The dominant narratives on refugees evolve around vulnerability and trauma discourse that homogenizes a whole group of individuals as traumatized, therefore, vulnerable, as they exposed to an adversity. It is the self-narratives of refugees that reveal the complexity, uniqueness and totality of each person’s experience that can object to this passivation. Oral history in this respect stands as a crucial tool as it creates spaces of existence where refugees can speak freely about their own life stories to the extent and content she/he desires.

This field report describes a case study on the applicability of non-violent communication (NVC) within the Syrian refugee context, and the usefulness of theatre of the oppressed techniques in practicing NVC. The intervention was applied to refugee women working or attending activities in a livelihood centre in Turkey. Through the work, NVC was explained and discussed with participants, who brought real-life themes and scenarios to practice learnt skills using theatre of the oppressed techniques.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has been involved in psychosocial support activities for migrants, asylum seekers, refugees and crisis-affected communities since the late 1990s. The organisation’s approach to its psychosocial programmes is systemic, interdisciplinary and community based. One main feature of these programmes has been the organisation of executive masters, diploma or certificate courses on psychosocial approaches to population mobility in low-resource or crisis-affected countries and communities.

The internal conflict in Syria has displaced large numbers of the population into neighbouring countries since the uprising in 2011. The large influx of displaced people into Jordan poses great challenges to the international community as well as local authorities, with increasing competition for already scarce resources and services creating rising tensions between refugee and host communities.