Poulcheria Papadopoulou

Interview with an Integration Advisor for Unaccompanied Refugee Children There is no doubt that the refugee issue is a great and controversial one; it’s what we would call “a hot topic.” Immigrating to new countries, there is great need for refugees to be able to adapt to new situations, learn the country’s customs and understand its processes. Performing this task is difficult enough for adults, let alone unaccompanied refugee children, who, on top of integrating themselves to a new reality, also have to deal with the depressing fact that their parents are not around to see to their needs. I interviewed Sofia, an integration advisor for unaccompanied refugee children here in Stockholm, Sweden to try and get a glimpse of her daily routine with these children. This is what I found out. 1) How would you describe your job? What are your duties? “As an integration advisor I wear many hats while on the job. I have to act like a parent, a teacher, a friend. The timetable is really flexible and this is not because we don’t have a lot to do but rather the opposite; some days per week, you will find us sleeping in the children’s accommodation so as to cater for their needs 24/7. Generally, I am always introducing youngsters to the Swedish society and helping them get in touch with local associations as this is the first step in learning the language and the Swedish way of living. In addition to this, I provide individual support as I am always there for them when they need me, helping them with their daily routines. Apart from the support we provide as an organization, there is also a lot of paperwork to fill in. So, on a typical day at work you would find me dealing with notes, journals, and reports along with keeping records and conducting community outreach. On my days off, I am always on the lookout for more information that would help me perform my duties as best as possible.” 2) What are your views on the current reality of refugees and why did you choose to work with unaccompanied refugee children? “It’s an issue that plagues today’s society. The thing is that a lot of refugees, after having being forced to leave their home countries and settle somewhere else around the world, live in uncertainty and, a lot of times, are deported back to their home countries. The criteria for such an action are confusing, at least to me. Because of what’s going on in their everyday lives, my line of work was pretty obvious to me; I really wanted to help and make a difference, especially in the lives of unaccompanied children. They need our help in order to improve their daily lives and integrate themselves in the Swedish reality. However, they also need our psychological help because many of them face their own demons and some of them even make attempts on their own lives. You have to be there for them 100%.” 3) How do you feel personal biases should be dealt with? “I must say that I haven’t experienced any bias towards nationalities, but rather towards behaviours and personalities. There are 8 integration advisors working at the agency at the moment, all of different nationalities. What we really try to work towards here is tolerance. There are children who have quite a diverse and narrow-minded approach to certain controversial matters such as homosexuality and women and we are working towards making them tolerant and acceptant.” 4) What would you change about the system? What rules/policies would you like to see implemented? Why? “As I said before, we are not exactly sure what the criteria of deportation are. So, that would be something to look into. People are sent back to their home countries through the country that sent them to Sweden. For example, if one is from Afghanistan and was sent to Sweden via Greece, then this person will first go back to Greece and from then to Afghanistan. Both Greece and Afghanistan are countries that struggle at the moment, each with is respective issues at hand; so, these people suffer as well. Another problem we are dealing with is the cutting down of funds. The amount of money these children receive as an allowance both from us and the government is ridiculously low, however, the Migration Bureau (Migrationsverket) believes that this amount should be even less. This does not depict the Swedish reality, though, as life in Sweden is actually expensive. We are trying our best to combat this because we do believe that no human is illegal.” 5) What are the different programs at your agency? “There are several programs that aim towards the integration of the children. Some of the most notable are Mentor Sverige, Språkcafe, and integrating them to a Swedish school. With the Mentor Sverige program we are matching children to Swedish mentors who take them around Stockholm to introduce them to the city and the Swedish culture; they talk to them in Swedish so that they practice the language; and they generally spend the day with them so as to make them feel at home. As learning the language is vital for those children, we also send them to different language cafes (språkcafes) where they can further practice the language. They are then ready for the Swedish school where they meet new people and start living their lives in the Swedish reality. Unfortunately, one thing that we wish was different is that they do not meet a lot of Swedish children but rather other refugees. This can prove a bit of a problem in regards to their integration process but we are trying to come up with more ways for them to meet Swedish people as well.” 6) How much do you use that you actually learned in school and how much is on the job training? “As an education major, I can actually tell you that my studies helped a lot in this position. You need to be a pedagogue to work with children in such a way. You need to understand them and talk to them in a pedagogic manner. My studies have, therefore, assisted me a lot in dealing with the children. However, it was not only my studies that contributed to what I do now. A lot of it came from personal research and in-service training too. Before I even applied for the position, I made sure to learn as many laws and regulations as I could along with learning as much as possible about the organization I work for. While on the job, they also teach you more about the children, about their needs, and about the several stakeholders that are involved in integrating these children to their new home. You learn by doing.” 7) How did you become involved in this type of work? What inspired you to continue working for social change? “I was mostly inspired by the situation in Greece and the harsh reality that these people are exposed to. Moreover, I have worked with people with special needs and I felt I wanted to do something in regards to social change, but where I could also put my pedagogic knowledge in use in order to help.” 8) What are some of the approaches and methods you use in your work? “We do need to know and use a lot of theoretical concepts. To name two: a) Salutogent perspektiv: it’s when we try to bring out positive experiences in order to suppress the negative ones. A lot of these children have seen and experienced situations that a child in their age shouldn’t normally do. However, there are some positive experiences that they had and, so, we try to bring those out to combat negativity and other psychological matters, such as depression and suicide attempts. b) Low arousal approach: we use this to try and understand children and what they’ve been through so as not to muck them around and make them feel inferior or make them feel angry and depressed. There is a lot to this psychological perspective and we need to work with this constantly.” 9) What are some of the problems you face in your work? “Apart from the cultural conflicts that are a constant struggle, we need to be extremely patient with these children. We need to help them be tolerant and accept others for who they are without judging and without imposing their ideas. This is really difficult to do as most of them have learned differently so it’s not easy changing their minds and help them think in another way. In addition, such a profession leaves you mentally exhausted. You need to be prepared to deal with all the tiredness that it brings.” 10) What special skills, if any, do you need in this work? “You must be patient and explanatory as you are dealing with children. Furthermore, you must be diplomatic and a true pedagogue along with having a love for writing as, trust you me, you are going to have to do with a lot of paperwork!” 11) What do you like best about this work? “You can see that children get really happy with small things and you feel a kind of euphoria seeing them like that after what they’ve endured. Also, you bond with children while you are spending time with them and there is always so much to talk about, especially since you are of different cultural backgrounds, that you never run out of discussion topics. At the end of the day, you have helped each other and you can see that they rely on you for their smooth transition to the Swedish lifestyle.” 12) How do you educate the public about this issue of refugees? “Social media help tremendously to bring this topic to the public. Being my job, I sometimes find myself talking about it even when I’m out for a drink. Basically, I always try to correct several misconceptions that exist around refugees. For example, they did not come here to get your jobs and they are not ungrateful. They were forced to leave their homes because of war and they had their lives back there that they were made to leave behind. They should all stay.” 13) If you could give one piece of advice for beginning social workers, what would it be? “Do it. It’s worth it if you enjoy working with vulnerable classes of people. But, be prepared to be patient and build character.”