Posted on Dec 19, 2023
The mental health of migrants simmers below the surface as the next looming crisis
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Support groups are trying to address the obstacles to care, including language barriers and a persistent shortage of mental health workers.
Jorge Rubiano is a haunted man.
For months, he has tried to find work. For months, he has slept in a shelter, worrying about his wife and mother he left behind in Colombia. Are they safe? Did I make the right decision?
He is haunted by his journey to Chicago, a trip of more than 2,000 miles, during which he says he was kidnapped for a month, then escaped.
He left his country because he says the government threatened his life. There were nights when all he could do was cry in anger. He recalls a phone call with his wife in Colombia, cut short when the bus she was riding on was being robbed.
“Estoy entre dos peligrosos. Si vuelvo es muy posible me matan, y si me quedo no se que puede pasar aquí.”
Jorge Rubiano is a haunted man.
For months, he has tried to find work. For months, he has slept in a shelter, worrying about his wife and mother he left behind in Colombia. Are they safe? Did I make the right decision?
He is haunted by his journey to Chicago, a trip of more than 2,000 miles, during which he says he was kidnapped for a month, then escaped.
He left his country because he says the government threatened his life. There were nights when all he could do was cry in anger. He recalls a phone call with his wife in Colombia, cut short when the bus she was riding on was being robbed.
“Estoy entre dos peligrosos. Si vuelvo es muy posible me matan, y si me quedo no se que puede pasar aquí.”
The mental health of migrants simmers below the surface as the next looming crisis
Posted from wbez.org
Immigration
Refugees
Mental Health
Depression
Posted 5 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Rubiano, the 43-year-old migrant from Colombia, tries to keep busy taking English classes. He’s reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Call of the Wild. And he’s still looking for steady work. Rubiano is an audio engineer and gets occasional jobs overseeing sound at concerts and other events.
He longs for his family, for the chance to bring them here, once there is a stable life he can offer them. His hope waxes and wanes.
“Hay días en lo que dices,’No doy más, me voy.’ Hay otros días en los que se reflexiona se dice hoy, “Ya venga de todos modos se hacen un balance y dice no todo es malo, no todo es malo.’ ”
“There are days when you say, ‘I won’t give anymore, I’ll leave.’ There are other days in which you reflect and say, ‘Come on and take stock and say, not everything is bad. Not everything is bad.’ ”
..."Rubiano, the 43-year-old migrant from Colombia, tries to keep busy taking English classes. He’s reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Call of the Wild. And he’s still looking for steady work. Rubiano is an audio engineer and gets occasional jobs overseeing sound at concerts and other events.
He longs for his family, for the chance to bring them here, once there is a stable life he can offer them. His hope waxes and wanes.
“Hay días en lo que dices,’No doy más, me voy.’ Hay otros días en los que se reflexiona se dice hoy, “Ya venga de todos modos se hacen un balance y dice no todo es malo, no todo es malo.’ ”
“There are days when you say, ‘I won’t give anymore, I’ll leave.’ There are other days in which you reflect and say, ‘Come on and take stock and say, not everything is bad. Not everything is bad.’ ”
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