Susan Ray, assistant professor on the Faculty of Health and Sciences at the University of Western Ontario’s School of Nursing, delivered the opening lecture at this year’s Clifford Symposium. Ray first developed an interest in the phenomenon of “othering” while working on her dissertation, which focused on “healing from the trauma of peacekeeping.”
Ray explained that othering takes place as a result of forced migration.When people must suddenly flee their homelands and try to create new lives for themselves elsewhere, they often experience severe alienation from citizens of the host country. The advent of an “us/them” mentality is what she refers to as “exclusionary othering.”
“Othering is a very complex process that shifts depending on how identities are constructed and interpreted,” she said.
Often, these perceived identities are based on the ways in which the concept of immigration is presented to the general public.
“Many times in the media, people write in terms of metaphors that can be perceived as a threat,” she said.
Words like “swarms,” “tides,” “waves,” “swamp” and “overrun” can have a strongly negative impact on the reception of newcomers.
“The media encourages us to interact with refugees and asylum seekers from a point of defense: erecting barriers, screening and deterring, et cetera,” she said. “When added to people’s preexisting prejudices against certain races, classes and other groups, the result is a largely close-minded society.”
In addition to these social challenges, Ray also pointed out the heath problems associated with exclusionary othering.
“Many will have a long history of trauma,” she said. “Many will have come from camps with poor nutrition and hygiene and been exposed to infectious diseases.” In situations like this, seeing one another as opponents can be dangerous for everyone involved. “It sets them and us in conflict over scarce health care resources, reduces access to care, contributes to alienation and undermines health.”
Instead, Ray suggests, people should strive for “inclusionary othering.”
“It is an attempt to utilize power within relationships: not power over, but power with and power sharing,” she said. Such a process requires active engagement and a desire to connect with one another — imagining life in one another’s shoes.
This is not to say, however, that people should ignore what makes them unique.
“The differences and borders of each of our identities connect us to each other more than they sever,” she said. “There’s more of an openness than an opposition.”
When it comes to global health, it is a matter of having trained professionals who have the capacity not only to treat, but also to truly care.
“Health care workers need training in cultural competence and cultural sensitivity,” she said.
As it stands, there is much room for improvement when it comes to working with people who have experienced the trauma of displacement. In all of Canada, for example, there is just one center for specialists in this type of work. However, Ray maintains that anyone in the field — in the world, for that matter — should be making an effort to avoid unnecessary exclusion.
“Knowing differences and particularities allow us to explain the connections and commonalities,” she said. “I don’t think any border or boundary has to be completely rigid.”
The Clifford Symposium: “Othering: Connecting through Differences”
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