Sites for promise: Lebanon refugee camp leaders receiving vital mental health support. Credit: ChooseLove, Twitter.
In a world beginning to more openly embrace the power of mental health awareness, coping strategies and tools for resilience and fight against the invisible disease of the mind, arguably no community needs it more than the Palestinian refugees packed into support sites in Lebanon.
Azima, translating into ‘grit’ in Arabic, is a newly formed project teamed by expert, volunteer psychologists such as Nina Lyytinen, who form the action group the ‘Psychologists for Social Responsibility’ or the ‘PSV’. These peace psychologists strive for connecting communities to their wellbeing and ensuring the betterment of mental resilience and determination during testing times.
Project to get underway at the start of January
Lyytinen and her colleagues will travel regularly to Lebanon starting January 1st, offering specific training courses to local family centre workers and community hub managers, so that refugees can be able to benefit from better access to organised strategies and methods for managing stress during crises. This project has cost the finland ministry of foreign affairs over half a million euros, with great promise already shown by the volunteers.
Joining Lyytinen are eleven other dedicated members of the team, who will carry out intensive work across the refugee camps scattered throughout Lebanon, over the course of four years. She feels 2025 will be a catalytic year in the process: “Palestinians have faced decades of challenges, but the need for psychological expertise is more critical now than ever. It is an honour to bring Finnish know-how to those who need it most”.
The internal struggle as external drama continues to erupt
As the endless volatility and unpredictable chaos ensues across Palestine, Israel and parts of the Middle East, troubled members of precious communities are in conflict with their own minds. Stress, uncertainty and panic flood the subconscious of many innocent people, men, women and children as they aim to make do with their new living environment in Lebanon, a world away from their normal lives. This trauma cuts deep, and it is imperative refugees are justly equipped with rightful tools to be able to work through the pain.
We must strive to make a difference where we can
Anu Castaneda, a psychology scholar and renowned expert in the social science realm in Finland, stressed that an urgency of action is key: “The situation for Palestinians is so dire that the world cannot just look away. Everyone can contribute to making a difference”.
In this world of interconnectivity, we must ensure we are consuming the right information, but also spreading positive messages, helping communities such as the refugees of Lebanon get the support they need.
