Shaifali Sandhya, PhD. 

Shaifali Sandhya, Ph.D. Education opens the golden doors of opportunity and access. But a ruling concerning the education of 17 refugee children last week by the Delhi High Court – and media attributions to the public interest litigation, Social Jurist v. Municipal Corporation of Delhi & Anr., - propagate misunderstandings surrounding the refugee condition .   The ruling pertained to the inability of the Delhi Government to grant admission to Muslim Rohingya children, aged 5 to 11 years. At the heart of the issue for child refugees today – of the more than 120 million displaced, 1 in 3 are children ( 47.2 million ) - is that the matter of their learning is an urgent one.   Upon the Delhi High Court’s dismissal of the PIL, media reports cited (erroneously) three observations for this purported court ruling. One, it expanded beyond the court’s sweep, “In no country in the world will the Court decide who is to be given citizenship”; two, since it concerned young foreigners its international scope; and, three, its implications for our national security . These observations – of the court’s sweep, scope, and security concerns - do not connect to its official order.   But even if they did, they do not reflect the realities of refugee children or their rights, protected under international law . Nor does the Court’s premise underlying its order – foreigners who lack citizenship status with no official/legal method of entry ought to approach the central government for their schooling needs – align with the principles of the Indian Constitution.   A child’s education is her fundamental human right , as per the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child , independent of her immigration status . India’s parliament through its domestic policy, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (2009), ensures free and compulsory education to all children aged 6-14 years. The Indian Constitution ( articles 14, 21, and 21A) does not distinguish between children who may hold unofficial status and directs local bodies and states to ensure children have access to a school in their neighborhood.   To be sure, asking the plaintiff to approach the central government in matters also affecting national policy may be customary in public litigation interests or related to India’s stance on refugee engagement. Although India recognized the key role of refugee protection in development at the Global Refugee Forum (2023), its stance that refugee engagement be restricted to their “ speedy ” return - on average a refugee child can spend 10-20 years in search of refuge – is not based on current data and dynamics of modern-day displacement .     Time is seldom on the side of the vulnerable. Asking the petitioner to exhaust other judicial avenues before the matter can be heard at the Delhi High Court amplifies the cost for refugee children and overlooks the capital and drive of migrants ($125 billion in remittances ) in shaping India as an economic superpower .    The delay in enacting a refugee child’s right to schooling is costly for them - and for us. Educating their child alleviates the discrimination of refugee families, breaks their cycle of poverty, expedites their fuller participation in society, and benefits national economies.   The delay is a missed opportunity in strengthening our national child protection system. Globally, seven million refugee children (likely an underestimate) lack access to basic education – with almost two-thirds of refugee children never making it to the sixth grade . Each lost year in a refugee child’s life throttles their chances of access to adequate nutrition, language, healthcare, integration, and future employment and exposes them to exploitation as a nation’s shadow workers – garbage pickers, prostitutes, garment workers, and the gig economy. This order carries the risk of letting down all vulnerable children.   To be sure, it will be no easy task to teach a child let alone a foreigner who has weathered severe trauma that affects as many as two-thirds of child refugees . In countries like Afghanistan where only about one-third (36%) of schools may have a functional classroom , their challenges can include, “not even recognizing what a pencil is,” shared a teacher with me. But the MCD and Delhi school system with an infusion of big money , commitment to overhaul the educational system , and promises of a world-class education to all children by the Education Minister Atishi Marlena , ought to be equipped to meet the challenges of building inclusive classrooms.   Globally, specialized local courts are assisting undocumented asylum seekers in several countries such as the United States , Canada ,   Austria , and Germany . The types of appeals they handle may vary in structure and scope but they can ensure that refugees’ rehabilitation and protection needs are met according to international laws .   In addressing the struggles of undocumented children - victims of circumstances beyond their control - the justices of the Delhi Court must adopt a broader perspective that demonstrates a nation’s commitment to human rights and modern-day displacement realities.   