Monday, February 7, 2011

A Painful Aspect of our Work

One of the most distressing aspects of our work with refugees, immigrants and asylees is the task of identifying a survivor of torture. However, this also opens up an opportunity for that person to receive support and the prospect of healing.

A recent report from the Florida Center for Survivors of Torture points out that one step in identifying a survivor of torture is knowing the condition of the country they are coming from. They are creating a series of country condition reports in the hope of increasing our ability to recognize and effectively work with torture survivors.

The first two of these reports, on the Democratic Republic of Congo, and on Cuba, are available at the following links:

http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1103672707181-12/DRC+final+final+.pdf

http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1103672707181-16/Cuba+Country+Conditions+FINAL+2.1.11.pdf

If you have questions about serving survivors of torture through your program, the New England Survivors of Trauma and Torture (NESTT) has resources for you. Contact them at:

2 Colchester Avenue, Burllington, VT, Department of Psychology - University of Vermont
Tel: 802-656-5715 - 802-565-5715

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