Case study for Grundtvig

  Description of the case

To live in Sweden with mixed population is very usually, especially for Malmö. It is mixed of people from different countries. Nowadays it starts to appear several unaccompanied minors in the city. Sweden became one of the countries that take highest number of unaccompanied minors. These refugees who come to the country to seek asylum live in a refugee camps where Henrik works as an integration leader. They are under 18 and they come without family. Morteza is one of them. He got his permanent stay visa just one week ago. He lives in the camp with other afghan refugees.

Henrik’s roll as integration leader is to help refugees to understand how Swedish society works. Responsibility of Henrik is broad such as language support, explaining of asylum process, being link between legal guard and refugee, setting some goals and helping refugees to reach these goals, following routines that camp has and having a social contact through social activities. Henrik is motivated to work with an accompanied minors but he has few experiences and information about Afghanistan and Muslim culture.

Morteza has just gotten positive answer from immigration board that he can stay in Sweden. It means he will focus more his future in Sweden rather than what he had problems in Afghanistan. Language is one and big step for him to come into society. He had difficulties to speak local language but he can understand few English words. He continues language preparation course every day. Moreover, he is really upset and concerned about his family in Afghanistan.

  Challenge

The main challenge for Henrik as a social worker was to have healthy, trustable, personal communication with Morteza. Henrik had also worries about misunderstanding because lack of information and experiences about Morteza’s cultural codes which could lead big problems between Morteza and Henrik.

Communication between social workers and refugees in the camp take place by the help of interpreter through telephone or just use body language, gestures until refugees start to learn the local language. There could be other helps also by the help of other refugees who can speak local language or speak English. Even if these communications channels work to some extend, misunderstandings always appear between Morteza and Henrik.

Most of the misunderstandings appeared based on lack of information about cultural codes that Morteza brought from Afghanistan. For example; Henrik went into Morteza’s room with his shoos on, for refugees it is really rude and not respectful behavior. However for Henrik it is normal to go in a room with shoes on. It starts the conflict, which is not big but possible to one big explosion of unexpressed problems and feelings afterwards.  

  What and how did you do?

In order to get ride of misunderstandings, to create more communications channels that can let personal contact, and to promote social workers’ experiences about refugees’ cultural background Henrik decided to apply one method, which was used with refugees.

3 parts of the method

First part of the method was to let Henrik and Morteza to have personal contact through social activities. They went to concert and Henrik invited Morteza to his home for a dinner. During this part Henrik started to know what Morteza’s needs, interests, hobbies were. This information would be used at the later stage of method.

Second part of the method was to find a tool such as art to get rid of language barriers, to express problems, feelings, and traditions without Swedish language with personal and creative ideas. Filmmaking was one of the tools Henrik picked to handle the challenge. He decided to choose as a theme “living in Afghanistan” because he would like to know cultural codes of the refugee. In this part there were several steps that Henrik and Morteza followed.

Step 1:

The theme Afghanistan was relatively broad and needed to be specified. Henrik and Morteza did brainstorming. Morteza got some ideas about what he wanted to tell Henrik about Afghanistan, (food, language, family life, work, weather, geography, values, ethnic groups est.)

Step 2:

Morteza chose one of these points – Family Life. Henrik let him to draw some drawings about the life in Afghanistan. Morteza hade time to think and he could express himself on a nonverbal way.

Step 3:

After this drawing Henrik and Morteza spoke about the pictures, which Morteza drew so that he could express himself better. Henrik started to get some idea about life in Afghanistan. At this step, some other afghan refugees helped Morteza to explain pictures to Henrik.

Step 4:

While Morteza was talking, Henrik started to film him. He wanted Morteza to make a story out of the drawings, it also means out of his own experiences. They put the drawings in an order, this order became the skeleton in other words a storyboard of the film, they were making together.

Step 5:

At the end of the process Morteza had a story about life of Afghanistan and he told this story with his own experiences in the personal film. He explained in his own language, and it was translated in Swedish.

The third part is about expression and to show the film to other refugees and social workers. This part is kind of reflection, evaluation and spreading of film through different social networks.

  How did it end?

Look at the film. (The film that Henrik works on it is not ready but you can look at the example that is applied same method. Theme is the road between Afghanistan and Sweden)

Youtube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=OoR_nbTfhIU

The product does not have to be very professional, but the process is more important, because through the process of filmmaking, social workers can learn and get more information about the cultural codes about Afghanistan, that will make the social workers more competent.

The last product will be shown at youtube or different kind of social networks, which can help refugees, feel proud of their own product, and get the feeling they are interesting for others and for the local environment. On the other hand, the process helps social workers:

-       More information about Morteza’s background, that they cant get through interpreters or formal communication

-       To get idea show they can go from one theme to one story

-       Feelings – how Morteza feels, what is difficult for him in the given situation

-       To trust – build out a closer personal relationship

  How it can be better?

At the end of intervention, Henrik and other social workers come with some ideas that can help during filmmaking process.

-       Social workers should have experience about problems of refugees so they can choose better theme that can be related with problems.

-       Social workers should be also aware of individual differences (maybe some refugees like to work with film, others may like to express themselves in different ways – photo, painting est.)

-       Social workers need technical knowledge ( you have to chose software or programs which you really can work with, so the process can go on, and working together can be fun)

-       Simple technical equipments are needed (camera, computer, software etc.) The final product will not be professional film so it is not needed to have complicated software.

-       Working in small groups or individually is much better and more effective than working with nig group.  

Ps. Henrik and Morteza are just imaginary people.