Who Run the World

S. is a twelve year old in my girl’s empowerment group. Her new years resolution is to quit smoking. She wants to learn what she can and can’t do with boys. When she grows up, she wants to have blue eyes. We are working hard on self-esteem.

I did my first home visit with M. yesterday. She lives with her five grown children and one grandchild. Her goal to is to ride the bus to the grocery store and to be able to shop and pay for her food. She barely leaves the house because she speaks no English and has never had any formal education. She doesn’t know what numbers mean. But she sits at the table and practices eagerly. By the end of our session, she was able to hand me the right number of beans to match index cards with the numbers 1 through 5.

A. goes to high school and loves to draw. She used to draw more when she was younger, but she had to stop because she didn’t always have the right supplies. Now she can start again and is signed up to take art class next semester in school. She has never seen watercolors before. (I bought a pack of them to show her next week.)

I’ve been reading up about refugee women. An international report by the United Nations states: “Refugee women continue to be disproportionately affected by physical and sexual violence and abuse… International laws, standards and policies on this issue abound: the problem is that they are inadequately implemented.”

These women have been discriminated against because of their ethnicity and their gender. In addition to the violence they have experienced outside of their homes, some also face abuse from their husbands or other family members. Many were never able to receive an education.  

And yet, the refugee women I have met here are some of the most kind and motivated people I have come across. S. is endlessly inquisitive and wants to learn all she can about the world. M. refused to let me start our therapy session until I had eaten all of the homemade bread and tea that she prepared for me. A. is humble about her work and asks my opinion on what colors to use. In my role as an occupational therapist, I often act as an educator. But even more often I wonder who is teaching who.