TPC-Journal-V4-Issue4

The Professional Counselor \Volume 4, Issue 4 321 rest of the former Yugoslavia. Men often experienced loss of freedom as being subjected to forced mobilization, which was the case for two participants. Trauma conditions (3.2). The overall experience of war directly resulted in conditions that led people to experience trauma and emotional suffering. The sense that one’s life was in constant danger created conditions for participants to experience fear (3.2.1) and other mental health stress (3.2.2). Several participants talked about fear of mobilization, and the female participants were fearful for their husbands, brothers and fathers. Fear for their lives and the lives of their loved ones was constant and overpowering. There was an overwhelming sense of the danger and risk that occurred in war situations as participants grasped the seriousness of their circumstances. Emma explained: “But maybe somebody will come and kill me, I can’t tell you what the people were talking about around us.” Living under the constant threat of death produced many different feelings for the participants: hopelessness, anger, guilt, shame, self-pity, deep sorrow, despair, anxiety and depression. The experience of loss (3.3). The participants experienced loss throughout the displacement: family separations as well as loss of possessions, income, support, dreams, security and opportunity. Mira talked about losing everything: “All our material possessions were lost. That is not important any more, the only thing that was left worth fighting for were our lives.” Participants also described the loss of hope, friends and country, as Mira stated: We realized that the country we lived in just doesn’t exist anymore and that was very difficult. We could not patch it up anymore. It was all lost and there is no going back. It was very difficult to accept that fact. We understood with great sorrow that we can’t continue this way. We didn’t know what to do. Escape (3.4). As a result of participants escaping at different times during the conflict, their difficulties ranged from buying an airplane ticket to crossing the border in the middle of the night. Many participants escaped abruptly because of the war. Five participants talked about having to walk long distances with small children, without any food or shelter. During their escape, their lives continued to be in danger. Experiences During Post-Migration The categories that emerged in the post-migration phase were the following: (1) cultural shock, (2) resettlement support and (3) coping with challenges (Table 2). Table 2 Post-Migration Perspectives Code and Major Category Code and Theme Code and Subtheme 1. Cultural shock 2. Resettlement support 2.1 Aid organizations 2.2 Relatives and family 3. Coping with challenges 3.1 Learning English 3.2 Becoming employed 3.3 Cultural connections 3.3.1 Religion Note. Code indicates thematic hierarchy.