Safe but alone: How loneliness acts a barrier for refugees and migrants in the UK
According to figures from The UN Refugee Agency, at the end of 2021, there were 27.1 million refugees around the world. In the UK alone, there were 136,000 refugees, the majority arriving from refugee camps in war-torn and stricken countries such as Jordan and Iraq. Further, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 resulted in approximately 115,000 Ukrainian refugees fleeing to the United Kingdom as of August 2022. Not only do these people face the conflict, trauma and upheaval of war, alongside persecution and forced displacement from their homes, but often they are alone in a new country where language and cultural barriers make settling in and building a new life extremely difficult. These barriers can separate refugees from those around them, provoking loneliness and social isolation among an already-vulnerable group of people.
According to the charity The Forum, which supports migrant and refugee communities and individuals with their integration into British society, 58% of those interviewed identified loneliness as their biggest challenge when attempting to settle into a new country. Refugees are especially vulnerable, as they face many different overlapping challenges that all contribute to an increased possibility of social isolation. Being in a new place, they often have no-one to turn to, having left behind friends and family in their home country. Often, the inability to speak English is one of the single most important causes of feelings of isolation. This lack of a support network, combined with language barriers and a lack of access to services and resources makes it harder for refugees to integrate into their new community. As such, they are trapped in a vicious cycle which leads them further into isolation, compounding feelings of loneliness and increasingly damaging their emotional and mental health. For young people, mothers of young children, and those with medical needs or vulnerabilities, there is an even higher risk of suffering associated with loneliness.
These inter-related factors reinforce social isolation among migrants and refugees in the UK. Refugees may find it harder to go out and meet people, or purchase “non-essential items” such as books or a TV that could help them develop their English and aid integration into their new society. With children or adolescents, this can severely impact their learning and development even further, all while contributing to feelings of separation from their peers and the wider community.
More needs to be done to support refugees and negate the vicious spiral of loneliness and isolation further deteriorating their mental and emotional health.
Currently, the St Andrews Wise Community exists as a link between the elderly generation with the local community and students with a hope to also extend this link to refugees to make them feel welcome in the town. The three fundamental pillars of our vision pivot around: passing down wisdom, alleviating loneliness and developing interviewee relationships, with an emphasis on the value of people’s experiences; both local and international. Our platform users regularly view the content posted and interact with the videos, and with the publicity generated, we strive to give the citizens’ life lessons the attention they deserve.
With over 3000 individuals across our social media platforms, there is a sense that the online community is becoming increasingly attuned to the value of senior citizens’ experiences. Previous interviewees include Hong Kong expat Rodney Lewis Beattle, Marine Archaeologist Neil Cunningham, Dobson, and political enthusiast Christ Main. As well as exploring what the interviewee deems valuable to our community, we relate each interviewee’s expertise to current issues, making the channel relatable and current. We are extremely excited to see engagement levels increase and are eager to connect with citizens who have valuable life experiences to impart!
The St Andrews Wise Community, an Enactus-led social enterprise, is delighted to partner with the Foreign Affairs Review to bring you this article discussing how loneliness acts as a barrier for refugees in the UK, as part of our mission to raise awareness of loneliness as a universal experience and how we are tackling the issue in St Andrews. Our core aim is to share the knowledge, stories, and wisdom of the elderly generation with the local community and youth of today. Please contact us if you would like to act as a beneficiary and have stories, experiences, and wisdom you would like to share.
