An Analysis of Psychosocial Needs of Syrian Refugee Youths in Canada

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of the psychosocial needs of Syrian refugee youths in Canada. It begins by defining psychosocial well-being and exploring the unique challenges faced by refugee youth, including psychological, family-related, and systemic factors. The essay then examines the impact of the Syrian War Crisis and the refugee journey, outlining the pre-migration, migration, and post-migration phases. It also explores Canada's response to the crisis and the factors influencing the psychosocial well-being of these youths. The essay highlights the need for social, cultural, and healthcare support, and discusses the importance of considering theories like Self-determination theory. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of addressing the complex needs of Syrian refugee youths to promote their successful integration and well-being in Canada. The essay draws on empirical evidence and literature to support its arguments, highlighting the critical need for understanding and addressing the unique challenges faced by this vulnerable population. The study provides an overview of the crisis and the various factors that affect the mental health of the refugees.

Running head: PSYCHOSOCIAL NEEDS OF SYRIAN REFUGEE YOUTHS IN CANADA
Psychosocial needs of Syrian refugee youths in Canada
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1PSYCHOSOCIAL NEEDS OF SYRIAN REFUGEE YOUTHS IN CANADA
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
The Psychosocial Well-Being of Refugees Youth.....................................................................3
The psychosocial concept......................................................................................................3
Psychosocial challenges affecting refugee youth...................................................................4
Syrian War Crisis.......................................................................................................................5
The Refugee Journey and Its Impact on Youth..........................................................................7
Experiences impacting Syrian refugee youth in Canada........................................................7
The three phases of the refugee journey................................................................................8
Empirical evidence linking phases of post-migration with psychosocial well-being............8
Canada’s response to the “Syrian War Crisis”...........................................................................9
Factors Impacting the Psychosocial Well-being of Refugee Youth........................................10
Psychological factors...........................................................................................................11
Family related factors...........................................................................................................11
Systematic factors................................................................................................................13
Literature Gap..........................................................................................................................14
Conclusion................................................................................................................................14
References................................................................................................................................16

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Introduction
“Eastward and westward storms are breaking,--great, ugly whirlwinds of hatred and blood
and cruelty. I will not believe them inevitable.”
The above quoted lines of W.E.B. Du Bois from the book “The Wisdom of W.E.B.
Du Bois” clearly indicate the state of the present world. It is to be noted that the world at
presently in inflicted with various crisis like the “The Syrian War Crisis”, “The Greece
Crisis”, “The Rohingya crisis” and various others. The power crisis which the world is facing
at the present moment can be attributed to various factors like the unequal distribution of
power among the various entities of the present world, the rise of the various military
industry complexes, the power discrepancy between the first world countries and the third
world countries and various others (El-Khatib et al., 2013). It is to be noted that all these
crises give rise to not only the various economic as well as social constraints but also give
rise to the refugee crisis which the world is facing at large at the present moment. According
to the UNHCR (2018), “An unprecedented 65.6 million people around the world have been
forced from home. Among them are nearly 22.5 million refugees, over half of whom are
under the age of 18”. The following figure gives an overview of the refugee crisis faced by
the world at present-

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Figure 1: Trend of global displacement and proportion displacement
Source: UNHCR
It is to be noted that there are several kinds of refugees- the political asylum seekers,
“internally displaced people”, environmental migrants, forced displacement and various
others (Fargues & Fandrich, 2012). It is to be noted that the various nations of the world have
several legislations in place for the protection as well as the asylum of the refugees.
According to the UNHCR (2018), “The 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol as
well as other legal texts, such as the 1969 OAU Refugee Convention, remain the cornerstone
of modern refugee protection”. Therefore, in accordance with these international dictums the
various nations of the world like Canada, USA, UK and various others provide asylum to the
refugees belonging to the various crisis area. A typical example of this is the asylum provided
by the nation of Canada to the refugees of Syria. Patrick Kingsley talks about the nature of
the various refugees in the words, “For a start, people who traveled for so many miles
through such horrific conditions in order to find work cannot accurately be portrayed as lazy
benefit-scroungers”. This paper intends to study the psychosocial needs of the Syria refugee
youths in the nation of Canada.
The Psychosocial Well-Being of Refugees Youth
The psychosocial concept
Psychosocial needs can be defined as the needs which the refugees as well as the asylum
seekers needs in order to “meet their basic needs includes their emotional and mental well-
being” (Wells et al., 2016). “Psychosocial care skills” form an important domain of the
psychosocial needs (Almoshmosh, 2015). These skills enable the natives or the citizens of a

