Displaced Colombian Mothers‟ Narratives of Crianza A
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Internal Exiles: Displaced Colombian Mothers‟ Narratives of Crianza A Thesis Submitted to the College of Graduate Studies and Research In Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts In the Department of Psychology University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon Canada By Katherine Satizábal Parra © Copyright Katherine Satizábal Parra, June 2016. All rights reserved. PERMISSION TO USE In presenting this thesis/dissertation in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Postgraduate degree from the University of Saskatchewan, I agree that the Libraries of this University may make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for copying of this thesis/dissertation in any manner, in whole or in part, for scholarly purposes may be granted by the professor or professors who supervised my thesis/dissertation work or, in their absence, by the Head of the Department or the Dean of the College in which my thesis work was done. It is understood that any copying or publication or use of this thesis/dissertation or parts thereof for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the University of Saskatchewan in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in my thesis/dissertation. Requests for permission to copy or to make other uses of materials in this thesis/dissertation in whole or part should be addressed to: Head of the Department of Psychology University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5A5 Canada i ABSTRACT In Colombia, the politics and violence of a mostly rural and remote internal armed conflict have spanned decades, displacing millions of women into internal exile in the large cities. There, they must fend for survival and integration into urban Colombian society, while trying to build a future for their children. This thesis explores the similarities and differences in the ways displaced Colombian mothers represent and (re)imagine crianza1 through the disruptions and continuities of internal exile, accounting for challenges (e.g., loss of property and livelihoods, social and emotional uprooting, stigma) as well as facilitators (e.g., agency to reconstruct life projects, flexibility in crianza, experiencing displacement as a positive and empowering experience). Twelve displaced, formerly rural, women were interviewed in the City of Cali. Grounded in a social constructionist paradigm, this qualitative narrative study indicates that mothers‟ experiences of crianza under forced displacement vary a great deal. Cultural background, family structure, mothering identity, the ecology of relocation, and the overall meanings associated with forced displacement influence women‟s disrupting and empowering journeys, contributing to a sense of continuity in their lives following displacement. Understanding the conditions under which a diverse group of displaced Colombian mothers must rear their children, and distinguishing the range of their varying needs, can help to improve psychosocial supports and services made available to them – particularly at this time as Colombia has been embarking on the first steps of a peace process. 1 In Colombia, the Spanish term crianza refers to parenting or child rearing; I will use this term hereafter and will elaborate on the interesting cultural connotations of this term later. ii DEDICATION To the displaced mothers of Colombia iii TABLE OF CONTENTS PERMISSION TO USE .................................................................................................................... i ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................... iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................................ iv INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 1 BACKGROUND .............................................................................................................................. 4 Assumptions ................................................................................................................................. 6 Socio-historical context: Colombia‟s internal armed conflict ...................................................... 9 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................... 16 Crianza in the Context of Forced Displacement ........................................................................ 16 Displaced Women and Reactions to War and Exile ................................................................... 35 Colombia‟s Internal Armed Conflict and its Impact on the Mental Health of Civilians ............ 44 RESEARCH DESIGN ................................................................................................................... 52 Research Paradigm ..................................................................................................................... 52 Methodology ............................................................................................................................... 53 Method ........................................................................................................................................ 55 Data Analysis .............................................................................................................................. 62 FINDINGS ..................................................................................................................................... 73 Section 1: The Hardships of Idyllic Rural Life and Urban Possibilities in Colombia ............... 75 Section 2: No House of One‟s Own: The Main Source of Disruption in Displaced Colombian Mothers ....................................................................................................................................... 91 Section 3: From armed conflict to urban crime: Safety concerns during crianza .................... 104 Section 4: Establishing Continuity during Forced Displacement: Cultural Constructions of Crianza and Mothers‟ Identity ................................................................................................. 117 CONCLUSIONS .......................................................................................................................... 134 FUTURE RESEARCH ................................................................................................................ 148 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SOCIAL PROGRAMMING...................................................... 151 EPILOGUE .................................................................................................................................. 157 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 158 iv Appendix A: Recruitment Poster Design ..................................................................................... 174 Appendix B: Recruitment Handout Design ................................................................................. 175 Appendix C: Graphic representation of participants‟ provinces of displacement ....................... 176 Appendix D: Participants‟ Demographic Characteristics ............................................................ 177 Appendix E: Participant Consent Form – English version .......................................................... 178 Appendix F: Participant Consent Form – Spanish version .......................................................... 181 Appendix G: Open-ended Narrative Interview Guide – English version .................................... 185 Appendix H: Open-ended Narrative Interview Guide - Spanish version ..................................... 189 Appendix I: Psychosocial services available for displaced population ........................................ 193 Appendix J: Transcript notation techniques Gail Jefferson (1984) .............................................. 198 v INTRODUCTION In armed conflicts, whether between or within countries, women often suffer not only from the violence of combat, but also from human rights violations, health and social inequities, sexual exploitation, and displacement (Hynes, 2004). In Colombia, the politics and violence of mostly rural and remote internal armed conflict has spanned decades, displacing millions of women into internal exile in the larger cities where they must fend for their own survival and for that of their children (López & Agudelo, 2000). Recently there have been signs that this conflict is finally coming to an end and those women and their children who have been displaced and who wish to return to their previous towns and villages can hope to do so. However, while waiting for this possibility, women and children must face the process of integrating into urban Colombian society. This then presents challenges for mothers, as they must parent their children in these imposed internal exiles. I explored these challenges within my study. As I embarked on a quest for literature2 about parenting in internal exile, I identified a gap regarding displaced women‟s experiences of crianza in urban contexts. Research has historically