Understanding humanitarian crises and mental health coping strategies

VENUE

The dialogues in the series will be held in hybrid mode, i.e. in-person on the ANU Campus, and virtually on zoom.

IN-PERSON: Institutes Boardroom, HC Coombs Extension Building, 9 Fellows Road, ANU, Acton, ACT, 2601.

ONLINE: Zoom. Please select the relevant ticket, in-person or online, according to your preferred attendance mode.

For more information on the MRC 2024 Dialogue Series please see the MRC website or contact the Chair:

• David Hopkins, david.hopkins@anu.edu.au

Understanding humanitarian crises and mental health coping strategies: A case study on Myanmar refugees in Mizoram State, India, post-Myanmar military coup

The Myanmar military coup in 2021 and subsequent conflict escalation have resulted in the forced displacement of over 3 million civilians within the country. This has led to a significant number of refugees seeking asylum in India, with over 78,731 refugees as of 2023. This seminar presents a qualitative study that investigated the experiences and coping strategies of Myanmar refugees through in-depth interviews with six refugee camps in Mizoram, India. The findings of this study reveal that Myanmar refugees suffer from inadequate humanitarian support to cover basic daily needs, limited livelihood opportunities, and limited access to health services. This condition affected their mental health, which had already been negatively impacted by the war on their native land. The study found that they primarily adopted religious coping strategies and social gatherings to overcome their sadness, as no mental health support groups were available in their refugee camps. The results of this research emphasize the pressing need for immediate humanitarian aid, including COVID-19 vaccinations and mental health support, which is vital for Myanmar’s refugees and asylum seekers.

Speaker
Dr Tual Sawn Khai is a Myanmar-Australia 2024 visiting fellow at the University of Melbourne and the Australian National University. Khai obtained his PhD in Sociology and Social Policy from Lingnan University in Hong Kong. Khai's research interests include social epidemiology, conflict, human rights, migration, aging, mental health, disabilities, and climate change. Khai has published his work in esteemed international peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Migration and Health, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Archives of Public Health, Disability and Society, Journal of Burma Studies, Frontiers in Public Health, Vaccine: X, and Global Public Health. Additionally, Khai provides research consultancy services to various organizations and has over five years of experience in social development, humanitarian relief, and human rights services in both the civil society and government sectors in Myanmar.

Chair

Ms Zaw Yadanar Hein, ANU. 

The ANU Myanmar Research Centre Dialogue Series is a conversation concerning current research on Myanmar aimed at providing scholars with an opportunity to present their work, try out an idea, advance an argument and critically engage with other researchers. International and Myanmar researchers from any discipline are invited to contribute. The Dialogue Series is particularly seeking to provide a space for early career researchers wishing to receive constructive feedback. Each dialogue is one hour long, including a 30-minute presentation followed by a 30-minute Q&A. As a hybrid series, the Dialogues are presented in both virtual and in-person format, hosted by the ANU Myanmar Research Centre.