E ducation is a critical pathway to a safe environment that enables children affected by the devastating impacts of conflict and climate, to rebuild their lives. We have a collective responsibility to create inclusive classrooms with diverse teaching methods to ensure we do not lose another generation of children to ignorance and poverty. Proactive measures can include: ensuring their registration follows child-friendly procedures; engaging cultural mediators, and appointing well-trained guardians to safeguard them from traffickers, and other threats.   When we shift our responsibility for the education of refugee children we make the law inaccessible to them. Neglect, as every teacher knows, is also at the root of a more profound crisis in a child’s learning ability.   A quality education is the right of every child. It will make a world of a difference to a refugee child – and to us. Dr. Shaifali Sandhya is an international psychologist, public speaker, and an expert in child mental health and refugee well-being with a new book by Oxford University Press ( Displaced: Refugees, trauma, and their integration within nations  (Oxford University Press, USA)

"News of coronavirus is everywhere, how can I stop dwelling on it? At night my gremlins come rushing back: different choices I could've made...the stress continues through the day, like a boulder on my back." — 54-year old male We are in the midst of an outbreak of a pandemic disease that threatens to assume epic proportions. As coronavirus spreads across the US, so far it has sickened 69,018 , killed 616, and one in five Americans has been ordered to stay home . Globally, too, the humanitarian costs of the coronavirus mounts with an alarming infection rate that leaves in its wake 471,518 sick people in 160 countries . The health emergency inflamed by the virus has caused the stock market to plummet, wiping out peoples’ life savings. Stressful times can amplify mental health challenges, making it more important than ever to shore up our mental health reservoirs. In such times of high stress, familiar personal mottos: Netflix and Chill; Whatever will be will be- may fail to soothe. How then, do you override your worry and impulses to curate a long-term plan for your self-care? "Our in-vitro fertilization procedure was interrupted. I wake up with nightmares with thoughts whirring in my head. Will I ever have a baby?" —38-year old, female None of us can and should go outside. Overnight we find ourselves in a very different world. From the logistical - Is our fridge big enough and have I stocked up on toilet paper? - to the existential – Will coronavirus change us in a way we cannot imagine, and is this Mother Nature's way of evening the playing field? , coronavirus has upended travel plans, ventures and projects – and dashed our hopes for a better 2020. Furthermore, uncertainty abounds – the science of the virus , availability and accuracy of tests, fatality rates, whom to trust – and uncertainty creates and exacerbates stress. The loss of everyday certainty and the rapidly shifting landscape can increase our anxiety, too – the closure of comfort spots such as cafes, libraries, basketball courts, schools, bookstores, pubs and the like can reduce our sense of psychological safety. So can the loss of access to familiar or essential services - nannies, cleaning staff, travel to check in on elderly relatives. Normal life as we once knew it is turned on its head. Not only for those struggling with pre-existing mental health concerns, the coronavirus is amplifying anxiety for all of us. "My business deals are on hold. My stocks tanked. If the deals don't come through, this will wipe the last five years of my hard work and will be the death of my company." — 35-year old male Before we delve into our five self-care to shore up our resilience, let's pause to review what coronavirus is: coronavirus (COVID-19) is a highly transmissible and pathogenic virus that likely originated in bats , and was first identified in 2019 in China. Coronavirus belongs to a group of viruses causing disease in birds and mammals; it derives from the Latin term corona , meaning "crown" or "halo" that surrounds the virus. Since then, coronavirus (COVID-19) has entered our living rooms with the cancellation of the NCAA basketball season and now we are experiencing a different kind of March Madness. "There is no way now that I can file for a divorce, I thought. I spent the afternoon with my head between my knees taking in large gulps of air." — 46-year old female We need to care for our psychological health that is intrinsically tied to our physical health. As our sense of personal control and optimisms dips, research demonstrates, so do our health outcomes. As a clinical psychologist who also works with refugees of war, I have been a witness to unimaginable traumas and also the resilience of the human spirit. "My father said I was the "Corona Police" when I asked him to wash his hands. We got into one of the most harsh arguments of our life." — 24-year old female Here are five habits we can engage in to boost self-soothing, reduce cortisol to cultivate some inner calm: 1. Positivity This the time to reflect and rejoice on the certainties we enjoy in the present moment, such as the presence of loving