Eight Key Lessons Learned as an Asian Woman Social Justice Warrior
these are the eight key lessons I have learned in doing social justice and human rights work. The successful outcome of social justice work does not necessarily happen within days, weeks, or months. This may take years. I truly believe in the planting seed analogy. Part of social action work is sometimes about planting seeds. I have learned to be patient and trust that what I am doing will be effective and will lead to change -- change that I may never witness. Instead of dwelling on whether I can make a difference, I trust and have faith that I can make a difference. For example, I am endlessly surprised and humbled by emails, cards, or letters I receive from students and community members about the impact of our interactions and the change that has developed as a result of their contact with me. Since the eight key points have impacted my social justice work, below I will share examples of how each of these eight critical lessons affected me personally and professionally.
Patience, Perseverance, and Tenacity
No one said that social justice work is easy. Change is hard for most people. The Chinese word for crisis translates into danger and opportunity which describes the difficulty and essence of change for people and systems. Change represents a sense of fear and danger. Danger and fear of the unknown. Therefore, to do social action work requires patience with perseverance and tenacity. One cannot give up fighting against social injustices. It is all too easy to give up. When I feel that I do not have the energy or time to do social justice work I am reminded of the people I met after Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar (Burma) in May 2008. The young man I worked with who lost his entire family or the young boy who told me that while he was looking for his family member he began counting the dead bodies and gave up after he counted 200. Both of them, even with their recent experience of family members dying and total destruction of their entire village, volunteered at a local INGO (International Nongovernmental Organization) to help protect orphaned minors who have lost or were separated from their families as a result of Cyclone Nargis. The courage, strength and resilience they displayed provide me with the strength to persevere, be tenacious, and patient when fighting for social justice and human rights.
Creativity and Flexibility
Thinking out of the box and being creative and flexible is another lesson I have learned. Working with refugee families and trying to educate the host community and accessing services for this population is a challenge. Going through traditional mainstream channels does not necessarily result in positive outcomes. So, there is a need to think creatively about how to ensure that this population receives fair treatment and equal access to resources and
Journal for Social Action in Counseling and Psychology
Volume 2, Number 1 Summer 2009,39
opportunities.
For example, after spending numerous hours trying to educate social services, health and mental health professionals, teachers, and social service providers about culturally responsive practices for refugees I realized that I was not getting anywhere. No one was willing to listen. They wanted to just quickly fix the problem. They believed that refugees were adjusting well to their resettlement country since newspaper articles showed pictures of refugees wearing Western clothes, and standing outside their new homes.
Frustrated with this myth, which partly was created and reinforced by the media, and the lack of understanding, awareness and willingness by education, social, health and mental health professionals to be culturally responsive, I decided to use the same source that created this misperception to fight against the erroneous view. I decided to use the media as a tool towards social action. Looking through the major newspapers I identified a journalist who appeared to be aware of the postmigration challenges of refugees. I made contact with the journalist and asked if he was willing to write a more accurate account of the postmigration challenges of refugees. After some negotiations the journalist agreed to write the story.
We (the refugee community, the journalist, and I) collectively agreed that the journalist would write a series of articles over a period of several months, since one article would not be enough to create the desired impact. The articles would focus not only on the challenges, but also on the strength and resilience of this population and the contributions refugees were making in their communities. As the result of the newspaper articles I was approached by the Departments of Health, Education, and Social Services to conduct a series of workshops and training to health and mental health professionals, social services, and other care providers regarding culturally responsive services for refugees.
Another situation presented itself that also required being creative. The Asian refugees and immigrants that I worked with had a traditional approach to health and mental health. Coining has been used as a method of healing. Coining is the use of a coin to rub on the person’s body, resulting in marks or bruises on the person’s body. These marks have been misinterpreted by mainstream Western health and mental health and educational professionals as signs of abuse. I had been asked numerous times by the Asian community to assist in situations where child had been removed from their parent’s home because teachers mistakenly identified the marks of coining as physical abuse or physicians seeing coining marks on an elderly person and labeled it as elderly abuse.
As a result of constant education of service and care providers about coining, I thought an effective way of reaching a larger group of people would be to produce a video on coining. Not having any funds or skills to produce the video I called video production companies found in the yellow pages and asked if they would be willing to provide their services for free. Eventually, I was able to convince a company to produce the video free of cost, and worked in collaboration with the refugee community and the video company to produce a 10 minute video on coining that was distributed to schools, hospitals, child protective services, public health services, social services, law enforcement, teacher education, health and mental health university training programs. The aim of the video was to educate service and care providers about the cultural healing method to prevent the misinterpretation of this traditional healing technique as abuse.
