Page 28 - Healing Voices_za sajt

Healing Voices

Activity 1.3: Survivor resilience

Instructions for classroom
Part 1
1. Break into groups of three. Each group will be assigned one scenario (from the scenarios
below).
2. Read your scenario.
3. For every scenario, discuss the questions that follow it.
4. See if your group can agree on an answer. (You may have more than one answer.)
Instructions for self-study
1. Choose one or more of the scenarios below. Read the scenario and then answer the
questions that follow in your journal.
2. Consider discussing your answers with other interpreters studying this manual.

Scenario 1: A man and his brother

You are interpreting for a young man who describes how the rebels in his country tortured him because
of his political views and murdered all of his family members except for his youngest brother. He talks
about how he escaped to the U.S. to find safety but that it was too dangerous for him to bring his
young brother with him. He made arrangements for his brother to stay with family friends in a different
part of the country from where the rebels attacked their family.
Before the young man escaped, he also
arranged to adopt his brother. He is
distressed that his asylum proceedings
are taking so long because he plans to
sponsor his brother (adopted son)
through the family reunification program
once he obtains asylum. In the meantime,
he has been studying computer
information systems and has obtained a
job so that he can prepare himself to
support his brother when he arrives. He
communicates with this brother every
week by phone and encourages him to
Young man communicate with brother study and show respect to the family
friends who are taking care of him, as
their parents would wish. The client has gradually made several close friends in the U.S. and reports
that his depression is lifting and he feels a renewed sense of purpose and meaning in his life in caring
for his brother.
a) What would you identify as the survivor’s vulnerabilities?
b) What would you identify as the survivor’s strengths?
c) What do you think helps this person be resilient?
d) What feelings do you experience when hearing a story of great courage?

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