others - parents, peers, partners, friends or pets. Some examples to foster positive experiences could range from: Penning a memory or experience: What is your first memory? The last time you were happy?...Take the time to write about your memory using your five senses. Writing will help you reflect on what this unique time in history has meant for your life story. As your days of writing unfold, let your pen help you explore the crevices of your mind. Keeping a gratitude journal 2. Plug into Self-Compassion There may never be a time as frightening nor as unpredictable as the present. Embrace the tragedy of the present and acknowledge the hopes that may have been curtailed or aborted. Accept that your hopes and priorities will need to be realigned for the present. In the end, you're not in this alone and it will be OK. 3. Physical Space A cluttered physical space can add to our personal angst. Imagine a simple and tidy space with a few of your favorite comfort things. Set up a daily routine with 1-3 daily goals, asking yourself - what do I most want to achieve today? and boost your sense of personal control, one day at a time. 4. Mind your Pondering If you are a die-hard worry-wart, set aside 30-minutes a day on a time as a specific time to worry. At the end of your "self-assigned worry session", invite yourself to refocus on a Different topic or engage in a different activity (such as: crossword puzzle, reading a novel, drawing, or solving a sudoku puzzle or speaking with a friend/family member about themselves steering clear from your own concerns). Reduce your reliance on television and the internet or seek out sources of repute like the World Health Organization and the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center to rein in and put your troubles in perspective. 5. Psychological Soothing Self-soothing activities are important for psychological wellness while also providing a physiological outlet for stress reduction. They are of two kinds of habits: one, those that offer succor and two, those exercising personal responsibility to control your self-defeating habits. People with a high self-control have better mental health , experience life as more satisfying, make better friends and lovers, and enjoy higher finances and careers, and are viewed more positively by others, much scientific literature shows. Conversely, low self-control is a major predictor of overeating, overspending, smoking, alcohol or drug abuse, procrastination, and unethical behavior. Meditation and mindfulness (Some apps: tenpercent.com; calm.com; headspace.com) Virtual yoga Dose of bibliotherapy? A good book never hurt anyone (Ever read Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment?). Pick up a book and find a character you can connect with. Find a character that you like, empathize with, or feel repulsed by, but in the end, a character that connects and consumes you. Listen to music in candle-light. Invite yourself to rekindle your relationship with light and darkness . Schedule a virtual chat or happy hour with your favorite people around the country or the world The coronavirus will not be the only unsettling, inexplicable or disruptive chapter in your life story. It will be only one of the many despairing chapters in your life. In the face of catastrophe, as humans we have shown boundless resilience or the capacity to bounce back from our adversity. There are no quick fixes. However, this may be our moment to calibrate our inner selves and curate our self-care for this phase of our life story. Perhaps, it could herald the beginning of a more authentic and compassionate journey with ourselves.

"Just Marry. Love Will Follow," so goes the Indian belief. But for 94% of Indian relationships love can remain elusive. Being a "couple" requires the commitment to co-create and curate your intimacy. And an awareness of how social factors such as family, color, caste, class, and race impact how you express and receive love, and what you will tolerate to be loved. Many of us will go through life never being completely known or exhibiting “intimacy,” the acts of being known to another. Often our subterranean world remains hidden even from ourselves. At its heart "Love Will Follow" is about authentic dialogs and the conditions that make them possible. Read riveting, intimate, and real stories in the words of Indian couples of their lives after their wedding, and in doing so: Gain a deeper knowledge of Indian relationships and their potential stressors Determine the current health status of your relationship Course-correct your relationship by tracking current problem areas and triggers Jumpstart some learning techniques to compassionately connect with your partner Improve your communication through improved inner dialogs Identify the psychological markers of a good partnership Gather critical insights for scientists (anthropologists, sociologists, cultural psychologists) and practitioners. Dr. Shaifali Sandhya is a Cambridge University and The University of Chicago-educated psychologist and an internationally published author .  Over the course of twenty years, she has collaborated with hundreds of couples and families across cultures on rebuilding their relationships.

