Life For Refugees
Leaving your homeland to start life in a new country can be challenging at the best of times. When the decision to do so is driven not by choice but by necessity – either from war, political upheaval or threats to your personal freedom – the challenges are absolutely magnified.
For the past two years, I have been volunteering as a shiatsu therapist at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) in Melbourne.
The centre is a bustling not-for-profit organisation which provides free services to more than 3000 asylum seekers via a team of 700 volunteers and some paid staff. These services range from a food bank, legal aid, health care and counselling to English classes, recreational activities and housing support.
Uncertainty shapes the lives of asylum seekers as the majority are on temporary visas. This means they are in limbo waiting for a decision on their legal status to remain in Australia, a decision that can drag on for years and years.
In the meantime, more often than not asylum seekers are not granted work rights, and have no access to healthcare or any other government aid. They are forced to rely on the generosity of others.
Refugees At ASRC
My shiatsu clients come from across the globe – Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Latin America and Asia. Most have left their country in difficult and often traumatic circumstances.
They may have experienced extreme brutality or been witness to it. Often they have been separated from loved ones – children, spouses, parents or friends – with little or no idea of when reunion may be possible.
This fragmentation and severe dislocation of all that is familiar to them results, understandably, in physical, emotional and spiritual pain. The pain is extreme, chronic and debilitating.
By far, the two most common health conditions for asylum seekers are stress and mental health issues. They simply don’t have the luxury of making even the most basic of choices – choices that most of us take for granted.
I’ve found that shiatsu has a powerful healing effect on my clients at the ASRC, particularly as touch may have been a cause for trauma for them in the past.
With some clients, it can take time to establish enough trust to allow the process of ‘letting go’ to begin. It may have been awhile since they have been able to do this. But without exception, the process does occur –in its own time.
In some situations, clients may not ever have experienced bodywork before. However, they seem to have a natural affinity and open-ness to it especially if they are from countries where alternative, religious or spiritual healing is deep-rooted.
Psychosymatic Symptoms
A friend of mine – a shiatsu practitioner who works with a similar client base – has a client who experiences disturbing flashbacks.
Her client is from the Caribbean where there is a culture of the power of the supernatural. Carrying a heavy emotional burden, he values the reassurance of ‘spiritual connectedness’ which he experiences during treatments.
There is another interesting phenomenon I’ve observed at the ASRC that reinforces the profound link between body, mind and soul. Clients often present with physical pain or discomfort, but western diagnosis may not reveal that any disease or condition is present.
For example, a woman in her forties whom I’ve been treating for almost two years now came in complaining of extreme bodily aches and pains, particularly in one of her shoulders and hips. The pain was such that on some days she could barely move. X-rays and ultrasounds did not show any abnormalities. Yet the pain persists.
In hers and other similar situations, it is clear to me that ongoing emotional stresses and uncertainties eventually wreak havoc on the body, manifesting in physical symptoms.
As a therapy for asylum seekers, shiatsu is wonderful as it works in the emotional, physical and spiritual realms. Closely aligned with traditional Chinese medicine, this alternative Japanese therapy adopts a holistic approach to health by treating symptoms as well as their root causes.
Treatments are highly accessible and non-invasive as they are done fully clothed. Practitioners work with meridians (channels of energy) and pressure points, using nourishing tactile pressure on various parts of the body.
Touch is just so direct and simple on so many levels. I have been privileged enough to witness unforgettable and remarkable openings in my clients.
During treatments, I find they are able to soften physically and emotionally because they are in a safe place beyond words and where they can rest from the unimaginable traumas of their lives.
For more information about the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, visit www.asrc.org.au