Victims, Threats, Leaders: Uncovering Our Mental Models About Refugees

Victims, Threats, Leaders:

Uncovering Our Mental Models About Refugees

By Olivia Blumenshine

I asked Rev. Torli Krua, a Liberian refugee and Boston ministry leader, what assumptions Americans make about him after learning of his refugee status. He shared, “Sometimes when I speak, they say, ‘Oh! So you speak English! Ah, when did you learn that?’” The Americans’ surprise suggests they hold a “mental model” about refugees. 

A mental model is an assumption we make about how the world works—and a driving force behind how we act. Americans who are taken aback by Rev. Krua’s fluent English may hold a variety of mental models. They may believe that refugees come from non-English speaking countries, that refugees are uneducated, or that refugees don’t have the motivation or opportunity to learn English.

Some Americans might even believe that poor non-Westerners have a lower mental capacity than wealthy Americans or that refugees are lazy moochers who likely can’t be bothered to learn English. Our mental models are generally unconscious, meaning we are not readily aware of them, and they take work to uncover.

Some mental models are roughly accurate if oversimplified. Most current refugees do speak another language besides English as their native language, but Liberia happens to be an exception. When asked this question about his English skills, Rev. Krua responds, “Come on now! My country [Liberia] was started by the United States government!” 

But other mental models are misleading or wholly inaccurate. They’re rooted in misinformation, prejudice, trauma, or historical realities that are no longer true. 

Rev. Torli Krua (left), executive director of Universal Human Rights International, with fellow pastor Sam Boadu (right) at the 2018 fundraiser for the Greater Boston Refugee Ministry.

Mental models, which we form based on our limited information and experience, influence our reactions to the world every day—often without our awareness. Peter Senge, who first coined the term “mental model,” explains, 

Mental models can be simple generalizations, such as “people are untrustworthy,” or they can be complex theories, such as my assumptions about why members of my family interact the way they do.…But what is most important to grasp is that mental models are active—they shape how we act. If we believe people are untrustworthy, we act differently than we would if we believed they were trustworthy. — The Fifth Discipline, p. 164.

Uses & Limits of Mental Models

Everyone has mental models. Our brains are designed to gather and store information for quick retrieval to help us more quickly process the world around us. Our experiences thus shape our perspectives about the world and our place in it. But mental models can backfire—with harmful consequences—if they’re inaccurate or we’re unwilling to challenge them.

To uncover our mental models, we’ll need to engage our minds and spirits intentionally. We’ll need to push against our automatic brain process to identify our assumptions and their roots. 

Checks on our mental models can come from circumstances (where we gain insight into ourselves and the world), reading (which challenges our thinking), and especially through discussion with others. Because others hold diverse mental models due to their different life experiences, input from others is necessary and helpful for surfacing our mental models.

My Shift in Perspective

I have never been a refugee. When I started volunteering with the Greater Boston Refugee Ministry (GBRM) four years ago, I found that my perspective on refugees needed to be tested and refined. I had seen the photographs—emaciated people drifting in rafts or crouching in tents. From those images, I had formed the belief that refugees are people who needed saving—who aren’t able to protect themselves. 

Over the years, I have spent more time with people with a refugee background through my work with GBRM. In that time, I’ve learned that humans can endure intense pain and loss and still retain their generosity, hospitality, goodness, and strength. 

My mental models about refugees continue to evolve. I’m currently learning more about refugee innovation and leadership. I thank God that, by His grace, we are always learning and growing. 

Opening Reflection

As you begin to consider the mental models you may hold about refugees, you may find these questions helpful for your reflection:

1. When I think of the word ‘refugee,’ what images and feelings first come to mind?

2. What words and phrases do I associate with refugees?

3. What do these images, words, and feelings tell me about my perspectives on refugees?

4. How would I explain who a refugee is to someone else?

5. What information or experiences have led me to hold those perspectives?

6. Am I willing to test my mental models about refugees with updated information?

Hold on to these reflections as you consider the specific mental models in this article.

