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KEY OUTCOMES OF THE PROJECT

1.    Research – Literature and Interviews

During the months of December 2002 through to April 2003 the project engaged in a research process of:

• literature review
• individual interview (included in this report
• interview analysis (included in this report)

2.      Dialogue Workshops

A key outcome of the project was QPASTT hosting two ‘dialogue’ workshops that focused on:

• the method of dialogue itself
• several key questions that had emerged from the analysis of the interview data

These workshops were hosted on the 7^th and 28^th June, 2003, each for 4 hours.

Two methods of dialogue were used – one free flowing using the principles of dialogue (appendix) and the other a ‘talking circle’ giving space for each person in the circle to share their thoughts. Three questions were put to the group – but only the first was addressed.

                  The analysis of these dialogue workshops has been included in this report.

3.    Flow-on of the dialogues into participant’s lives and their communities – stories, and creation of a new story of a new kind of community.

Several participants expressed how the dialogues contributed to personal healing.

Other participants expressed how the lessons learnt from the dialogues flowed on into their work with their communities. The affirmation of ‘traditions’, approaches, religion and spirituality was critical to participants interacting with their own communities.

Stories were shared of how participants felt we were weaving a new story of healing that was broader, had more depth, uncovered silenced and submerged ways; and was also more complex, full of contradictions and uncertainty.

4.    Establishment of partnerships with several communities – negotiation

The project was able to establish relationships with several communities through the process of dialogue. The relationships have enabled us to establish several partnerships. On June 30^th a grant was submitted to the Gambling Community Benefit Fund to resource 2 key strategies:

4.1       To resource on-going dialogue around healing & conflict transformation from cross-cultural perspectives. This dialogue has started through Jan-June 2003, and needs to continue.

The form of this dialogue will include:

• Facilitated dialogue on healing among several different communities. This dialogue will include regular half day’s of dialogue around issues identified by participants. Examples of dialogue focus will be:

·         What are some ways that you have experienced or envisioned that traditional healing can continue to be utilized in Australia in ways that are culturally appropriate?

·         What are some effective ways that you have experienced or envisioned in which refugees can maintain contact with/provide support to friends and family in country of origin while at the same time minimizing recurring trauma?

·         What are some ways in which younger and elder generations might work together to transform conflict between the two groups?

The focus of the project will also educate participants on the principles of dialogue which contrast with those of debate or argument. Encouraging and facilitating dialogue in the communities will have a therapeutic benefit not only to the individuals in the communities, but also whole communities.

A stage of dialogue with the wider mainstream community. The dialogue with refugee communities will be extended to include people from the broader community to discuss traditions of healing. The dialogue will explore issues of complexity linked to healing processes in regard to colonization and multiculturalism. This will encourage multiculturalism in Australia and foster understanding and acceptance in Australian community about different traditions of healing.

4.2.   To resource ethnic/community specific initiatives in healing. Example initiatives have been identified from the first stage of dialogue (conducted during Jan-June 2003)

The key characteristics of these projects (compared to the work of QPASTT generally) are that they are:

• Community based rather than centre based
• Developed in partnership with communities rather than individual clients
• Building on endogenous approaches (within communities) – rather than Western approaches

At this stage six sample initiatives have been proposed:

i) The Iranian community of Brisbane (both Muslim and Bahai) in facilitating regular meditation sessions. This has been identified as a key need by the Iranian community and they have requested to work with QPASTT in starting such an initiative;

ii) Somali women in holding ‘mingus’ traditional healing / dance sessions. Somali women have been wanting to explore in a safe and supportive environment (with QPASTT) how to practice some of these ‘traditional’ forms of healing alongside Islamic practice;

iii) Spanish-speaking community in forming a support group, and to ‘find a’ curandera (traditional healer) who will be available for consultations for particular ‘clients’ needing to access such traditional healing;

iv) The Sudanese community in documenting traditional Sudanese culture for an initiative around reducing inter-generational conflict. The process will include:

• documentation of traditions from the Sudanese elders
• teaching young Sudanese people about their culture

v) The Bosnian community in developing a support group that facilitates community connection. The Bosnian community is highly fractured. Depression related to isolation has been identified as a key problem. This project will resource some Bosnian refugees to construct ways of gathering people together that are not threatening and build enduring connections.

vi)  The Tibetan refugee community in enabling them to develop a ‘healing dialogue’ and regular community gatherings sharing thoughts, ideas and stories.

