Time to integrate refugees

Opinion: April 7, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

By Douglas A. JOHNSON

McClatchy-Tribune

Last month marked the 30th anniversary of Congress passing the Refugee Act. It’s a good time to examine gaps in our refugee policy, especially as we prepare for an influx of refugees from Darfur.

The Refugee Act established a resettlement program for refugees that was designed to integrate them into our society and enable them to reach economic self-sufficiency.

Though we have succeeded in providing individuals fleeing humanitarian crises with a safe haven and resources, a broader range of needs remain unmet — especially mental health needs.

In 2011, the United States expects to receive approximately 15,000 Darfurian refugees from camps in Chad and Kenya. An even larger contingent — perhaps an additional 45,000 — will follow. As a result of the extent and duration of the conflicts in Darfur, these refugees may be the most traumatized the United States has ever resettled.

Durable investment

We should equip these Darfurian refugees with the mental health tools they need. A durable, strategic investment in mental health services at crucial points in the process would improve Darfurian refugees’ abilities to integrate and achieve economic independence.

We should target three key points: while the refugees are still in the camps abroad; in the U.S. resettlement cities prior to transfer of the refugees to this country; and following the refugees’ arrival.

Douglas A. Johnson is the executive director of the Center for Victims of Torture in Minneapolis. He wrote this for Progressive Media Project, a source of liberal commentary on domestic and international issues; it is affiliated with The Progressive magazine.