We are in the throes of a health crisis with catastrophic effects on all, especially on the world's displaced communities’ that comprise nations' shadow workers - refugees, rag pickers, prostitutes, domestic help, garment makers, and gig workers. We are at best, unprepared for the worst; for both OECD and developing countries, we need to provide tailored mental health treatment to those who need it in the communities they live in. I am honored to be the featured expert for the international and intergovernmental organization OECD, The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development with 37 member countries and thankful for spearheading this critical dialogue on #mentalhealth of the #displaced o n our #economicdevelopment To read this article, click here: https://bit.ly/2zfyABX #covid19 #migration #refugees #coronavirus #mentalhealthawareness

In small towns of America from Grand Rapids, MI to Barbourville, KY biracial couples are engaging in a far more potent politics - of choosing to be with someone outside of their race - something that was radical and outrageous 53 years ago. My interview on #intercultural and #biracial #couples was featured on #FoxTv last night. I ask: What does it mean to be seen through the lens of #skin , #color and #race in America today? What does it mean to be perceived as the other, for biracial relationships? Read also about the adorable couple - Mike & Edye -from Grand Rapids and their 42-year old love story. #LaurenEdwards #Fox17 #kamalaharrisvp #DuchessofSussex #LovingvVirginia TO WATCH: https://www.fox17online.com/homepage-showcase/kamala-harris-and-doug-emhoff-a-victory-for-interracial-couples-i-could-see-my-wife-as-being-vp-says-local-couple

Armed conflicts, natural disasters, poverty, and the pandemic have forced over 117 million people to abandon their homes and heritage. Surging pushbacks, protection gaps, and deportations precipitate refugees’ exclusion from equitable economic, social, cultural, political, and reproductive rights, amplifying suffering. As such displaced communities will shoulder a silent epidemic of posttraumatic stress as well as other debilitating ailments, which are often passed down to future generations. Host nations to which refugees flee do not always associate their psychological well-being with future self-sufficiency and potential for contributions to society, and humanitarian organizations seldom prioritize improved mental health outcomes for refugees. The toll of failing to elevate the importance of refugee mental health is immense, at both individual and societal scales. Drawing on firsthand accounts and empirical research, as well as interviews with government officials, agency directors, and refugee camp managers, Displaced explores the psychological trauma of refugees, the complex interplay between trauma and integration into host nations, and the consequences of failing to attend to refugee mental health as part of comprehensive resettlement initiatives worldwide. Displaced utilizes both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to investigate various aspects of refugee trauma, including gender-specific experiences of war; trauma transmission within conflict-affected families; the mental health ramifications of human cruelty such as political torture; local expressions of refugee resilience and illness in their countries of origin; and the role of stereotypes, social categories, and transatlantic networks in shaping refugee identity and resilience. Identifying key themes and resettlement processes of asylum frameworks in Germany, the US, the UK, and elsewhere, the book demonstrates how national policies can affect refugees’ self-sufficiency and well-being in host societies, and the essential role of receiving nations in designing better opportunities for their access across vocational, educational, and social domains. Utilizing a systems-informed, evidence-based, and human-rights oriented approach, Displaced also discusses trauma-informed treatments that may help improve refugee mental health outcomes and enhance inclusivity, along with prosperity for refugees and host nations alike.

