MIGRATORY MOURNING
by Maria Elena Ferrer
Leader of Athena Network New York
Migratory mourning is a term referring to a little-known suffering immigrants face as they become separated from and experience losses of family, culture, language, land, social status, ethnicity and other changes associated with migration.
Conversations about migration are often limited to its demographic and economic effects, disregarding the psychosocial and other human aspects. “It is vital to recognize the complex reality immigrants face,” says migratory mourning expert Joseba Achotegui, M.D., Ph.D.
“There is a tendency to devalue the human aspects of migration because they cannot be standardized on graphs, tables or algorithms.”
L E T´S T A l K H E A L T H