Journal for Social Action in Counseling and Psychology
Volume 2, Number 1 Summer 2009,40
Compassion and Forgiveness.
A difficult lesson for me in human rights violations and social injustices is to have compassion and forgiveness for social injustice perpetrators. I have learned from the survivors of injustices and human rights violations the difficult, yet valuable lesson of forgiveness and compassion. It is not for me to judge others, but to understand the behaviors and motivation in why and how people participate and engage in injustices. If the survivors I worked with can forgive and have compassion for their perpetrators then I as a social justice psychologist and counselor also need to have those qualities. Working with survivors of torture or women who have experienced multiple rapes and sexual abuse and yet have the ability to forgive has been an invaluable lesson in forgiveness, true kindness, and an authentic sense of humanity. Therefore, I too as a social justice counselor and psychologist must embrace the value of forgiveness and compassion of everyone.
Hope
A major lesson I have learned is the degree of hope individuals have, as well as, the need for psychologists and counselors to instill hope in individuals. Time and time again working with refugees who have survived genocide, and the atrocities and traumas of war, human trafficking survivors or individuals, families, and communities who have survived natural disasters, such as, the Tsunami, Cyclone Nargis, Hurricane Katrina or the Wildfires in San Diego I am always surprised and humbled by the degree of hope and resiliency of survivors of social injustice. For example, driving up to the Indian reservation in San Diego when a large portion of the reservation was totally destroyed by the 2007 wildfires, there was a painted sign at the entry of the reservation saying: We Believe in Miracles. The same degree of hope was also witnessed in Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina. Driving to areas most severely hit by Hurricane Katrina I saw signs on the road that said: Together, We will rebuild our community, Together, We will support each other, Together, We will lead the way.
Outcome research attributes 15% of successful counseling to hope. Having witnessed the degree of hope in those who have survived natural disasters, war and other oppressions I would say hope is at least 65% of successful outcome. Contributing to hope and resiliency is critical for the counselors and psychologists who are doing social action work to have hope in their clients, their families and communities, as well as, the ability to instill hope.
these are the eight key lessons I have learned in doing social justice and human rights work. The successful outcome of social justice work does not necessarily happen within days, weeks, or months. This may take years. I truly believe in the planting seed analogy. Part of social action work is sometimes about planting seeds. I have learned to be patient and trust that what I am doing will be effective and will lead to change -- change that I may never witness. Instead of dwelling on whether I can make a difference, I trust and have faith that I can make a difference. For example, I am endlessly surprised and humbled by emails, cards, or letters I receive from students and community members about the impact of our interactions and the change that has developed as a result of their contact with me. Since the eight key points have impacted my social justice work, below I will share examples of how each of these eight critical lessons affected me personally and professionally.
Patience, Perseverance, and Tenacity
No one said that social justice work is easy. Change is hard for most people. The Chinese word for crisis translates into danger and opportunity which describes the difficulty and essence of change for people and systems. Change represents a sense of fear and danger. Danger and fear of the unknown. Therefore, to do social action work requires patience with perseverance and tenacity. One cannot give up fighting against social injustices. It is all too easy to give up. When I feel that I do not have the energy or time to do social justice work I am reminded of the people I met after Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar (Burma) in May 2008. The young man I worked with who lost his entire family or the young boy who told me that while he was looking for his family member he began counting the dead bodies and gave up after he counted 200. Both of them, even with their recent experience of family members dying and total destruction of their entire village, volunteered at a local INGO (International Nongovernmental Organization) to help protect orphaned minors who have lost or were separated from their families as a result of Cyclone Nargis. The courage, strength and resilience they displayed provide me with the strength to persevere, be tenacious, and patient when fighting for social justice and human rights.
Creativity and Flexibility
Thinking out of the box and being creative and flexible is another lesson I have learned. Working with refugee families and trying to educate the host community and accessing services for this population is a challenge. Going through traditional mainstream channels does not necessarily result in positive outcomes. So, there is a need to think creatively about how to ensure that this population receives fair treatment and equal access to resources and
Journal for Social Action in Counseling and Psychology
Volume 2, Number 1 Summer 2009,39
opportunities.