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particular nation to help the refugees to fulfill their psychosocial needs. The domain of the
psychosocial needs consists of various needs like-
 Social needs
 Cultural needs
 Sexual needs
 Spiritual needs
 Mental needs
 Emotional needs
 Health care needs
 Others
Psychosocial challenges affecting refugee youth
According to Ed Diener, “Probably the biggest insight… is that happiness is not just a
place but also a process. …Happiness is an ongoing process of fresh challenges, and… it
takes the right attitudes and activities to continue to be happy”. Therefore, the well-being of
the refugees will depend on a proper correlation of the above listed needs. The social needs of
the refugees include a proper social environment where they can mingle with the other
natives (Jabbar & Zaza, 2014). This need can also include the desire of the refugees to be
loved by the native citizens of the nation to which they are migrating and also the feeling of
belongingness. This need of the refugees can also include a desire for an environment which
is different from the social unrest in their own parent country. The “Maslow's hierarchy of
needs” theory provides an insight into the social needs of the people only in the context of the
workplace framework but also in the general social needs of the refugees in the asylum lands
as well (Jabbar & Zaza, 2014). The cultural needs of the refugees include the desire of theirs
to adhere to as well as practice the culture of their native land to the new country to which
they have taken asylum. The “health care need” of the refugees includes their desire to have

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effective health care facilities which will look after them in case of illness, medical
emergencies and other similar situations (Hassan et al., 2016).
It is interesting to note that the precepts of “Self-determination theory” (SDT) are
important to note here. This theory can be seen as a “a macro theory of human motivation and
personality that concerns people's inherent growth tendencies and innate psychological
needs” (Fargues & Fandrich, 2012). The focus of the theory is on the motivation factor which
determines the action of an individual in an external environment that is different from his or
her normal environment. The theory also takes into consideration “the degree to which an
individual's behavior is self-motivated and self-determined” (Fargues & Fandrich, 2012).
Therefore, the behavior of the refugees in the country of their asylum can be determined on
the basis of this particular theory.
Syrian War Crisis
In the opinion of Aberjhani articulated in the work “Illuminated Corners: Collected
Essays and Articles Volume I”, “Freedom rings bells to wake us from the comfort of
beautiful dreams and empower the efforts that turn them into reality”. This line of Aberjhani
becomes very relevant when the current crisis in the country of Syria is taken into
consideration. It is to be noted that the Syria is a South-east Asian country where the majority
of the population consists of Muslims. The crisis of Syria started in the year 2011 when the
citizens of the nation rose in open rebellion against the existing government of the nation
(Aras & Mencutek, 2015). The present scenario in Syria finds adequate representation in the
words of Aberjhani articulated in the work “Journey through the Power of the Rainbow:
Quotations from a Life Made Out of Poetry”,
“Death wins nothing here,

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gnawing wings that amputate––
then spread, lift up, fly.”
According to the BBC News (2018), one of the major reasons for the crisis in Syria is
the diversity in the population of the nation, which comprises of the Shia as well as the Sunni
Muslims. It is to be noted that the Prime Minister of Syria, Bashar al-Assad used to govern
the nation in a dictatorial manner. Therefore, several entities of the population rose in
rebellion against this autocratic rule of Bashar al-Assad in the year 2011. It is to be noted that
since then there has been various interventions on the part of various international
organizations like the United Nations and nations belonging to the first world like United
States of America, Canada, Russia and others to resolve the crisis. However, all negotiations
have failed to deliver the desired results (Aras & Mencutek, 2015). According to the
“Refugee Council of Australia” (2018), the “March 2017 Geneva peace talks on Syria” was
arranged so that the issue in the nation of Syria could be resolved. However, this intervention
on the part of the United Nations resulted in a peaceful environment in the nation only for a
week. It is to be noted that the crisis in Syria has been made grim by the participation of the
various first world countries of the world in the domestic affairs of Syria. Russia, for
instance, is a supporter of the cause of the government of Bashar al-Assad (Aras &
Mencutek, 2015). However, the United States of America, on the other hand, is a supporter of
the cause of the rebel people of the nation of Syria and therefore has taken a stance against
the dictatorial government of Bashar al-Assad. The words of Aberjhani articulated in the
work “The River of Winged Dreams” becomes significant here,
“In an age of bombs
guzzling blood, skylarks merge peace

