarian protection rights are to immigrants in Italy, and how this law can leave many vulnerable people already living in Italy, unsupported and undocumented.

Sources:

Gostoli, Ylenia. (17 December, 2018.) ‘Salvini Law’ could make thousands of refugees homeless. Retrieved from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/12/law-thousands-refugees-homeless-181215133410672.html

 

Forgetting It’s Common Humanity

The peer-reviewed journal “Forgetting Its Common Humanity: Americas Immigration Story” by Anita Maddali focuses on immigration laws and its impact on immigrant families and how the laws stray away from what the United States values. The journal touches on quotes and source experiences that have happened dating back to George Washington. The journal dives deeper into the complexity of the immigration laws and policies and how it has caused separation, instability, or both for immigrant families. The article comes off with a bit of bias in the sense that there is a potential persuasive voice. The author did a great good by showing positive and negative historical events that impacted immigration, however, it felt as I was being told a story with evidence to back up a point of view which I also believe is very much true.

 

Maddali used a quote from Washington stating “The bosom of America is open to receive not only the opulent & respectable Stranger, but the oppressed & persecuted of all Nations and Religions (p133).” To show Americas values, then proceeded to list the challenges immigrants face such as long visa waits, penalties for violations (even minor ones), and a lack of discretion for leniency to deported or barred immigrants because of prior violations.Maddali even notes how the senate, the house, and members of congress believed that family -unity, humanness, and equality are important factors in Americas values. There was also a story about a young boy separated from his family telling Obama that he wanted a family like the president. Maddali showed how from the past to present just how immigration stories are common and have improved.

 

MADDALI, ANITA. “Forgetting Its Common Humanity: America’s  Immigration Story.” Brown Journal of World Affairs, vol. 24, no. 2, Spring/Summer2018 2018, pp. 133–146. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=131613723&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Academic Ancestral Research

I was  looking on the Stevenson Library database and I found a journal article that talks about the German immigrants became the white southerners because they had moved to South Carolina. The title of the journal article is called “How the Germans Became White Southerners: German Immigrants and African Americans in Charleston, South Carolina, 1860-1880” When my great grand parents first came to America, they had lived in South Carolina and I think that this article would be a good fit for ancestral research.

This journal article is basically giving statistics from the years of 1860 through 1880. Five percent of the total population in Charleston was German in 1860 and by 1880 there was a decrease in the number of Germans in the area of Charleston.

The biggest reason for the decrease in German population was the Civil War. When the Civil War first started, a majority of the Germans had left Charleston and moved to different cities to continue their business. After the war ended, German businesses expanded and as they were expanding they were employing hundreds of residents from Charleston. During the expansion of these business, they had to find more people to run and work the companies. So they started to employ African Americans and white southerners to work along side of the Germans.

A good result of Germans moving to Charleston was that there was a huge cultural exchange for the Germans. The Germans created their own social and cultural institutions and continuously spread the culture to Germany and South Carolina. Germans in Charleston also kept strong roots to their homeland and culture.

 

Works Cited:

Jeffery Strickland. “How the Germans Became White Southerners: German Immigrants and African Americans in Charleston, South Carolina, 1860-1880.” Journal of American Ethnic History, vol. 28, no. 1, 2008, p. 52. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsjsr&AN=edsjsr.27501881&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Mental health outcomes among Arab refugees, immigrants, and U.S. born Arab Americans in Southeast Michigan: a cross-sectional study

This article discusses the mental health state of Arab immigrants, refugees, and U.S. born Arab Americans. Arab refugees and immigrants that are living in the United States may be exposed to political, economic, social, and environmental stressors that could very much affect their mental health. Researchers wanted to conduct research on this topic due to the lack of information on the mental health of Arab immigrants, refugees, and U.S. born Arab American. This study was conducted in Southeast Michigan and the purpose is to measure depression and anxiety levels. They also wanted to know if depression differed between the three resident status (immigrant, refugee, U.S. born).

The researchers were able to conduct a cross-sectional study in which they sampled 275 adults who identify as Arabs that are living in Southeast Michigan. They were able to collect data by administrating questionaries from August to November 2015. The questionnaire that was distributed had a series of questions that helped the researchers determine if any of the Arab participants had depression or anxiety.

Based on their research, all three groups (immigrants, refugees, and U.S. born) displayed high levels of depression and anxiety. Refugees ended up having higher levels of depression and anxiety than immigrants and U.S. born Arab. Refugees reported higher levels of depression and anxiety because of their situation. They were forced to leave their homes unexpectedly and to go to a completely different country, where they are not fully accepted as first-class citizens there. Not only does this make complete sense but the results for refugees were expected to be higher than the other two groups.

Pampati, Sanjana, et al. “Mental Health Outcomes among Arab Refugees, Immigrants, and US Born Arab Americans in Southeast Michigan: A Cross-Sectional Study.” BMC Psychiatry, vol. 18, Dec. 2018. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=psyh&AN=2018-62858-001&site=eds-live&scope=site.

A Refugee Crisis in Europe

A crisis broke out in 2015, by which refugees fled to Europe, creating chaos. Reported by The Baltimore Sun, this was one of the largest migrations after World War ll. This occurred around the time Obama was still President. With the increase in population, managing the number of refugees as well as the people of Europe had been a struggle. Refugees had the courage to go across the Mediterranean Sea towards Europe from Mideast and North Africa. There was a total of 340,000 who made it to Europe. But of course, the travel itself at sea was difficult. So many refugees were traveling using fishing boats or rafts. Unfortunately, a few thousand people did not make it to Europe, as they died from suffocation, inhaling chemical fumes, or drowning. The goal of many migrants was to create a better life for themselves in Europe, as they heard about the economic opportunities and welfare. But the main goal of these refugees was a matter of life or death. They were threatened to be killed. Unfortunately, this had already happened to many. People were involved in rape and executions. Fear had taken over the people of Africa, as they had migrated over to Europe in hopes of a better life.

“A refugee crisis in Europe…”  The Baltimore Sun. 21 Aug 2015, https://search.proquest.com/baltimoresun/docview/1705743065/79C67BD60EF549E0PQ/6?accountid=36772

Using nostalgia to reduce prejudice toward immigrants

This peer-reviewed article title “Using nostalgia to reduce prejudice towards immigrants” written by Maria Gravani, Anastasia Soureti, and Sofia Stathi discusses a way to reduce immigrant prejudices and how immigrants are treated in Greece. The paper mentions have immigrants are typically viewed as vulnerable. The relates how nostalgia can reduce tensions and harsh feelings towards immigrants that occur in immigration crisis. This is seen through how nostalgia has been linked with increasing social bonds and positive self-esteem, as well as optimism. This article is less bias as many news articles because of the research nature. The authors base their conclusions based off their own study and other statistics about how immigrants are treated and why. There is however bias because of the push for better treatment towards immigrants. This research was conducted to find a way for immigrants and citizens to create better relationships and reduce prejudice. Results showed that there was a correlation between nostalgia and better relationships with immigrants in the study.

Gravani, Maria, et al. “Using Nostalgia to Reduce Prejudice toward Immigrants.”
European Journal of Social Psychology, Mar. 2018, eds.a.ebscohost.com/
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