1. ENSACT Istanbul April 2013
25 years challenge of reception, rehabilitation and inclusion
of refugees – experiences, evaluation and
recommendations based on a focus group of “the experts”
= well experienced refugees.
Good practice – Next Practice
Margrethe Bennike, Clinic for PTSD and Transcultural Psychiatry, Denmark -
2013

2. Margrethe Bennike, Clinic for PTSD and Transcultural Psychiatry, Denmark - 2013
The focus group:
6 refugees - have been forced to leave their countries because of war and personal persecution
From Iran, Afghanistan, Eks-Jugoslavia, Chile, Sri Lanka and Irak
All have asylum and some of them also Danish citizenship.
In Denmark between 25 to 10 years
All of them have with success been to the labour market for several years in ordinary work –
that means not subsidized
Now after accidents on the job unemployed and have contact with my institution because of
depression according to this situation
The members knew each other from daily activity in our centre
2 sessions of 2 hours – semi-structured free exchange of experiences, evaluation and
recommendations
As one of them said “I have had 20 very good years in Denmark, but now I feel, I am back at
the starting point – who am I? I don´t feel accepted – everything is about having a job, and I
would wish I had it, but with so much unemployment, it is very difficult – I feel like a
foreigner again.”

3. TO HAVE
Money / income
Housing
Employment
Health
Education
TO BE
Achieving one´s potential
all-round
Social status
Political resources
Religion
TO LOVE
Relations to other people:
Family
Friends
Colleagues
Fellowships
Erik Allardt
Margrethe Bennike, Clinic for PTSD and Transcultural Psychiatry, Denmark - 2013

4. Best practice - What has reinforced the
inclusion?
Legal rights – and to trust that they are
equal for all (as they are)
To be secured housing, food and
clothing
Being part of labour market / education
Good, free health care
Next practice - What could we need more?
Stable rules and not too minimized income
to be able to wish, plan and have profit of
your work
More constant and understandable / simple
legislation
Repeating / ongoing courses about the
rules
Institutions / social workers being better to
recognize people’s skills / educations,
support and guide them into labour market
Having different opportunities to try work
areas
One comprehensive case- / health manager
(they may have 4-5 today)
TO HAVE
Money / income
Housing
Employment
Health
Education
Margrethe Bennike, Clinic for PTSD and Transcultural Psychiatry, Denmark - 2013

5. Best practice - What has reinforced
the inclusion?
The right to family reunification and
help to bring the family to the
country
Next practice - What could we need
more?
To recognize the family as the most
important base for security, stability,
raising children, to continue the family
values.
”Support us, so we can support our
children to be full members of society!”
Extend family reunification to include also
children more than 18 years, could be up
to 25 years
Rules making it possible to – at least
once – revisit the lost country, reconcile
with the imposed change of life
TO LOVE
Relations to other people:
Family
Friends
Colleagues
Fellowships
Margrethe Bennike, Clinic for PTSD and Transcultural Psychiatry, Denmark - 2013

6. Best practice - What has reinforced
the inclusion?
Meeting competent professionals
having empathy, feeling simple
human warmth recognizing the
person as unique, trying to see the
resources in spite of the diversity
Help to understand the crisis being
a refugee and facilitate the process
of recovering – to repair ”the broken
life” - psycho education
Next practice - What could we need more?
Demands should be formulated as an
expectation and wish to have the refugee
included, not only a pressure
Give chances several times - when the
problems turn up later, we need support again
Remember the men, respect their values.
These men had great respect for supporting
women’s better conditions and possibilities,
but felt themselves lost in finding identity
Self-help groups for exchange of knowledge,
support, counselling – and building trust
Mentoring groups, contact families, organized
friendships
Appreciation from other people to make you
feel valuable, be reinforced in your dignity and
gain a positive relationship to yourself
TO BE
Achieving one´s potential
all-round
Social status
Political resources
Religion
Margrethe Bennike, Clinic for PTSD and Transcultural Psychiatry, Denmark - 2013

7. Final comments
The Danes are good at handling inequality, but not at handling diversity – the focus group
said.
Confronting diversity is a possibility for us to develop beyond our self-knowledge and
adjust to new economic and global challenges – I say.
As a dear friend of mine – refugee 40 years ago – said:
“Now I have realized, that I am not a Slovak, I am not a Dane – I am just myself.”
Social workers can and should contribute to that process with our skills,
empathy and trust.
.