African Refugees’ Experiences of Oppression: The Journey from Naïve to Critical Consciousness
Terry L. Koenig, Jon Hudson, Abhishek Juneja, Paolo Nardi, Giulio C. Tersalvi
As global migration increases, the number of refugees, including those from African countries, is intensifying within the European Union and specifically Italy. African refugees who travel to Italy face a host of violent experiences including slavery and human trafficking. Social workers in Italy work side-by-side with these refugees to help them explore the emotional and geographic elements of their journeys and begin the process of integrating into a new society. This paper provides an in-depth examination of the narratives of two African refugees who made the dangerous journey from their homes in Africa to northern Italy where they participated in a vocational training program. These narratives, drawn from a larger qualitative study that took place in Como, Italy, highlight African refugees’ oppressive experiences on the journey, their process of self-reflection, and their evolution from naïve to critical consciousness. Social workers can build upon and learn from refugees’ growth and resilience forged through these difficult journeys and they can draw upon the wisdom and experience of more established refugees to help them, in turn, nurture and support newly arriving refugees.
Keywords
Oppression, refugees, naïve consciousness, critical consciousness, Paulo Freire.
