Former Eritrean refugees sponsor their own psychologist to fill health care gap

Clinical psychologist Samuel Kebede explains PTSD as “volatile memory”.

When a person experiences extreme fear, Kebede says the brain may fragment that memory. It becomes inaccessible, as if it is “scattered in places where it has no place.”

Then, when the person is safe – perhaps re-established in Canada, 12,000 kilometers away from the dirt roads where the trauma occurred – they are still triggering those fragments of the broken memory.

Kebede, herself a refugee, has witnessed memories of the violence and uncertainty of refugee journeys leading to flashbacks, anxiety, depression and sleep problems, and ruined relationships.

A group of Eritrean community members are banding together to try to bring Kebede to Calgary, in the hopes of helping the community of about 5,000 people get the kind of support that is difficult for many newcomers to the mainstream health-care system.

Kebede is keen to speak to Eritrean refugees in their mother tongue, Tigrinya, which will help them connect with these memories in a safe way.

“It sounds simple, but it’s not easy,” he said. “It’s not just describing the situation or telling a story about it.”

But this brings relief.

“If it is conducted by an experienced physician, it is very successful,” he said. “It… has a good outcome, and we can see positive changes in the person right away.”

Eritrean community hit hard

Kebede fled Eritrea in 2011, when he was 19. He studied psychology in Addis Ababa and has since been working with Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia.

Members of the Eritrean community arrived after the tragedy here.

in calgary, Five people have been murdered in the last three years At afternoon drinking events in and around International Avenue. All the victims and known perpetrators were young newcomers to the Eritrean community, and community leaders say the blame should, in part, be placed on untreated trauma.

Community leaders joined Kebede virtually to help a grieving family. Then they wrote a job offer, and are trying to sponsor him through a fast-track Canadian immigration program combines economic necessity and refugee status,

“We need this person,” said Sin Ammanuel, an immigration consultant and volunteer with the Eritrean Canadian Community Association of Calgary.

“It is very difficult for the families of the victims to watch.”

He said that while there are other therapists who speak Tigrinya, he has not found any clinical psychologists in Calgary who speak it, and the need is great.

Emanuel volunteered his services to cover the immigration process, and an aunt of one of the victims donated money to cover the immigration fees.

‘They need extra care to open up’

In Calgary, many newcomers struggle to access mental health support through Alberta Health Services, and many newcomer service agencies and cultural communities provide alternatives.

Mohammed Raihan, a PhD candidate at the University of Calgary who is studying these barriers, said people who are new to the country often don’t know what’s available or how to navigate the system. Plus, they often require translation, meaning a third stranger is involved in an already sensitive conversation.

Rehan said cultural-based efforts like the health clinics established by the Punjabi and Chinese communities in Calgary are important.

“They are not a substitute for the health care system at all. They are natural pathways into the mainstream system,” he said. “This is a fantastic initiative because mental health is very sensitive, especially for people who have experienced trauma. They need extra care to open up.”

Dr. Annalee Coakley, a family therapist who specializes in refugee care, agrees that mental health services are difficult to access within Alberta health services.

That’s why the Center for Newcomers, the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society and the Immigrant Education Society all have mental health teams with different language skills.

“Frankly, the mainstream system doesn’t work for anyone. But if you face additional barriers — whether it’s financial, linguistic, cultural — the mainstream system really fails,” said Coakley, who is also director of the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine.

“That’s why, naturally, different agencies have created their own services. … It’s a fragmented system.”

When she heard about the effort to sponsor Kebed, she wondered how long it would take to get recertified, as this has been a major hurdle for many foreign-trained physicians moving to Canada.

a long wait

Another community organization supporting some Eritrean refugees said there are now Tigrinya-speaking psychologists in Calgary who are struggling to get certified.

The College of Alberta Psychologists requires them Get their credit reviewedThen find a supervisor so they can practice as a temporary psychologist until they pass two separate exams.

Ammanuel said the community is ready to support Kebede as he works on all the needs, even though it will take time.

Kebede has been waiting to hear from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada since submitting the application in May. The fast-track route was estimated to take six months.

Speaking on a video call from Ethiopia, Kebede said he fled Eritrea for several reasons but the biggest reason was to avoid military conscription. Despite the fact that Eritrea is not at war, two of his brothers have been forced into military service. He considers himself lucky to have escaped being shot, smuggled or caught while crossing the border.

Seeing the pain around him, he decided to study psychology in Ethiopia.

PTSD is a mental wound that no one can see.-Samuel Kebede

When she graduated, she worked with the Center for Torture Victims in Alem-Wach, a refugee camp near Dabat in Ethiopia’s Amhara region, where twice the Eritrean population had been displaced. they ran first Refugee camp in Tigray region During the civil war in 2020, tried to hide from soldiers and smugglers, and mostly walked more than 250 kilometers to Alem-Vach.

“I knew unimaginable psychological trauma,” he said, noting heavy incidents of rape and torture. “My colleagues and I, we managed to treat hundreds of Eritreans in group and individual therapy.”

He stepped away for personal health reasons, and several private donors are funding his new private practice, Hope Psychological Services, so he can offer sessions to refugees for free.

But Addis Ababa is not safe for refugees. Ethiopia stopped registering refugees in 2020; There are news of Arbitrary detention by Ethiopian policeAnd many refugees have fled to Kenya and Uganda.

according to canada 2021 censusThe country has welcomed more than 31,000 Eritrean refugees and immigrants, including 16,000 since 2016. UN says Eritrea is one of Highest number of refugees per capita,

Coming to Canada will give KBed a new status and security.

He said, “Mental health is not a luxury. PTSD is a mental wound that no one can see. Only the person bearing it knows the pain.”

“I really want to help my community in Canada. This will create an opportunity for me to…make a difference and bring meaningful results to the Eritrean community.”