A Refugee Protest Action in a Host Country: Possibilities and Limitations of an Intervention by a Mental Health Unit

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Abstract
In February 1994, a group of Bosnian refugees left their reception centre, prescribed by the refugee authorities in Norway, and settled at the Central Railway Station in Oslo as a protest action against their conditions at the reception centre. The episode immediately attracted much media interest, and the Psychosocial Centre for Refugees at the University of Oslo was asked by the Directorate of Immigration to make an examination and evaluation of the refugees. After the Centre had ensured that such an evaluation was explicitly wanted by the refugees themselves, the whole group of 37 adults were individually examined by psychiatrists and psychologists. Ten children were observed separately. The findings showed that almost all the members of the group had experienced extreme traumatization and suffered from various post-traumatic symptoms. The findings were reported back to the Directorate of Immigration, and the refugees were kept informed. The possibilities and ethical dilemmas involved in this type of psychiatric intervention in a conflict between refugees and political authorities are discussed.

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