Will we still be indoors when the leaves start to fall? The pandemic has created in its wake an avalanche of new worries. But, for all that is terrible about it, the pandemic will also bring us to a turning point in our inner life, one where we will need to invest in our mental health with a greater urgency than ever before. During #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek 2020, Trinity College, Cambridge features psychologist Dr Shaifali Sandhya (1994) for sound mental health advice during the COVID-19 pandemic -- to read click: https://bit.ly/3bHOgLz Shaifali Sandhya

This article addresses the soaring levels of stress and suicide on college campuses, particularly among Asian-American women; the difference between anxiety and depression; what colleges can do to instill a sense of happiness independent of achievements, and the importance of developing the art of talking about feelings. A recurring dream troubles Connie each night. She’s walking when the darkness knots her feet, creeps up all around her, and she falls. When she first came to the US from Fujian, China at eleven years old, she told herself, “No one is here to support you. You must support yourself.” Through the crossfires of insomnia, exhaustion, crying, overeating, and panic attacks, she grappled strenuously through to high school. A few times, Connie tried to share her feelings with her mother, who reprimanded her, “You’re a lazy bum. Just get faster reactions.” In a Major Depressive Episode, people may tend to show psychomotor retardation, where they move sluggishly, avert their eyes, sit slumped or speak slowly. When her mom interpreted the lethargy inherent in depression mistakenly to be laziness, Connie thought, "maybe the problems will go away in high school." When they didn’t and she talked to her father, his response was, “You don’t have problems. You think too much.” This Fall, Connie will be one of the twenty million freshmen starting college and navigating other challenges of young adulthood. Today’s college students have many worries and campus life is rife with anxieties: What will I do when I graduate? Do I have enough to pay for the semester, the year? Will I gain the freshman fifteen, or thirty? How do I balance classes, academic work, clubs, friends, finding internships, keeping in contact with family, and a job without being overwhelmed? For students everywhere, along with vast possibilities, campuses are cauldrons of uncertainty amidst pressures and perfectionism. Graph: What is your client's top-most concern? For 25,475 college students, clinicians chose one primary concern per client. Source: Center for Collegiate Mental Health, PennState, Annual Report 2014. For the American freshman today, stress is at its all time high. While male college students experience similar pressures as women (Read Julie Scelfo, New York Times, 2015), the statistics are particularly alarming for Asian American female students. Recent research indicates growing alcoholism, drug abuse, and HIV risk. Information compiled by the American Psychological Association sheds light on the epidemic of silent despair: Suicide is the second leading cause of death for Asian-Americans aged 15-34 US-born Asian-American women have a higher lifetime rate of suicidal thoughts (15.9 percent) than that of the general U.S. population (13.5 percent) Among Asian-American adults, those aged 18-34 have the highest rates of suicidal thoughts (11.9 percent), intent (4.4 percent) and attempts (3.8 percent) compared to other age groups Asian-Americans college students are more likely than White American students to have had suicidal thoughts and to attempt suicide Earlier this year, Luchang Wang, a Yale University undergraduate, wrote in an FB message that she was in “deep emotional pain” before she jumped to her death from San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. Of the nineteen suicides on the MIT campus in the last 15 years, 42% involved Asian American students. Asian American college students like Luchang and Connie experience greater rates of stress and are more likely to think about suicide than their non-Asian peers. Connie was raised in Fujian, China by her maternal grandparents. Her father left for the US when she was ten months old and worked odd jobs six days a week, mostly repairing window casements and doors. Her mother followed him shortly thereafter. When her grandparents could no longer support Connie, she was sent to the US. When Connie arrived in their tiny Chinatown one bedroom apartment, she “didn’t even know ABC.” Her parents and younger three siblings, whom she had never met, felt like “familiar strangers.” Three deadly knots underpin poor mental health in Asian American students: 1. We tend to think of students as being depressed and unable to cope with high pressure – but they may carry a predisposition to depression. High suicide or depression rates are associated with existing and/or untreated family psychiatric illness, due to shame and ignorance of mental illness. 