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Brain drain: the neglected mental health of refugees in Europe

How stigma and a lack of help are leaving trauma untreated

By Shira Rubin

In a hotel set amidst an olive grove on the Greek island of Lesvos, refugees fleeing violence in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and other war zones share their traumatic experiences and mourn the loss of their past lives.

A Syrian woman is haunted by the memory of her husband dying from a cardiac arrest as they tried to cross the Turkish border with their four children. An Iraqi woman is traumatised by her encounter with “The Biter,” a metal tool used by the so-called Islamic State to clip off the skin of women dressed immodestly. And Hayat, another Syrian refugee, arrives on Lesvos to find that her hands are paralysed – a psychosomatic effect associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Read the full article on IRIN