Impact of September 11 on Refugees and Those Seeking Asylum

Abstract

September 11, 2001 profoundly affected the American public. We share the views of a cohort of refugees and those seeking asylum from the Boston Center for Refugee Health and Human Rights. Of the 63 individuals from 18 countries interviewed, many had concerns about their personal safety following September 11, as well as fears related to deportation, arrest, detention, imprisonment, discrimination, physical violence and the destruction of property, and war. Asylum seekers were more likely than refugees to have concerns about their safety before their departure and during flight, as well as fear deportation and arrest after September 11. In the wake of September 11, most common coping strategies utilized included prayer (77.8%), speaking with friends from their own social group (47.6%), family (44.4%), and belief in fate (42.9%).

Keywords

asylum seekers post-traumatic stress disorder refugees September 11 terrorism

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Adams, R.E. , & Boscarino, J.A. (2006). Predictors of PTSD and delayed PTSD after disaster: The impact of exposure and psychosocial resources . Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease, 194(7), 485—493.

Ali, A.L. , Tice, T.N. , Peterson, C. , & Huang, B. (2005). Prayers, spiritual support, and positive attitudes in coping with the September 11 national crisis. Journal of Personality, 73(3), 763—792.

Ali, O.M. , Milstein, G. , & Marzuk, P.M. (2005). The imam's role in meeting the counseling needs of Muslim communities in the United States. Psychiatric Services , 56, 202—205.

Center for Disease Control. (2002a). Impact of September 11 attacks on workers in the vicinity of the World Trade Center — New York City. MMWR — Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report, 51(Spec. No.), 8—10.

Center for Disease Control. (2002b). Psychological and emotional effects of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center — Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York. Journal of the American Medical Association, 288(12), 1467—1468.

Cernovsky, Z.Z. (1990). Escape stress, sleep disorders, and assimilation level of refugees. Social Behavior and Personality, 18, 287—298.

Constantine, M.G. , Alleyne, V.L. , Caldwell, L.D. , MacRae, M. , & Suzuki, L. (2005). Coping responses of Asian, Black and Latino/Latina New York City residents following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against the United States. Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 11(4), 293—308.

de Bocanegra, H.T. , Moskalenko, S. , & Kramer, E.J. (2006). PTSD, depression, prescription drugs use, and health care utilization of Chinese workers affected by WTC attacks. Journal of Immigrant Minority Health, 8(3), 203—210.

Escobar, J.I. , Randolph, E.T. , Puente, G. , Spiwak, F. , Asamen, J.K. , Hill, M. , & Hough, R.L. (1983). Post-traumatic stress disorder in Hispanic Vietnam veterans. Clinical phenomenology and sociocultural characteristics. Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease, 171(10), 585—596.

10.

Galea, S. , Resnick, H. , Ahern, J. , Gold.,J. , Bucuvalas, M. , Kilpatrick, D. , Stuber, J. , & Vlahov, D. (2002). Posttraumatic stress disorder in Manhattan, New York City, after the September 11th terrorist attacks. Journal of Urban Health, 79(3), 340—353.

11.

Galea, S. , Vlahov, D. , Tracy, M. , Hoover, D.R. , Resnick, H. , & Kilpatrick, D. (2004). Hispanic ethnicity and post-traumatic stress disorder after a disaster: Evidence from a general population survey after September 11, 2001. Annals of Epidemiology, 14(8), 520—531.

12.

Janoff-Bulman, R. (1992). Shattered assumptions: Towards a new psychology of trauma. New York: Free Press .

13.

Kinzie, J.D. , Boehnlein, J.K. , Riley, C. , & Sparr, L. (2002). The effects of September 11 on traumatized refugees: Reactivation of posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease, 190(7), 437—441.

14.

Lavik, N.J. , Hauff, E. , Skrondal, A. , & Solberg, O. (1996). Mental disorder among refugees and the impact of persecution and exile: Some findings from an outpatient population. British Journal of Psychiatry, 169, 726—732.

15.

Pernice, R. , & Brook, J. (1996). Refugees' and immigrants' mental health: Association of demographic and post-immigration factors. The Journal of Social Psychology, 136(4), 511—519.

16.

Physicians for Human Rights and the Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture. (2003). From persecution to prison: The health consequences of detention for asylum seekers. Available: http://www.phrusa.org/campaigns/asylum_network/detention_execSummary/ .

17.

Pollack, M.H. , Simon, N.M. , Fagiolini, A. , Pitman, R. , McNally, R.J. , Nierenberg, A.A. et al. (2006). Persistent posttraumatic stress disorder following September 11 in patients with bipolar disorder. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 67(3), 394—399.

18.

Rosen, C. , Tiet, Q. , Cavella, S. , Finney, J. , & Lee, T. (2005). Chronic PTSD patient's functioning before and after the September 11 attacks. Journal of Traumatic Stress , 18(6), 781—784.

19.

Rousseau, C. , Mekki-Berrada, A. , & Moreau, S. (2001). Trauma and extended separation from family among Latin American and African refugees in Montreal. Psychiatry , 64(1), 40—59.

20.

Schlenger, W.E. , Caddell, J.M. , Ebert, L. , Jordan, B.K. , Rourke, K.M. , Wilson, D. , Thalji, L. , Dennis, J.M. , Fairbank, J.A. , & Kulka, R.A. (2002). Psychological reactions to terrorist attacks: Findings from the national study of Americans' reactions to September 11. Journal of the American Medical Association, 288(5), 581—588.

21.

Schuster, M.A. , Stein, B.D. , Jaycox, L. , Collins, R.L. , Marshall, G.N. , Elliott, M.N. , Zhou, A.J. , Kanouse, D.E. , Morrison, J.L. , & Berry, S.H. (2001). A national survey of stress reactions after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. New England Journal of Medicine, 345(20), 1507—1512.

22.

Sheridan, L.P. (2006). Islamophobia pre- and post-September 11, 2001 . Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 21(3), 317—336.

23.

Silove, D. , Steel, Z. , McGorry, P. , & Mohan, P. (1998). Trauma exposure, postmigration stressors, and symptoms of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress in Tamil asylum-seekers: Comparison with refugees and immigrants. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 97(3), 175—181.

24.

Silver, R.C. , Holman, E.A. , McIntosh, D.N. , Poulin, M. , & Gil-Rivas, V. (2002). Nationwide longitudinal study of psychological responses to September 11. Journal of the American Medical Association, 288(10), 1235—1244.

25.

Sinnerbrink, I. , Silove, D. , Field, A. , Steel, Z. , & Manicavasagar, V. (1997). Compounding of premigration trauma and postmigration stress in asylum seekers. The Journal of Psychology, 131(5), 463—470.

26.

Steel, Z. , & Silove, D. (2001). The mental health implications of detaining asylum seekers. Medical Journal of Australia, 175(11—12), 596—599.

27.

United Nations. (1951). Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Status of Refugees and Stateless Persons , Geneva, 2—25 July. Available: http://www.unhcr.ch/egi-bin/texis/vtx/publ.

28.

United Nations. (1967, 14 December). Declaration on territorial asylum. Adopted by General Assembly resolution 2312 (XXII). Available: http://www.unhcr.ch/html/menu3/b/o_asylum.htm .

29.

Yeh, C.J. , Inman, A.C. , Kim, A.B. , & Okubo, Y. (2006). Asian American families' collectivistic coping strategies in response to 9/11. Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 12(1), 134—148.