Bridging through Occupation: Stories of Elderly Survivors of Human Rights Violations Living in Sweden

Abstract

Experiences of elderly survivors of human rights violations can inform understandings of occupation in relation to how people manage extreme situations and cope with them while growing older. Using a narrative approach, this study explored the importance of everyday life focused on elderly Chilean immigrants in Sweden, who had experienced human rights violations. Data were collected through participant observation and in-depth interviews and analyzed using a narrative interpretative method. Findings are presented as three emploted participants' stories and their possible interpretations. The results highlight the role of occupation in the creation of liminal spaces that make it possible to bridge past and current dimensions of the participants' experiences. The findings show the centrality and the diverse role of occupation in mastering life while growing older and the importance of its political and cultural features for the participants.

Keywords:

• Psychosocial trauma
• Meaningful occupation
• Narrative method
• Liminal spaces
• Migration

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the participants of the study for their openness, trust and collaboration.