2. We tend to think of Asian-American families as “collectivist” who put their “families first.” The primacy of family assumes open communication, but in fact communication is generally quite poor in Asian American families. Career trumps communication about feelings. Amy Chua writes in The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom: “The Chinese mother believes that (1) schoolwork always comes first; (2) an A-minus is a bad grade; (3) your children must be two years ahead of their classmates in math; (4) you must never compliment your children in public; (5) if your child ever disagrees with a teacher or coach, you must always take the side of the teacher or coach; (6) the only activities your children should be permitted to do are those in which they can eventually win a medal; and (7) that medal must be gold." 3. Many families, not just Asian American ones, tend to think of authoritative parenting with rationed praise as critical for their child’s success. They believe that a child’s success is measured not by the authenticity of their true feelings but through possessing any number of such assets: beauty, career, hard work, intelligence, accolades, etc. This flies in the face of child development experts who believe that every child has a need to be noticed, understood, taken seriously, and loved by her parents. When families develop the art of not talking about feelings, children learn to deny their own feelings, particularly negative ones. As adults they may not know how to regulate their negative emotions and resort to dealing with them through addictions (work, sex, alcohol, video games, and so forth). If they are in intimate relationships, when conflicts occur, they may find themselves caught in cycles of either taking punitive stance towards others or cutting off relationships altogether. A high-stress and high achievement campus culture activates such preexisting vulnerabilities. Thoughts of suicide and suicide attempts peak during high school and college – a time when social groups are being formed and the pressure to fit into them is the highest. This suggests the important role peer relationships can play in managing depression and enhancing a sense of belonging. At some level, students like Connie know something is amiss with them. “When I’m in college,” says Connie of the depression, “I want this to be over and done with...I just need someone to be there mentally.” Students like Connie are only too relieved and empowered when they find someone they can talk to. How do you find a sense of accomplishment independent of material achievements? Colleges must foster learning and critical inquiry about the self in imaginative ways too as students embark onto life’s defining moments. It is up to the colleges to provide students with the resources to connect to themselves, with one another, especially for those who are not used to doing so. It is not an easy task to teach anyone to attend, value, respond to, and regulate their feelings, but colleges must rise to the task or else, allow some of their best and brightest to fall into the darkness. Executive Coaching|Chicago: Dr. Shaifali Sandhya is a licensed clinical psychologist. She offers professional career coaching for high school and college students, and executives to assist them in driving positive change in their life. She has a practical and insightful approach conducted in a confidential environment uniquely tailored to meet their needs such as: increasing creativity; engagement; team motivation, and bottom-line; or reducing stress, to plan for an impactful future. Dr. Sandhya has coached teams in organizations like Mckinsey and provided consultation to industry leaders in the areas of law, architecture, and technology.

The staggering influx of refugees presents unique challenges to host nations; the factor driving the global refugee crisis of the modern refugee experience is unprecedented psychological trauma. For example, before they escape their country, the typical Syrian refugee’s experience is marked by: aerial bombardment; confinement in subhuman conditions and torture for long periods of time, including electrocution; rape and sexual violence; public humiliations; brutal violence and executions of family, neighbors, and loved ones; kidnappings or disappearances; and forced service in paramilitary factions. Resettling asylum seekers focuses on language education and skills training and overlooks how trauma is integral to forced displacement. For Syrian, Iraqi and Afghani resettled families in Germany today, what are the residual psychological effects of forced-migration and trauma for their identity and integration? It illustrates the impact of trauma on identity and efforts to integrate of the family of a thirteen-year old Tommy who received the bullet-ridden body of his sixteen year old uncle he regarded as father; it follows his family’s flight from Syria to resettlement in Bonn as he battles post-traumatic stress disorder. Supplementing it, are quantitative results of depression and hopelessness of Syrian, Iraqi and Afghani refugees in Germany, and research findings from long-term resettlements cross-cultural studies of refugees. While much public focus has been on integration, we seek to deepen our understanding of integration through looking at the lives of new arrivals and psychological barriers to integration. Managing the fraught situation of post-traumatic stress disorder for integration is of paramount importance for refugee families seeking better lives but also for European host nations and their stability. Talk presented by Dr. Shaifali Sandhya at The University of Bonn on February 1st, 2018

