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Introduction: This paper presents a study of traumatic experiences, including torture, among refugees and migrants at the border between Croatia and Bosnia. The number of people being forcefully displaced is increasing and militarized border enforcement efforts have made migration a dangerous endeavour. The European Union is externalizing its borders, but migrants and refugees have not ceased arriving in Western societies despite facing violence and torture both throughout their journey, and at the gates of Europe. Method: 54 participants were assessed, 51 males and 3 females, 26 were self-declared economic migrants and 28 stated that they fled due to political or religious persecution. The Iraqi version of the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) was adapted to collect traumatic and torture stressors experienced by the migrants/refugees during their stay in Western Bosnia, and more specifically during their detention and refoulement (push-backs) when attempting to cross the border between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia. Results: 98.14% reported experiencing multiple forms of torture, 81.5% reported having their property looted, and 70.4% stated that they had been physically harmed on the mentioned border during  migratory transit. Torture experiences were associated with the migratory and confinement phases such as exposure to the rain and cold (92.6%) or lack of food, water and medical care (66.7%). Finally, 50% of participants fulfilled the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to the cumulative effect of traumatic experiences. Differences were found only in the amount of traumatic experiences between economic migrants and refugees who fled for political or religious reasons. No differences were found in torture experiences and PTSD diagnosis. Conclusions: Violence perpetrated by security forces against migrants is crystallized at the border-zones. Migrants are held in conditions that would amount by themselves to torture. Traumatic experiences have an effect on migrants/refugees’ mental health and can trigger the development of post-traumatic stress disorder. Guaranteeing human rights for migrants/refugees throughout their journey is needed.

Immigration has extended to regions with sub-state nationalist movements, such as Scotland, Friesland, the Basque Country and, as is the focus of this research, Catalonia. In a context of political upheaval in the region, this article aims to examine the impact of the successive waves of immigration to Catalonia on the modern independence movement. The respective status of the immigrant population in Catalonia is a major issue about which there is a divergence of opinion. This study approaches attitudes toward immigrants through the threat-benefit framework, which perceives immigrants as both threatening and beneficial for the receiving society. The data, gathered from six focus groups and ten narrative interviews, reveal a complexity of attitudes on the impact of immigration on the secessionist movement. Two themes emerge in the informants' discussion: 'Immigration: Rising Benefit' and '(New) Immigration: (New) Challenge'. The comments of the respondents indicate that, against the backdrop of the independence process in the territory, there exists a range of views on the impact of the various waves of migration to Catalonia. This study suggests that a fuller understanding of the situation in the territory may be facilitated by qualitative approaches.

In a context of increasing linguistic and cultural diversity and political uncertainty in Catalonia, this article reports on a research project which set out to explore the attitudes of members of independence organisations operating in the city of Girona toward the Catalan and Spanish languages. This study approaches language attitudes through the theoretical lens of linguistic authority, in particular, the concepts of anonymity and authenticity. The data, gathered from six focus groups, provide an insight on the nature of linguistic authority in contemporary Catalonia. Two themes emerge in the informants' discussion of Catalan and Spanish: '21st Century Catalanisme' and 'Embracing Linguistic Diversity'. The comments of the respondents indicate that, against the backdrop of the independence process in the region, bilingualism and multilingualism have become highly valued in the territory. In addition, this study suggests that a fuller understanding of the situation in Catalonia may be facilitated by qualitative approaches, which explore attitudes in-depth.

Recovery-oriented interventions will be most effective for older individuals when service providers take into account their personal histories and the propensity of many older adults to associate recovery with symptom improvement even while embracing other life improvements.