Refugees find UK 'stressful'

Refugees found it difficult to adapt to UK life

Refugees arriving in Britain from war-torn countries have found life in the UK more traumatic than staying in their homelands, research shows.

Experts compared the experience of Bosnians who came to Britain with those who stayed in their own country after the war.

They came here to escape the war, but they are the ones who have experienced the most trauma

Dr Nigel Hunt, study co-ordinator

Both groups suffered the same war-time experiences, but those who came to the UK developed the most severe symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

This was because refugees had to deal with an alien culture, a new language and possible hostility from local people.

Dr Nigel Hunt from Nottingham Trent University, who carried out the study, found there were many post-migration problems for refugees.

Many were unemployed for prolonged periods, often because of the language barrier.

Dr Hunt surveyed 190 people, of whom 69 were Bosnian refugees currently living in the UK and 121 who stayed in their country throughout the war.

The majority of refugees considered their standard of living to be lower than it was before the war and they scored significantly higher on the scale used to measure stress than internally displaced people.

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Only 25% thought their lives had improved.

Dr Hunt said: "They came here to escape the war, but they are the ones who have experienced the most trauma.

"It is about problems associated with living in a different culture.

"Those who stayed in Bosnia felt they had a better standard of living.

"This finding indicates that ideally, though this is not always possible, people should be helped to remain in their own country."

Dr Hunt added that for those who do become refugees, it was important for the host country to provide appropriate assistance including treatment of psychological disorders, an "appropriate welcome", help with learning the language and help with adapting to the new culture.

The Bosnian war, from 1992 to 1995, resulted in up to 250,000 deaths, of which 90% were civilians.

The war also resulted in about 1.3 million internally displaced people and 800,000 refugees to other countries as large parts of the country were exposed to ethnic cleansing.