5.    Energy and Commitment to initiate projects – People, Participation

This included a participant analysis from the dialogue workshop about ‘how to land this on the ground’. The participant analysis consolidated energies, commitment and ways forward to start activities and projects.

6.    Publication and Dissemination – Report

The project has developed 2 reports for publication and dissemination:

• The full project report has been written for the audience of the funder.
• The brief report entitled “Singing a new Song in a Strange Land” has been developed as a way of telling the story of the project to a much broader audience.  (see attachment)

RECOMMENDATIONS

Participant Recommendations

For the last hour of the second dialogue workshop participants were invited to form small groups and consider how this research and dialogue process could ‘land on the ground’. Small groups then presented ideas for a broader group dialogue. The following ideas were presented:

1.                   To continue to develop a vision of healing from trauma built on further dialogues within communities (intra). Participants found the process of dialogue personally healing and there were several stories told of the flow-on of the dialogue workshops into particular communities. This recommendation envisages that this dialogue about healing continue within communities.

2.                  To continue dialogues as we have been doing them, but include other people. This affirmed that participants want to continue the ‘dialogue in healing’ workshops and invite other people they know along.

3.                  To continue to meet as a group and use it as a support group. Such a support group would enable people to each continue dialogues of healing within their own communities in a way that felt safe.

4.                  To emphasize listening ceremonies as a way of healing. Participants expressed the significance of being listened to, and listening to others as a way of healing. These ‘healing dialogues’ were seen as one kind of listening ceremony, but the idea was to develop new listening ceremonies built on culturally-specific ways.

5.                  A specific recommendation was put forward for QPASTT to raise awareness of different ways of healing through hosting a 1 day dialogue workshop inviting traditional healers from several cultural communities, Aboriginal indigenous healers, and western healers to learn together, and create a video/document that can be shared with others. Some participants in the group have links to indigenous people in Brisbane and Queensland and would be willing to use those links to invite indigenous people into such a dialogue.

6.                  To initiate a larger dialogue that includes the powerful structures about differing practices of healing. This would be purposeful in educating other services and government structures about the learning’s of this project.

7.                  It was recommended that this project be documented in a way that government, services and communities would be able to access the story and the lessons learnt. Some participants expressed that they would love to see such a document translated into their language so they could share it with their communities.

8.                  To support communities, or parts of communities to find ways to ‘recycle’ ancient ceremonies. An example of this would be to support Somali women in a 3 day retreat into the bush to practice a mingis ceremony. This recommendation would include:

a.       Locating, honouring and respecting healers that are already acknowledged within communities; and

b.      Finding ways of establishing other traditions of practices of healing in ways that increase respect and reduce potential conflict. If we take the Somali women’s mingis ceremony example, it would be important to both find ways of respecting female leaders within this ceremony, but also supporting this without increasing potential conflict between the women in the community and male Islamic leaders.

9.                  One idea was to also host a workshop with religious leaders – priests, Imam’s, monks, about what we have learnt of ‘traditions of healing’ as a way of creating more safe spaces within communities to practice diverse ways of healing.

10.               A long-term vision was developed by the participants of a ‘house of healing’. This was envisaged as a space where traditions of healing can be practiced in a way that was safe, secure, and legally covered by insurance.

11.                To strengthen our conceptualising of the role of social healing in trauma recovery work. The focus of this social healing was about addressing the lack of connection and sense of belonging to people, communities, and land. Participants emphasized the significance of support groups in facilitating social healing.

12.               Social healing was also linked clearly to economic issues. Participants questioned the issue of disparities between many refugee communities and what they see those around them having; and saw this as an on-going wounding in peoples lives.

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ANALYSIS OF INTERVIEWS

Cultural/Community Perspectives of Healing

As experienced by the 15 participants in this project, healing is a complex on-going process interconnected with relationships, culture, religious/spiritual experience, values and change. Healing processes honour difference, build respect and establish trust. Participants describe processes of re-creating or establishing harmony within themselves, the wider community, and the cosmos. ‘Healing is experienced when there is harmony, both physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and with the natural world’ (Interview 2). ‘To be healed is … a sacred concept. It is not an aspirin to take away the pain, it is transforming of mind and body to make well-being through a series of processes to make you well and create a stable position in society’ (Interview 6). Healing is also described as a recursive process in which the struggle to heal is in itself healing in that it strengthens the one struggling: ‘Ability to heal is strengthened through the processes of healing’ (Interview 7).

