Parents in Exile: Challenges of Parenting among Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Bulgaria
Purpose: This paper looked into the experiences of refugee parents with an aim to uncover the challenges of parenting encountered during and after the asylum procedures in Bulgaria - a country placed at the bottom of the asylum recognition scale in Europe. Methods: Qualitative research through semi-structured interviews of eight parents originating from Iraq, Syria and Palestine was conducted during the 3 months’ period in 2016. Results: Empiric research conducted revealed that procedural shortcomings of refugee protection system in Bulgaria causes severe psychosocial stresses to families in that the factors, such as slow and deficient asylum procedures, inadequate social protection and absence of integration programs, have a direct impact on the family life, parenting and children’s wellbeing. Discussion: These results point to a clear need for improvement of the access to asylum right and subsequent refugee integration in Bulgaria. They also call for a systemic approach in which the refugee rights are fully respected and vulnerability inherent to the refugee parents’ liminal position properly addressed. We further recommend the interventions of social work and mental health professions in ameliorating existent stresses of exclusion and marginalisation of refugee families with an aim to advance their full integration rights.