Serving refugee children and families in Head Start

Children Today, Sept-Oct, 1989 by Connie Broughton

Since language is such an important component of cultural identity, it is important to respect the refugee families' language - and to understand that not only do their language and culture differ from ours, but also that their language and culture differ from each other's.

Native speakers in the classroom have become an integral part of the Bancroft early intervention program. Since they aren't trained in child development or early childhood education, the native speakers do not replace Head Start staff; they are there to interact with the children in their native tongue. This validation is important to the children and does not impede their progress with English.

Helping refugee families acquire life skills is another important aspect of the early intervention program. Parents need to learn how to brush their teeth, winterize a car and work electrical appliances. Many have no experience with the cleaning products found in every American home or any knowledge of their dangerous chemical properties.

The health and nutritional needs of most refugee families are particularly acute. Most parents do not understand Western medicine - particularly how powerful it can be - and they have little knowledge of dental hygiene. Children in refugee families often suffer nutritional deficiencies and intestinal disturbances because the foods they are accustomed to are not available, or they might have an intolerance for American foods, particularly cow's milk. A lengthy list of learning topics must be devised to help families cope with these new challenges.

As they learn American ways, and as their children grow up and attend American schools and assimilate American customs, many refugee families worry about the loss of their culture. Sometimes adaptations can be fairly easy: Members of an Eritrean family performed traditional dances at the "arranged" wedding of a daughter - but also wore tuxedos and toasted the couple with champagne.

Often, however, the changes are more difficult. The desire of Hmong men for many children - necessary in their native country with its high infant mortality rate - may clash with their wives' wish to limit family size, now that they are in the U.S., so that the women can work or attend school.

The overriding cultural concern, however, is to see the refugee as an individual, not just as part of one culture or another.

While language, culture and life skills are important areas that must be addressed, Head Start staff found that the most critical need among refugee families is for mental health services. Many refugees suffer from depression and grief at the loss of their culture, their possessions and, often, the lives of family members, relatives and friends. Living in a culture in which they feel confused, inadequate and unproductive diminishes their sense of identity and self-esteem. The shock and trauma of escaping their country may leave physical as well as mental wounds.

Without good translators, language is an insurmountable barrier to mental health treatment. Moreover, the stigma that many cultures attach to mental health services makes it difficult for refugees to seek or accept the help they need. Even when mental health services are available, few professionals are trained to work sensitively with people of different cultures. Mental health workers should know, for example, that Southeast Asian refugees find direct criticism culturally inappropriate and very damaging to self-esteem and that an indirect approach, allowing both parties to avoid eye contact, is necessary to be effective.