In their interviews, participants described both effective healing strategies/ processes and hindrances to healing. The following sections set out the themes within the participants’ stories as being critical aspects of healing: relationships, creative expression, addressing conflict, honouring and balancing cultures, dealing with gender issues, justice, language, religious/spiritual beliefs, action, and integrating healing traditions.

Relationships

All the participants name relationships as essential aspects of healing. They describe ways in which relationships foster healing, as well as ways in which they create further trauma. Relationships that are healing are based on respect, trust and sharing (Interview 3). A wide variety of relationships are described as being central to the process: relationship with self, spousal/partnership and other intimate relationships, family and friends, support groups and relationships with those in healing professions. The definition of relationships is more expansive than that found in Western literature in which discrete individuals seek healing for themselves. In many participants’ descriptions of healing, the individual is often described as embedded in a group, and healing for oneself is also healing for the group. Participants are further challenged in this endeavour because members of their group are back in the country of origin, in perilous situations (Interview 9).

Relationship with self 

Many participants describe healing as including an awareness and acceptance of oneself, with attention to healing oneself physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. ‘Inner change is a powerful force in healing’ (Interview 2). Participants experience meditation as one way of healing through quiet awareness, a process of ‘listening to oneself’ (Interview 2). Other participants speak of the role of inner knowing: ‘your best healer is yourself’ (Interview 6).

Awareness of ones’ own healing is also linked with supporting others in their healing: ‘always be positive, reflecting healing to others with your own attitude’ (Interview 6). Other participants speak of the challenge to find the resources to address their own healing, ‘When people are struggling with basic survival needs, sometimes the time to confront their own grief is not possible. Healing is a luxury that not everyone has, some people are overwhelmed with day to day things’ (Interview 7).

Spousal/Intimate Relationships

Healing relationships may be deep expressions of love between partners (Interview 8) and/or intimate friends (Interview 6,8). Or they may be relationships based on a deepening understanding and respect for each others’ experience and culture (Interview 8). Sexual relationships can be healing, both those of a more temporal nature (Interview 6) and those in long term, committed relationships (Interview 2, 7, 8,). Spousal relationships are particularly important in the continuity of healing they may provide (Interview 2, 8).

Relationships with the Cosmos

Participants experience healing through participation with the natural world such as walking in natural settings (Interview 2,7). Some participants see such experiences as mutually healing. In the belief systems of these participants, the natural world can be wounded and healing those wounds is linked to healing of individuals. Countries and societies can also be in need of healing, connected to the individuals who live there. ‘Country can be ill due to historical suffering’ (Interview 2). One participant gives a vivid description of the interconnections between individual healing and cosmological healing: ‘my understanding of a traditional concept of healing is mother earth or “PACHA MAMA”, which means there needs to be a balance in an individual’s life between the environment, humans, and animals.  “When a butterfly moves, the universe moves, even small things can change big things”. (Interview 2).

Relationships with Elders/Ancestors

In many cultures, elders are primary healers (Interview 2, 11). ‘People talk to elders. Elders talk about how death happened with people back home and the elder’s job is to talk about how it has happened to many people, to help someone understand that their deaths must be understood in context of many others. “You are not alone” in your trauma is the central healing message.’ (Interview 11) In some cultures Elders also serve as counselors: ‘The elders are practicing as counselors – when people here hear of relatives who die back home in Sudan or other countries we all get together and mourn and the elders talk to the person suffering’ (Interview 11).

In some participants’ cultures Ancestors, relatives who have died, continue to facilitate healing by providing connections for traditional healers (Interview 11) and other relations. ‘Relatives may die but continue to be part of the community, as we often talk to them and feel part of their lives as well’ (Interview 2). However, participants face difficulties in accessing Ancestors/Elders’ healing within Australia.  Such problems involve issues of respect around traditional knowledge and permission for its use in new ways and/or new country (Interview 11).

Relationships within support groups:

Many participants describe new kinds of belonging as healing that may arise out of support groups. However, for this to happen, trust must be present so that people will risk the pain of rejection and conflict in the search for reconnection. Others explain that healing offered through support groups may be limited in that there may an elem