From Independence to dependence: Experiences of Syrian refugees.

This paper focuses on the qualitative findings from a mixed‐methods study of the educational and employment experiences of male and female Syrian refugees who settled in Regina, Canada. Canada admitted over 40,000 Syrian refugees who settled in 350 communities across Canada, including many smaller, non‐traditional refugee‐receiving centres. This influx necessitated the expeditious development of additional services as well as a re‐allocation of local resources. Drachman's (Social Work, 37, 68, 1992) three‐phase migration framework was employed to trace the experiences of these Syrian refugees through the pre‐migration, transit and resettlement phases. The findings demonstrated that the participants perceived a shift from independence to dependence on the government as they moved through each of the successive phases of migration. While participants had constructed identities as "hard workers" back home, they found that their experiences and credentials from back home were devalued and learning English was a prerequisite for employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]