The effects of displacement on culture can have significant impacts on the psychological and physical welfare of individual refugees and on the social dynamics within a refugee population.
Refugee communities are often deprived of their customary means of musical expression, either because they have become separated from their musicians or from their traditional musical instruments, or due to a lack of opportunity in the host country.
Since 1959 when the 14th Dalai Lama escaped from Tibet, more than 130,000 Tibetans have followed him into exile.
The psychosocial care and protection of children affected by armed conflict and displacement are extremely important components of humanitarian action.
In any group of IDP children, there will be children who require psychotherapeutic interventions and children who need only social and educational rehabilitation.
A group of actors stands in a frozen image of a community whose members do not communicate. A man comes from the audience and moves the actors around to create an image of everyone standing in reconciliation. Then a man and a woman create an image of ‘transition’, where the actors show a willingness to communicate by sitting in a circle drinking the local brew. The actors then show the three images in succession and the audience applauds.
In some countries, the internally displaced are beyond the reach of international humanitarian organizations.