Speaker
Description
In the 1960s, significant political, economic and social structures were transforming East Africa as countries experienced independence following colonial histories. Racial tensions continued to divide Uganda, and in 1972, deeming them ‘undesirable’, self-appointed Ugandan President Idi Amin Dada announced a 90-day expulsion decree for all South Asians, forcibly sending more than 50,000 refugees fleeing.
Several studies explore this immigration event from an historical perspective however, gendered experiences of women and multi-generational impacts on families in this population group have not been thoroughly researched. Drawing from Therapeutic Landscape Theory, this study explores narrative experiences of place-making practices and material culture, through the resettlement experiences of 14, 1st generation (directly affected) and 2nd generation (born within the first five years of resettlement) refugee women who arrived in Canada and/or resettled in the United States. Using a strength-based, decolonising approach to gather these stories, experiences illustrate how creativity as resiliency in place-making practices and the significance of material culture as objects and non-objects of ontology reinforce sense of identity, place and contribute positively to health and well-being.
This study analyses health as resiliency, and reconceptualises how the traditional theory of Therapeutic Landscape can be applied to place-making practices and material culture in new geographies by re-creating relationships and connection with new places, which may offer healing, spiritual significance and connection to land. Specially, this research explores how this study group have found sense of self and place in creative strategies for trauma reconciliation towards health, healing, and meaning through practice, object and symbolism.
