Resettlement Challenges in the “Land of Opportunity”

Identifying Cultural Strengths of Afghan Refugees as a Source of Their Resilience

“…Greeff & Holtzkamp (2007) argue that migration is the most challenging transition a family can experience because there are changes to familiar patterns and ways of relating to other people. They further identify some potential stressors related to migration, which include losing close relationships, changes in children's educational and recreational patterns, pressures of a new occupation, problems with housing, community involvements, a sense of isolation, forming secondary relations (e.g., doctor, church); (Greeff, & Holtzkamp, 2007;Simich et al, 2011), experience of lowered standard of living, loss of personal identity and loss of cultural traditions (Timberlake, Färber, Wall, Taylor & Sabatino, 2003). Berry (1997) acknowledges all the stresses related to migration but argues that clash of cultural family practices of country of origin and that of the host society is perhaps the most important challenge for migrants.…”

“…As a source of resilience, spiritual traditions have continuously been identified to protect against stress and uncertainty (Angell, Dennis & Dumain, 1998;Carranza, 2007;Greeff & Holtzkamp, 2007;Greeff & Human, 2004;Punetha, Young & Giles, 1987;Timberlake et al, 2003). According to Timberlake et al (2003) study, an overall 56% of the participating immigrant women identified their spiritual beliefs and religious practices to be helpful in dealing with the difficulties of migrating to another country. More importantly, the individuals who experienced elevated levels of difficulties reported greater spirituality confirming the potential role of such protective factor as a source of resilience (Timberlake et al, 2003).…”

“…According to Timberlake et al (2003) study, an overall 56% of the participating immigrant women identified their spiritual beliefs and religious practices to be helpful in dealing with the difficulties of migrating to another country. More importantly, the individuals who experienced elevated levels of difficulties reported greater spirituality confirming the potential role of such protective factor as a source of resilience (Timberlake et al, 2003). Evidently, strong kinship bond and spirituality/strong religious orientations are two most prominent cultural strengths of migrants that are currently present in literature.…”