Does “place” matter? What is the significance of place, or home, in the (post) modern world?

Does “place” matter? What is the significance of place, or home, in the (post) modern world?

Introduction

The term home usually carries with it connotations of a person’s dwelling place, that is where he or she goes back to sleep at the end of the day. This brings about images of a physical structure in the form of a house whether it is a mansion, a shanty, a rented apartment or even an igloo. However, in today’s world, it is clear that using a physical structure to describe the concept of home is rather vague. Homelessness is a major problem in the United States and this was recently compounded by the recent economic slowdown that saw a large number of people declared bankrupt thus losing their homes to banks which decided to foreclose on them. Some moved to the streets while most took up accommodation in communal shelters that are provided. Despite this, they still find it hard to shake of the tag of homelessness (Fielder et al, 2006; Kunz, 1973).

Refugees are another good example of people who find themselves in the category of the homeless following a disastrous event such as war or displacement by natural calamities. There are several organizations that concern themselves with the care for these individuals and despite the provision of shelter and other basic amenities in the wake of the different calamities, the psychological element of the displacement remains largely ignored. Most of the aid that these refugees receive is material, in the form of food, shelter, beddings and basic healthcare. This help is important as it helps to make up for the lack of food and accommodation. However, a refugee will always have an abysmal gap deep within because of the deprival of several intangible elements that came together to complete the ‘home experience (Gould and Williams, 2010).’

These intangible elements that complete the image of home in one’s mind include the presence of family members, acceptance, the weather at home, the diet, culture, technology, economic activities, language, and other day to day elements that one would ordinarily take for granted while at home. This is not unique to refugees but the fact that the reasons for moving from home are often beyond their control means that they are the ones who are hardest hit by being deprived of these (Hyndman, 2000).

The language barrier is one challenge that a person seeking refuge in a foreign land is likely to face. Despite the fact that he or she may have travelled with some people from home, the person will still need to communicate with the citizens in the destination and not knowing the language can be very limiting and at times even dangerous since all signage and instructions on items are written in the local language. The fear of coming off as illiterate has the potential of stopping such a person from asking around for help all the time. It is also discomforting to hear people around conversing in a language one does not understand since he or she will get insecure and at times unnecessarily worried (Harré and Van Lagenhove, 1999).

In the case of a person who is a refugee as a result of political asylum, it often happens that they get separated with their family members at times by death and other times physically due to the confusion that surrounds a wartime environment. Before the event that forced such a person to move, they could share a home with the members of the nuclear and extended family. This includes siblings, the spouse, parents and even children. Friends of the individual and the family also fall into this category. Prior to the displacement they could share conversations, meals and even visits. With a sudden change in environment, these activities get significantly disrupted and the person can no longer enjoy the niceties’ and conversations that they had at the dinner table, on the way to work or at the end of a working day. In the new place, say a refugee camp, this person will be cautious about making new friends since everyone is a stranger and the process of building a social network is back at square one (Gould and Williams, 2010).

A refugee may also experience a culture shock in the new place where he or she is seeking refuge. The host culture may very possibly contrast completely with what the person was experiencing at home. This means that in the new place, people dress differently, worship differently and also interact differently. Such issues may torment a person psychologically because (s) he may feel like an outcast and hence have an uphill task trying to fit in. The refugee may keep taking offence at innocent acts by the local community who are unaware of the foreign culture that this person has been raised in. in line with culture is the issue of food that is being consumed in this destination. The gastronomical makeup of food that is consumed in a new place takes a lot of getting used to. The refugee is not only forced to develop a taste for these foods but also learn how they are prepared (D’Addrio et al, 2007).

Weather in the host country is also bound to give the refugee a hard time if it has seasons that are different to the ones in the refugee’s home country. If a refugee from say Somalia, a hot country is granted asylum in Canada, the person will suffer during the winter months because he has never been exposed to sub-zero temperatures that pose a serious health risk because of lack of acclimatization to the same. These weather conditions serve to further constrain the person’s existence in the new place that he or she is staying (Pleace, 2000).

The technological element of a place can also play a part in contributing to a refugee being homesick. The forms of transportation as well as communication may at times be overwhelming to a person who while back at home had a different experience. Perhaps this refugee was living in the countryside prior to the displacement. The overdependence on electronic gadgets in the host location and the refugee’s ignorance about them can make the person feel like they do not belong.

From the above it is clear that in today’s world place indeed matters and not just place in the geographical sense but also its intangible elements. In the case of a refugee who has been displaced from home, recovery from this experience is usually very difficult despite the best efforts by aid organizations and other parties that take it upon themselves to look into the plight of refugees (Adjukovic, 1998).

References

Ajdukovic, M. A. D. (1998). Impact of displacement on the psychological well-being of refugee children. International Review of Psychiatry, 10(3), 186-195.

D’Addario, S., Hiebert, D., & Sherrell, K. (2007). Restricted access: the role of social capital in mitigating absolute homelessness among immigrants and refugees in the GVRD. Refuge: Canada’s Journal on Refugees, 24(1).

Fiedler, R., Schuurman, N., & Hyndman, J. (2006). Hidden homelessness: An indicator-based approach for examining the geographies of recent immigrants at-risk of homelessness in Greater Vancouver. Cities, 23(3), 205-216.

Gould, T. E., & Williams, A. R. (2010). Family homelessness: An investigation of structural effects. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 20(2), 170-192.

Harré, R., & Van Lagenhove, L. (1999). Positioning theory: Moral contexts of international action. Blackwell Publishers.

Hyndman, J. (2000). Managing displacement: Refugees and the politics of humanitarianism (Vol. 16). U of Minnesota Press.

Kunz, E. F. (1973). The Refugee in Flight: Kinetic Models and Forms of Displacement. International migration review, 7(2), 125-146.

Pleace, N. (2010). Immigration and homelessness. Homelessness Research in Europe. Brussels: FEANTSA.

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