Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Language barrier and mental health ‘key concerns’ for Syrian refugees settled in Ireland
A new report found that “healthcare quality is, on the whole, affected primarily by one concern, and that is language”.
7.22am, 4 Aug 2022
11.6k
6
LANGUAGE BARRIERS AND mental health issues among Syrian refugees who have settled in Ireland are key areas of concern, a report has found.
The Voices of Syrians report, published today, describes the experiences of 153 Syrian refugees who arrived in Ireland between 2015 and 2019 through the Irish Refugee Resettlement Programme.
The report found that “healthcare quality is, on the whole, affected primarily by one concern, and that is language”.
“Access to interpreters is inconsistent and frequently falls below standards established in the Irish health system.”
Refugees from Syria often suffer from trauma, separation from family members and isolation, and in some cases, physical health problems – with access to healthcare and supports hampered by language difficulties.
In the report, Syrian refugees also described their relationships with family overseas and here in Ireland, their relationships with neighbours, their efforts to convert qualifications and work experience for the Irish labour market, supporting their children and partners, and the challenges of becoming fluent in another language.
The report concluded that the area “of most significant concern overall” is that of language.
“Despite an overwhelming enthusiasm to learn the language amongst the interviewed refugees, provision of formal language education, supplementary resources, and opportunities for natural language acquisition (through community events and interpreter-supported participation in cultural events) have not been able to keep pace with the demands that refugees face in acquiring the new language and using it in day-to-day life while establishing their new lives.”
It said that this also has a significant impact in finding work.
Family concerns
Family reunification remains one of the most significant concerns for 43% of participants in this study.
Some 30% said they were worried about their family due to unsafe conditions, war, lack of financial support, mandatory military service for young men, and risk of torture of family members.
“Some had to give up the names of their family members or friends in the Syrian Arab Republic under torture, and they carry guilt and fear from this. Participants described this affecting their mental health, concentration, and ability to learn new languages and skills,” the report said.
Advertisement
On education, Syrian parents said they were mostly happy with their children’s experiences in schools, with a small percentage experiencing bullying, and participants in the study said they mostly feel safe in their neighbourhoods.
Almost all participants said they have made a close friend since arriving in Ireland, over half in their local neighbourhood, while 37% retain a close friend they made in a reception centre.
And 99% of participants said they speak daily or weekly with family outside Ireland, and that this is important to their wellbeing.
The study found that 95% of participants in this study felt a sense of belonging, and around a third feel confident to ask their neighbours of all backgrounds for help, like in filling forms.
“There is a strong sense of commitment to live in Ireland, increasing independence and fully engaged citizenship,” the report concluded.
Under the UNHCR-led refugee resettlement programme, Ireland brought 2,108 Syrian refugees from Lebanon and Jordan by 2021.
The majority of those arriving under the programme are family groups, with 40% minors of whom three-quarters are children under 12.
The UN said recently that in the first 10 years of the Syrian conflict, which started in 2011, more than 300,000 civilians have been killed – the highest official estimate of civilian casualties.
More than 13 million Syrians have been displaced by war, with half of them located outside of the Syrian Arab Republic.
Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman said: “This report gives voice to refugees and provide important insights for those providing services to those hoping to make a home in Ireland.
“It is evident from this report that refugees have a wealth of experience to contribute to the Irish State.”
The report entitled ‘Voice Of Syrians – Resettled Refugees in Ireland’ was commissioned on behalf of the Irish Refugee Resettlement Programme and was undertaken by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Ireland.
Lalini Veerassamy, chief of mission of IOM in Ireland, also welcomed the report.
She said: “The ‘Voices of Syrians’ report provides invaluable insights on the experience of resettled Syrian refugees in Ireland and emphasizes on the importance of integration indicators.”
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
@Don Hogan: It’s easy to say that but I’m sure there are loads of parents who don’t have a garden or a car and maybe they feel safer having their children indoors? I was lucky myself that our parents did encourage us in sports and brought us on hikes around Ireland, but they were healthy and active and had the time & energy.
People living in illegal cabins - including family forced to dismantle home - tell their stories
9 hrs ago
25.1k
55
Catholic Church
Pope Francis had 'peaceful' night in hospital, Vatican says
2 hrs ago
5.7k
Mulhouse
One dead and several police officers wounded in 'Islamist' knife attack in France
Updated
15 hrs ago
36.3k
Your Cookies. Your Choice.
Cookies help provide our news service while also enabling the advertising needed to fund this work.
We categorise cookies as Necessary, Performance (used to analyse the site performance) and Targeting (used to target advertising which helps us keep this service free).
We and our 152 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting Accept All enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage .Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
We and our vendors process data for the following purposes:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Cookies Preference Centre
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
Manage Consent Preferences
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Store and/or access information on a device 104 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 136 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 106 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 78 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 77 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 37 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 33 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 127 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 60 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 75 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 82 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 38 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 43 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 25 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 86 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 96 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 68 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 50 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 84 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Save and communicate privacy choices 64 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say