Rebuilding Lives and Communities Postdisaster: A Case Study on Migrant Workers and Diversity in the USA

ABSTRACT

There is a need to better understand long-term disaster recovery and reconstruction challenges in diverse communities. This case study was part of a larger study undertaken by the Rebuilding Lives Post-Disaster research partnership, where field research was conducted in disaster-affected communities in Canada, the USA, Australia, India, Pakistan, and Taiwan. The objective of this exploratory case study was to focus on experiences of affected migrant workers from diverse communities in Florida, USA, in relation to long-term disaster recovery and reconstruction work following hurricanes, to ensure that lessons learned from these experiences could inform best practices and policy. The study focused particularly on the role of community processes and dynamics in shaping postdisaster recovery. Qualitative research explored diverse experiences of participants through interviews with government officials, community leaders, and disaster responders. The study found that migrant workers faced challenges due to the lack of consideration with regard to immigration status, linguistic, and cultural needs in disaster recovery.

IMPLICATIONS

• Disaster recovery processes need to consider the diversity of affected populations to ensure assistance and responses meet the differing needs of all community members in postdisaster recovery.

• All members of diverse communities should be included in disaster response and longer-term recovery efforts.

• Social workers can assist in ensuring that diversity is a consideration in disaster and emergency management.

需要更好地理解各种社区在长期灾害恢复及重建方面的挑战。本文是再建生活—灾害后研究合作行动的一项个案研究，涉及加拿大、美国、印度、巴基斯坦、台湾等地受灾害影响的社区。本文重点研究弗罗里达不同社区的移民工，他们在遭受飓风后的长期灾害恢复及重建经历，从中汲取经验教训以为实践和政策参考。作者聚焦社区过程和机制在营造灾害后恢复过程中的角色。作者通过访谈政府官员、社区领袖、灾害应对人员，对参与者的不同经历做了定性研究。研究发现，移民工面对的挑战在于灾害恢复缺少对于移民身份、语言以及文化需求的考虑。

KEYWORDS:

• Disaster Recovery
• Migrant Experience
• Community
• Diversity

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

We wish to acknowledge financial support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.