Answer Happy

Cultural Implications Mr. and Mrs. Ebrahimi are refugees from a Middle Eastern nation torn by a severe internal conflict. They arrived in this country 3 years ago, along with their two daughters, who were 11 and 14 years old. During that time, they have worked hard with an international agency to gradually get Mr. Ebrahimi's aging uncle out of a refugee camp and into the United States. His uncle has now been living with the family for the past 3 months. Life for the Ebrahimis has been difficult to say the least; coming to the United States has not solved their problems. Although they feel safer, their youngest child, Derri, and her great-uncle both have trouble sleeping. "I wake up sometimes, " Dorzi says, "and I think I hear people shouting and running in our yard, but there's no one there. Her great-uncle exhibits signs of posttraumatic stress, but refuses to talk about it, even to his nephew. There have been other challenges as well. The girls, Dorri and Taldveh quickly adapted to American customs and language in their school, where they were readily accepted. Now, 3 years later, Taldveh who is very talented, is applying to music schools and has won hio scholarships in voice. This is causing escalated arguments with her parents
"You should be proud of me for winning scholarships," she says. "We will be proud when you do what you're supposed to do," her father tells her, "and go to medical school like your mother. This is tradition. Mrs. Ebrahimi looked forward to returning to her profession as a pediatrician and was stunned to find that her credentials could not be accommodated without going back to school for a significant length of time-something that the family has still not been able to afford, even 3 years later. Despite the urgency of removing his family to safety, Mr. Ebrahimi was always worried about entering Western culture. "I knew morals would be incorrect here," he says, "and I was right. My children are losing their values, and there are no morals at work either." When asked to explain, he describes how he recently lost his job "because my uncle fell and broke his leg while trying to clean a window." "Of course I could not show up for work for weeks. My uncle had a broken leg! He developed an infection in recovery! I came and went to work now and then I could, but everyone knows my first duty was to make my old uncle comfortable. What kind of boss wouldn't understand that?" "Nobody understands that. Dad,” Talaveh says sympathetically. "Not here."
Question 1 This case study indicates that the Ebrahimi family were refugees. What evidence do you see that this might be creating special problems that may not occur in the larger immigrant population? Question 2 How have different rates of acculturation and assimilation affected these family members?