7PSYCHOSOCIAL NEEDS OF SYRIAN REFUGEE YOUTHS IN CANADA
with thought and action.”
The above mentioned situation in the nation became aggravated when the government
of Bashar al-Assad took the help of the country of Russia to bomb the areas where the
rebellious faction of the crisis resides. This has not only resulted in a capital destruction of
the human lives belonging to the nation of Syria but has also led to a capital destruction of the
natural resources of the nation. The serious threat which the current crisis in Syria and the
consequent refugees crisis entails has been adequately captured in the words of Samantha
Power when she said, “Half of Syria's refugees are children, and we know what can happen
to children who grow to adulthood without hope or opportunity in refugee camps. The camps
become fertile recruiting grounds for violent extremists”.
This grim situation has made the citizens of the nation to fled from their motherland of Syria
and seek asylum in various other countries of the world like Canada, the United States of
America, the adjoining nations and others. It is to be noted that the United States of America
has been a major supporter of the cause of the Syrian refugees and as per a report of the “US
State Department”, the total aid fund of the United States of America since 2012 till now has
touched an astounding figure of $7 billion and is still counting (Morello & Morello, 2018). In
addition to this, the government of the United States of America also provides political
asylum to the refugees of Syria along with other aids possible (U.S. Department of State,
2018). It is to be noted that the nation of Canada is also not very far behind in this list of
supporters to the cause of the current crisis in the nation of Syria.
The Refugee Journey and Its Impact on Youth
Experiences impacting Syrian refugee youth in Canada
It is to be noted that the citizens of the present world have become more migratory
than the citizens of the previous era. This might be a reflection of several factors which the

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world and its citizens are facing at the moment. One probable reason for this is the conflict or
the crisis which the majority of the third world countries like Syria, Botswana, Greece and
others are facing at the moment. Therefore, in order to evade the conflict in their homeland
the citizens of these countries often migrate from their homeland to the first world countries
in a bid to get better as well as safer environments (Benezer & Zetter, 2014).
The three phases of the refugee journey
There are three stages to the migration process of the youths as well as the other
refugees. These stages can be summarized as pre-migration, migration and post-migration
stages (Edge, Newbold & McKeary, 2014). The first stage of pre-migration involves the
factors which force the citizens to migrate from their host countries to the other safer nations.
For example, in the case of Syria, the pre-migration stage can involve the crisis which the
nation is facing at the moment. The country Syria has been torn apart with the struggle for
political power ever since the year 2011. Therefore, the citizens are looking for safer abodes
to fulfill their life requirements.
The second stage involves the stage of the actual migration. It is to be noted that
several factors affect the decision of the refugees for the selection of the country to which
they are about to seek the political asylum. However, the primary consideration of the people
is the security factor (Benezer & Zetter, 2014). It is to be noted that along with the security
factor other psychosocial needs also play an important role in this process.
The third stage is the stage of pre-migration. It is to be noted that during this
particular stage the refugees look for the fulfillment of their various psychosocial needs
(Fazel et al., 2012). The various refugees look for the fulfillment of their various
psychosocial needs in the chosen country of their refuge. Therefore, this stage is one of the
most important stages during the entire journey.

