Qualitative interviewing is an affective process that involves interacting with others on an interpersonal level. This approach can bring to the surface traumatic and painful memories for participants as well as for the interviewer. I recently completed research involving semi-structured interviews with individuals who sought refuge in the United States after the 2003 American invasion of their country. Although research focused primarily on participants’ lives after resettlement, a salient unexpected conversation topic was participants’ recollections of the war. Because of frequent recurrence of this topic, I experienced symptoms of secondary traumatic stress. I was unprepared for the emotional and psychological effects conducting research with those who have experienced trauma can entail. I situate my experience within the extant literature on risks to qualitative researchers and detail for other scholars engaged in similar work the possibility of encountering secondary traumatic stress, the importance of preparing for it, and potential strategies for addressing it.

Education is a key component of the processes refugees undertake to (re)establish their lives in their new communities. In many cases too, displaced individuals have had interruptions in their education paths. In the United States context, nonprofit and community organizations provide essential services to supplement publicly funded resettlement and educational programs. The Blacksburg Refugee Partnership (BRP) has been filling service provision gaps in Southwest Virginia for a group of resettled refugee households since late 2016. BRP provides tutoring, English as a Second Language (ESL) training, and summer supplemental programming. Based upon an interview with BRP’s Education Coordinators and a survey of leaders and volunteers in September 2018, this article explores the organization’s work, connecting it to challenges and opportunities similar education initiatives encounter. I organize research results around three primary themes: the benefits of resettlement in a “college town” and the importance of leveraging university resources; the complexity of volunteer-led programming; and the need for comprehensive services to facilitate students’ education. I conclude by sketching the implications of this case for other educational initiatives serving refugees.

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Review of: Refugees in America: Stories of Courage, Resilience, and Hope in Their Own Words, Lee T. Bycel (2019) New Brunswick, Camden, Newark, New Jersey and London: Rutgers University Press, 216 pp., ISBN: 978-1-97880-621-4, h/bk, £23.28

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