The ACSYA Inc. Statement on World Mental Health Day 2021

10 Oct

Today, 10 October, is World Mental Health Day. This day aims to bring conversations about mental health to the foreground, as well as to promote literacy, reduce stigma, and encourage strength, resilience, and endurance. As we mark World Mental Health Day 2021, we highlight the fact that many indigenous Assyrians, whether in their home countries in the Middle East and elsewhere, may experience or struggle with some form of mental ill-health. However, as a result of structural and/or cultural barriers, fear of stigmatisation, or inequalities aggravated by exclusionary policies, racism, and discrimination often get in the way of seeking support.

The major factors associated with poor mental health among Assyrians are often linked with experiences of human rights violations such as arbitrary arrests, discrimination, dispossession of territory, displacement, economic and social pressures, genocide, loss of culture, marginalisation, policies of forced assimilation, prolonged conflict, systemic racism, violence, and a host of other abuses. These experiences have traditionally contributed to long-term mental ill-health and have also led to a significant number of Assyrians to seek asylum elsewhere outside of their traditional homeland. This journey or migration trajectory proves to be arduous and often exacerbates mental ill-health.

The Migration Trajectory

The migration trajectory is divided into three categories: premigration, migration, and postmigration. Each category is associated with specific risks and exposures. The prevalence of specific types of mental ill-health is influenced by the nature of the migration experience, in terms of adversity experienced before, during, and after resettlement. Some of the common challenges confronted by Assyrian migrants include communication barriers due to language and cultural differences; differences in family structure and process affecting adaptation; and aspects of acceptance by the receiving society that effect employment, social status, and integration.

The premigration phase may include, for example, trauma (i.e., type, severity, perceived level of threat, number of episodes), separation from extended family, peer network, and disruption to community network in their traditional homeland. The migration phase relates to the journey from one’s home country to the recipient or host country. This experience often involves arduous travel, exposure to harsh living conditions (i.e., refugee camps, detention centres), exposure to potential violence, uncertainty about outcome of migration, and malnutrition. The postmigration phase includes such challenges as unemployment or underemployment, loss of social status, concern for family and community left behind in their traditional homeland, difficulty in language learnings, acculturation, and adaption.

Cultivating Wellness in the Assyrian Community

As demonstrated, experiences in their home countries and the journey or migration trajectory poses specific stresses for many Assyrians. Epidemiological surveys and studies on psychopathology demonstrate that transgenerational trauma (i.e., trauma that passes through generations), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depression are among the most prevalent mental health issues among culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities, particularly asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants. Today, we call out the need to develop, both on an individual and community level, culturally-sensitive and evidence-based therapeutic interventions to enable Assyrians to heal trauma and build flourishing lives.

The ACSYA Inc. Statement on World Mental Health Day 2021

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