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Empirical evidence linking phases of post-migration with psychosocial well-being
It is to be noted that en empirical study of the various literatures published in the
context of the refugees reveals that the various refugees after migrating to the nation of their
political asylum are confronted with various factors. The primary among them is the physical
disorders as well as the ailments which they face (Edge, Newbold & McKeary, 2014). Most
of the studies reveal the fact that the majority of the refugees suffer from various sleeping
disorders and other ailments like stress, anxiety, depression and several others. In addition to
this, there are several other factors with which the refugees are confronted with like the lack
of employment, housing problems and others.
Canada’s response to the “Syrian War Crisis”
According to the statistics provided by the Government of Canada, “Canada has
committed over $1 billion in humanitarian, development and security assistance in response
to the Syria crisis” (The Globe and Mail, 2018). In addition to this, the Prime Minister of
Canada, Justin Trudeau, in the year 2016 announced that “Canada's new strategy to address
the ongoing crises in Iraq and Syria, including further increases over the next three years to
Canada's security, stabilization, humanitarian and development assistance” (CBC News,
2018). In addition to this the government of Canada also provides asylum services to the
refugees of Syria. According to an estimate, “The Government of Canada resettled 25,000
Syrian refugees between November 2015 and February 29, 2016”(Canadian international
assistance in Syria, 2018). In addition to this, the Canadian government under its “Canada’s
humanitarian assistance” program provides aid to the citizens of Syria who are still residing
in Syria to “meet the food, shelter, health, protection and emergency education needs” of
theirs (Canada’s response to the conflict in Syria, 2018). The government of Canada, under
the leadership of Justin Trudeau has announced the inauguration of a new program called by

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the name of “Syria Emergency Relief Fund” (Canada’s response to the conflict in Syria,
2018). It is to be noted that the government of Canada has generously contributed an amount
of more than $31.8 million to the “Syrian Emergency Relief Fund” to “support humanitarian
relief efforts in response to the conflict in Syria, which the Government of Canada is
matching” (Refugees, 2018). In addition to all these, the government of Canada has
inaugurated a new program called “security-related assistance” (Refugees, 2018). It is to be
noted that under this particular program the government of Canada seeks to mitigate the
amount of risks which the citizens of Syria faces at the moment due to the use of the chemical
and other harmful kinds of weapons which not only threaten to destroy their present lives but
also threatens to destroy their future as well.
Factors Impacting the Psychosocial Well-being of Refugee Youth
As per the review provided by the “United Nation’s Human Development Index” in
the year 2016, the nation of Syria stands on the 149th position out of the 188 present countries
of the world (Pantti, 2016). It is interesting to note that as per the same review given by the
“United Nation’s Human Development Index” in the year 2010, the nation of Syria had a
ranking of 113 on a list of 189 countries (Pantti, 2016). This is a reflection of the current
crisis which the nation of Syria is undergoing since the year 2011. According to an estimate,
“More than 13 million people inside Syria are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance;
over six million of these have been internally displaced by conflict” (The number of
displaced people in the world just hit a record high., 2018). In addition to this there are
several million people still living in Syria are in need of some of the most basic amenities of
life like food, shelter, primary education and others. Therefore, the majority of the population
of Syria has decided to follow the path of migration (Alpak et al., 2015). It is to be noted that
the balance as well as the order of the world has been considerably disturbed as more than 5

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million local citizens of Syria have migrated to the neighbouring countries like Turkey,
Lebanon, Jordon and others (The number of displaced people in the world just hit a record
high., 2018).
Psychological factors
The Canadian government declared that primary aim of the funds allocated to the
Syrian cause and the asylum provided to the refugees is to provide "an opportunity to put a
vehicle where Canadians will be able to channel their generosity" (Ryan, 2012). However,
just providing asylum to the refugees is not enough. The various factors affecting the
psychosocial well-being of the refugee youths can be broadly classified under the headings
psychosocial factors, family related factors and systematic factors. The primary
psychosocial need of the refugees is security. It is to be noted that the citizens of the nation of
Syria have been facing political turmoil since the year 2011 and even before that in the
autocratic rule of the Syrian Prime Minister, Bashar al-Assad (Ryan, 2012). Therefore, the
primary as well as the foremost requirement of the Syrian refugees is security which the
nation of Canada because of its stable political as well as social environment can easily
provide to the refugees of Syria (Francis, 2012). In addition to this, there are various other
psychosocial needs of the refugees in the nation of Canada like the physical needs, spiritual
needs, sexual needs, educational needs, occupational needs and others.
Family related factors
One of the psychosocial needs of the refugees from Syria is a safe and sound social
environment where they can achieve their life goals in a much better manner and lead a safe
life. The citizens of Syria have been facing social unrest all their life and also the society of
Syria is a very conservative on account of its being a Muslim one (Evron, 2013). Therefore,
the social environment of the nation of Canada will be an ideal place for the people of Syria
as here they will get to fulfill their intended life goals in a much better manner and also to