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The experience of Eritrean young people in dealing with war‐related traumatic events is a complex phenomenon, as indicated in this qualitative study of refugee youth returning to their homeland from exile in Sudan. The youth described a wide range of responses to war‐related events, and utilized a variety of types and levels of coping responses. Themes that emerge from these responses include inner strength, separation and loss, community solidarity, concerns about subsistence, the importance of education, and the desire for a peaceful future. Families, elders, community solidarity, and combatants constituted important sources of psychological support. Based on the youths' coping resources and their own recommendations, interventions are proposed to provide psychosocial support to young people during reintegration. Intervention areas include guidance and support, organized youth activities, continuity of education, and mentored economic development and community‐building activities. Programme recommendations, while emanating from the Eritrean context, can be modified to fit specific circumstances of returning refugees in other developing countries emerging from war.
Nancy Farwell (Thu,) studied this question.