For example, after spending numerous hours trying to educate social services, health and mental health professionals, teachers, and social service providers about culturally responsive practices for refugees I realized that I was not getting anywhere. No one was willing to listen. They wanted to just quickly fix the problem. They believed that refugees were adjusting well to their resettlement country since newspaper articles showed pictures of refugees wearing Western clothes, and standing outside their new homes.
Frustrated with this myth, which partly was created and reinforced by the media, and the lack of understanding, awareness and willingness by education, social, health and mental health professionals to be culturally responsive, I decided to use the same source that created this misperception to fight against the erroneous view. I decided to use the media as a tool towards social action. Looking through the major newspapers I identified a journalist who appeared to be aware of the postmigration challenges of refugees. I made contact with the journalist and asked if he was willing to write a more accurate account of the postmigration challenges of refugees. After some negotiations the journalist agreed to write the story.
We (the refugee community, the journalist, and I) collectively agreed that the journalist would write a series of articles over a period of several months, since one article would not be enough to create the desired impact. The articles would focus not only on the challenges, but also on the strength and resilience of this population and the contributions refugees were making in their communities. As the result of the newspaper articles I was approached by the Departments of Health, Education, and Social Services to conduct a series of workshops and training to health and mental health professionals, social services, and other care providers regarding culturally responsive services for refugees.
Another situation presented itself that also required being creative. The Asian refugees and immigrants that I worked with had a traditional approach to health and mental health. Coining has been used as a method of healing. Coining is the use of a coin to rub on the person’s body, resulting in marks or bruises on the person’s body. These marks have been misinterpreted by mainstream Western health and mental health and educational professionals as signs of abuse. I had been asked numerous times by the Asian community to assist in situations where child had been removed from their parent’s home because teachers mistakenly identified the marks of coining as physical abuse or physicians seeing coining marks on an elderly person and labeled it as elderly abuse.
As a result of constant education of service and care providers about coining, I thought an effective way of reaching a larger group of people would be to produce a video on coining. Not having any funds or skills to produce the video I called video production companies found in the yellow pages and asked if they would be willing to provide their services for free. Eventually, I was able to convince a company to produce the video free of cost, and worked in collaboration with the refugee community and the video company to produce a 10 minute video on coining that was distributed to schools, hospitals, child protective services, public health services, social services, law enforcement, teacher education, health and mental health university training programs. The aim of the video was to educate service and care providers about the cultural healing method to prevent the misinterpretation of this traditional healing technique as abuse.
Journal for Social Action in Counseling and Psychology
Volume 2, Number 1 Summer 2009,40
Compassion and Forgiveness.
A difficult lesson for me in human rights violations and social injustices is to have compassion and forgiveness for social injustice perpetrators. I have learned from the survivors of injustices and human rights violations the difficult, yet valuable lesson of forgiveness and compassion. It is not for me to judge others, but to understand the behaviors and motivation in why and how people participate and engage in injustices. If the survivors I worked with can forgive and have compassion for their perpetrators then I as a social justice psychologist and counselor also need to have those qualities. Working with survivors of torture or women who have experienced multiple rapes and sexual abuse and yet have the ability to forgive has been an invaluable lesson in forgiveness, true kindness, and an authentic sense of humanity. Therefore, I too as a social justice counselor and psychologist must embrace the value of forgiveness and compassion of everyone.
Hope
A major lesson I have learned is the degree of hope individuals have, as well as, the need for psychologists and counselors to instill hope in individuals. Time and time again working with refugees who have survived genocide, and the atrocities and traumas of war, human trafficking survivors or individuals, families, and communities who have survived natural disasters, such as, the Tsunami, Cyclone Nargis, Hurricane Katrina or the Wildfires in San Diego I am always surprised and humbled by the degree of hope and resiliency of survivors of social injustice. For example, driving up to the Indian reservation in San Diego when a large portion of the reservation was totally destroyed by the 2007 wildfires, there was a painted sign at the entry of the reservation saying: We Believe in Miracles. The same degree of hope was also witnessed in Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina. Driving to areas most severely hit by Hurricane Katrina I saw signs on the road that said: Together, We will rebuild our community, Together, We will support each other, Together, We will lead the way.
Outcome research attributes 15% of successful counseling to hope. Having witnessed the degree of hope in those who have survived natural disasters, war and other oppressions I would say hope is at least 65% of successful outcome. Contributing to hope and resiliency is critical for the counselors and psychologists who are doing social action work to have hope in their clients, their families and communities, as well as, the ability to instill hope.
1 comment:
nice post.
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