Dr. Shaifali Sandhya will give a talk on “Can Germany’s Newest Refugees Become “European”? Negotiating Self-Identity in the Wake of Psychological Trauma” on May 19, 2017 at The University of Bonn, Germany. “Across Europe, migrating Muslim refugees are transforming it’s profile; as Germany’s Muslim population is set to quadruple to 20 million by 2020, will it’s newest arrivals "become European?” In other words, in this rapidly changing world, is identity the reproduction of cultural values, or do new personal narratives contest with old cultural values to create new identities? Psychological trauma may however, complicate the process of identity formation and adaptation in individuals and their children, often for generations. Distressing events endured by forced migrants fleeing war can negatively affect: how refugees from war-torn nations understand themselves; the nature of the debilitating symptoms they express and experience; whether or not they will assimilate to their host countries’ cultural values, and how successfully their families will resettle. Dr. Sandhya will explore the factors shaping “identity” in Syrian and Afghani refugees in the early stages of integration using qualitative and quantitative data from participants from three German cities, Berlin, Bonn, and Cologne. While religion and psychology are not unrelated, psychological traits of subject groups are more reliable indicators of future behavior than simple religious affiliation. The success or failure of refugee resettlement and integration may depend on a largely unexamined aspect: the effects of trauma on the psychology of individual refugees.” The event begins at 5 p.m. The talk is free of charge and open to the public. Everyone interested is cordially invited.

Rewarding’ Immigrant Experience Compels Chicagoan to Aid Refugees Kristen Thometz | March 3, 2017 3:46 pm Chicagoan Shaifali Sandhya knows what it’s like to be a foreigner. “Being an immigrant is an incredibly rewarding experience, especially in America because you’re confronted with dreams and possibilities,” said Sandhya, who arrived in Chicago in 1996 to pursue a doctorate in psychology from the University of Chicago. “The world is your oyster.” A native of New Delhi, she’s also lived in Tanzania, Libya, the United Kingdom. She says she’s still trying to make Chicago her home after more than two decades of living and working in the city as a psychologist. “I consider myself a mongrel, neither here nor there despite my American citizenship,” she said. “I love the big hearts of the people in Chicago. ... I really enjoy the connections and the friendships that I’ve been able to foster in Chicago, and the welcome that I have received in Chicago when I was a student here, and that continues even to today.” While she’s had a very rewarding and positive experience, Sandhya acknowledges that the life of an immigrant is very different than that of a refugee. After the election of Donald Trump, she noticed a lot of “angst” surrounding the refugee crisis. Though she had not worked with refugees before, Sandhya felt compelled to do something. “It’s a calling, and I think we all have it in us,” she said of her advocacy for refugees. “Look at what’s happening around the country: People who weren’t advocates before have become advocates today because the situation needs that from us.” To better understand the plight of refugees, Sandhya conducted a fact-finding trip to Germany last November to interview Syrian and Afghani refugees living in refugee camps. “Refugees who flee from war-torn countries are incredibly unique. On average, a refugee from a war-torn country has had to endure two years of incredible hardship,” Sandhya said. “They’ve had to decide the act of leaving. They’ve had to muster at least $10,000 to provide robbers, smugglers, human traffickers and – mind you – this is in a place where the average annual income may be $300.” “We have to understand that we are not alone in our phobias. Assimilating in a new culture is also very scary for these refugees.” –Shaifali Sandhya Most refugees make at least two or three attempts to flee before doing so successfully, according to Sandhya, and when they do leave their homes, it often involves long journeys by foot and sea. “But more significantly than anything, they’ve witnessed repeated brutalities against themselves, against their significant others, [and] their fellow passengers,” she said. “They’ve endured incredible amounts of trauma during these journeys.” These “silent traumas,” as Sandhya calls them, can manifest for years, even decades, and affect their abilities to resettle. Hassan’s Story While in Bonn, Germany, Sandhya met a Syrian refugee whom she calls Hassan. Hassan was a tailor in Syria with a wife and two children. “In 2006, he was pulled out from his shop, and Bashar [al-Assad’s] troops got him and took him to a secret prison where he was held for six months,” Sandhya said. Hassan was