Book Reviews 95
The Psychological Well-being of Refugee Children: Research, Practice and
Policy Issues, M. McCallin (ed), International Catholic Child Bureau, Geneva,
1992 (352 pp). Contact ICCB, General Secretariat, 65 Rue de Lusanne, CH-1202,
Geneva. No price listed.
Drawn from a collection of papers presented at a conference on the psychosocial
needs of refugee children, and sponsored by the International Catholic Child
Bureau in September 1991, this ambitious volume only partially succeeds in its
attempt to address an area in pressing need of attention. Despite the volume's
weaknesses, it offers many bright spots and will prove relevant to those directly
involved in refugee-related work and also for those concerned with broader
emergency relief programmes and community development efforts.
The volume's three sections are loosely organised around the following themes:
(1) the context of intervention; (2) strategies of intervention; and (3) the response
of the international community. Given the diversity and quality of the papers,
including the conflicting points of view contained within them, an overview or
preface to each section would have enhanced and strengthened the material's
presentation. For example, one paper advocates a priority in "targeting" children,
fIrst and foremost when developing intervention strategies. In sharp contrast,
another paper explicitly states "there is need to support mothers fIrst". Missing is
an attempt to articulate and synthesise such differing positions, which, at the fIeld
level, generate substantially different programme objectives and priorities.
Introductory remarks to each section would also allow for discussion of the
liabilities inherent in generalising about "refugees" or "camps", etc, which appear
in some of the papers. That there can be enormous diversity between refugee
camps, even within the same camp over time, is well-established. Factors such as
the make-up of a particular camp's refugee population (the degree of ethnic and
cultural similarities or differences), the nature and conditions ofrefugee "flight"
(anticipatory versus overt crisis), whether the camp is "open" or "closed", the style
and approach to camp administration (eg trained social workers in Zimbabwe as
contrasted to military and police personnel in Hong Kong), the availability of
material resources, and the nature of the services and programmes offered by
various organisations within the camp, are examples of the factors that contribute
to such diversity. These factors should temper the tendency to generalise about
"the refugee experience", etc.
The opening chapter, which is one of the strongest, provides a review of relevant
information on child development, including the area of risk research. Issues such
96 Book Reviews
as the impact of cumulative risk factors, the difference between being exposed to
acute versus chronic danger, and the role of adaptive coping styles, as contrasted
to those more maladaptive in nature, are well-presented. lbat the chapter draws
upon general child development research and examines its implications for the
refugee context is a salient point. It brings into clear view the paucity of original
refugee research that has focused on the time frame prior to the stage of fmal, third
country, resettlement. A more thorough review of the basic methodological
problems in doing refugee research would also have been helpful, as such issues
as sampling, language, instrumentation and the need to consider ethical problems
(eg valid informed consent, confidentiality, etc) are not adequately considered.
The concerns noted above are illustrated by comparing a few findings on
Mozambican children in twodifferentpapers in the volume. Specific to Mozambican
children's exposure to violence, one author reports that up to 35% of children had
either witnessed, or knew someone who had been murdered. Incontrast, a second
paper states that 77% of children had been witness to such atrocities. Similarly, the
flfStpaper states that up to 8.4% of children had been forced to be combatants, while
the second paper provides a much higher figure of 28%. A more in-depth
discussion highlighting the differences in methodology, including where and how
the data was collected (a refugee camp in Zambia as contrasted to deslocado
communities within Mozambique), the marked contrast in the findings, and how
these differences impact on programme development would have been fascinating.
One senses that a rich debate must have been generated by the paper presentations
during the conference, a debate not reflected in the book.
Insummary, this collection of papers as a whole strongly supports the position
that the psychosocial needs of refugee children, in the context of their families and
communities, are intrinsic to healthy growth and development. As fundamental
needs, they require both clear articulation and a genuine programme response
within large relief and emergency efforts that tend to focus too narrowly on the
delivery of food, shelter and medicine, etc. The book also succeeds in emphasising
the importance of understanding, supporting and building upon the strengths and
inherent coping capacities already existing within the refugee community. Such a
persJective naturally leads to a high degree of refugee participation in establishing
boUi the priority areas to be addressed and, of equal importance, the nature of the
programme delivery developed to meet expressed needs. The volume's flaws
serve as a catalyst, helping point out the specifIC areas in need of applied research
and more well-developed intervention strategies.
Reviewed by Kirk Felsman, sub-Regional Advisor, Children and War Program,
Save the Children Federation (USA), Harare, Zimbabwe