NEW MANUALS FOR REFUGEE ASSISTANCE
New training materials to improve skills of humanitarian workers in offering
psychosocial help to war-affected people have been developed by Oxford
University''s Refugee Studies Centre in collaboration with other partners.
The set of training manuals, released recently by the University, is
entitled "The Refugee Experience". "They represent the ''state of the art''
in this field currently and are directed at UN and NGO agencies working with
war-affected populations around the world," said Carol Eyber of the
Centre.
The manuals cover topics like effects of modern day conflict on civilians,
cross-cultural understanding of the experiences of refugees, insight into
gender issues for refugees, and the plight of refugee children. They also
provide humanitarian workers with skills to help refugees overcome
obstacles in community participation and communication.
"War-affected people suffer intense psychosocial pressure in their daily
lives," Loughry said. "Their experiences of violence and forced
displacement, as well as adjustment to life in a new environment
frequently leave refugees distressed and exhausted. Humanitarian workers
who seek to assist them may often feel overwhelmed and unequipped to
understand the demands put to them by refugees."
The psychosocial training module contains both theoretical and practical
information. Released in different formats, it is available on the web at
the site below.

SOURCE: IRIN Africa English reports, 20/NOV/01
The Refugee Experience: http://www.forcedmigration.org/rfgexp