labeled a “traitor” by the government, and “he was tortured for six months in this prison,” Sandhya said. Hassan was given a presidential pardon, along with a “severe warning” and a requirement to report back to the government in June 2011. Five days before Hassan was to report to the government, he fled the country with his family. “They walked for kilometers on end, and they walked for days and months in the midsummer heat of June in Syria, and they came to Istanbul,” Sandhya said. Hassan traveled onto Germany, but his family remains in Istanbul – primarily because the family can’t afford the $10,000 per person smugglers are asking for passports. Hassan could’ve applied for asylum status in Germany, but he chose not to. “He was afraid to voice his persecution and his torture in Syria because he was afraid that nobody would believe him,” Sandhya said. Hassan has been in Germany for 18 months, and while he talks to his wife daily, he has yet to speak with his children because “it’s too painful,” Sandhya said. Hear more about Hassan's story in the video below. http://player.pbs.org/viralplayer/2365970275/ While Hassan and his fellow refugees are in a safe haven country, their homelands are never far away thanks to technology. “If a bomb goes off in Syria or Afghanistan, or if the Taliban attacks their homes, their lives are very dismantled, and it affects their integration,” Sandhya said, adding refugees’ distress manifest physically in the form of “debilitating” headaches. “They have issues with constantly living in fear and huge loneliness because they’re away from their home,” she added. “They have problems connecting with people. ... Many of them may not know the language, so they aren’t able to communicate.” Discovering the ‘Invisible’ Stories An Afghani man at a protest in Greece in 2016. (Courtesy of Shaifali Sandhya)Understanding refugees’ stories and the challenges they face are more important than their country of origin or religion in prognosticating how well they will integrate in a society, says Sandhya. “Our government’s focusing mostly on religion and the country of origin as a basis of resettlement. This may or may not be right,” Sandhya said of President Donald Trump’s travel ban. “The most important determinative factors in a refugee’s success are psychological factors. ... “It is important for us to understand how these war-stricken Syrians will fare or Afghanis will fare in our society. It is to focus less on our understanding of Islam and focus more on the understanding of the circumstances that bring us here.” Sandhya does not dismiss the fear some may have of terror attacks fueled by Islamist ideology, but she says people should keep in mind that immigrants and refugees have fears, too. “We have to understand that we are not alone in our phobias. Assimilating in a new culture is also very scary for these refugees,” said Sandhya, who -- in addition to being an immigrant herself – has experience counseling immigrant families. “They fear of a society where family ties are not given as much importance, where folks worry about themselves before they worry about your own, and where boundless freedom can threaten longstanding cultural values.” While Trump has said the executive order would protect the country from terrorists, the fear and confusion it has created may cause more harm than good. “Creating more fear in communities may not be the best solution,” Sandhya said. Rather the government should work methodically to try and understand the “different perspectives of these different communities [and] how psychological impairment leads to them becoming less than successful refugees.” In the video below, Sandhya explains how trauma can impact refugees differently and how that can affect their abilities to resettle successfully by comparing the resettlement of Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees in America. To better understand the trauma refugees face, Sandhya is hoping to return to refugee camps in Germany and visit others in Greece and Istanbul to conduct more detailed interviews. “This is work that governments are not doing right now and it is very necessary to do this kind of work to understand how these invisible stories of refugees impact their chances of successful resettlement for years to come, and also the psychological adaptation and health of their children and their families for years to come,” Sandhya said. While she funded her first trip to Europe, Sandhya is seeking donations via a GoFundMe page to help pay for travel expenses, translators and transcription, as well as quantitative and qualitative analyses by psychology professionals. “What is really important for us to understand [is] how we want to deal with undealt trauma for the future and for the future success of our resettled refugees wherever they might be in the U.S.,” she said. “It’s safer for us and better for them if we proceed in a methodical manner to understand, you know, these perspectives from different communities.” Follow Kristen Thometz on Twitter: @KristenThometz For videos and complete story: http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2017/03/03/rewarding-immigrant-experience-compels-chicagoan-aid-refugees