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Migration-related grief is a partial, recurring form of grief ; it leads to a change in identity and a regression, and typically unfolds in stages, much like other forms of grief (denial, resistance and acceptance-integration); it is accompanied by feelings of ambivalence between the place of origin and the host country; it also affects the locals and those who remain; returning is a new migration; it is transgenerational; and finally, it is multifaceted. The considers that there are, at a minimum, seven types of grief associated with loss in migration:
- Grief for family and loved ones, grief for emotional bonds.
- Grief for the language.
- Grief for culture (customs, values, food, etc.), leading to acculturative stress.
- Grief for the land (landscapes, colours, light, smells, temperature…).
- Grief over social status (access to opportunities, roles, work, housing, healthcare…).
- Grief over the sense of belonging (feeling that you belong somewhere and this being negatively affected by prejudice, xenophobia and racism).
- Grief over physical risks (accidents during the migration journey, persecution, social exclusion…).
The idea for this project arose from a personal need, given my situation as a Spanish woman in Belgium, to understand the migration process and its consequences for people’s mental health.