5 Mental Models ABOUT Refugees

I want to share just a few of the many ways I’ve observed Americans viewing refugees. As you read them, consider with which views you agree or disagree. For those you agree with, I encourage you to go deeper—ask yourself, What mental models are at the root of my perspective?

MENTAL MODEL #1: Refugees are victims.

When I first started volunteering with the Greater Boston Refugee Ministry, I was operating under the assumption that refugees are victims. My mind was filled with stories of people forced to flee their country under horrible circumstances. From those, I developed an image of people who are powerless to the harm they experience. 

Refugees have, in fact, experienced tremendous suffering at the hands of others. I soon learned, however, that the “victim” label falls short of describing the strength of mind, body, and spirit it takes to leave one’s home, community, possessions, and family to start a new life in a different land. 

If you see refugees as victims, how do you define “victim”? If you, like I, associate victimhood with helplessness and passivity, what might that mean for how you think and act towards refugees? 

Maybe you see refugees as people who need to be helped. Perhaps you see Americans, with their resources and social programs, as people who can provide that help. Here is where it can get ugly: where do we mentally draw the line between “needing help” and “being helpless?” When Americans see ourselves as rescuers and refugees as powerless, we reduce the value of both groups, limiting opportunities for creative collaboration and new initiatives.

To go further, why might Americans see ourselves as people in the position to rescue others? Maybe we have heard so many times that the United States is the greatest nation in the world, and we have grown to believe it without question. Perhaps our perceived authority to save is rooted in how we see our political structure or our material resources. Or, it may be rooted in the majority whiteness of our population and the privilege and assumed responsibility that comes with that.

Furthermore, some Americans also see refugees living in the US as needing rescue. They may think, If they couldn’t handle the pressures in their country, how will they manage life in the US without help?

If you find yourself identifying with any of these assumptions, to what extent does that lead you to believe that US citizens are responsible for ‘saving’ refugees? What, then, does that reveal about your view of US citizens’ role in the world? What does it say about your sense of American superiority or resilience?

Mental Model #2: Refugees are a drain on societies.

When we think of refugees as people who need help, we might assume there is nothing refugees can contribute in return. Many Americans are concerned that welcoming refugees to the US is too costly or that it will jeopardize Americans’ jobs. This assumption is not just untrue—it’s the opposite of true. For example,  welcoming refugees boosts national economies, according to a study by German economists Marcel Fratzscher and Simon Junker. However, in the present article, I am more concerned with the mental model that is the basis of this assumption. 

Seeing refugees as a burden reveals an underlying view that refugees are “other,” and therefore, their entitlement to resources and legal protection is different than that of native-born US citizens.

If you find yourself identifying with this assumption, ask yourself: Who do I believe is entitled to American resources, and why? Who belongs in the US? What gives them the authority to reside there? You may uncover a mental model that informs your perspective.

Mental Model #3: Refugees are terrorists. 

Americans consume media at an unprecedented rate, some of which contain images and information that helps create the generalization that refugee groups are full of terrorists. This assumption remains, even though the Cato Institute reports that of the near three million refugees admitted to the United States since 1980, no refugee has killed an American in a terrorist attack. 

By contrast, Americans don’t label all teenagers as terrorists, despite the many school shootings carried out by teenagers. Why, then, do Americans believe that refugees are more likely to be terrorists?

Data from Terrorists by Immigration Status and Nationality: A Risk Analysis, 1975 – 2017, by the Cato Institute, May 7, 2019.

If you hold the assumption that refugees are more likely to be terrorists, take a moment to identify its origin. When you think of the word ‘terrorist,’ what images first come to mind? What memories and feelings arise in you?

You may feel instinctive anger or fear toward people who match your image of a terrorist, and that could shape your perception of many people. Perhaps the Black or Brown people coming to the US—sometimes with head coverings—remind you of the faces, clothing, or head coverings of terrorists you have seen in the media. 

We often overgeneralize based on appearances, especially in situations of fear or threat. If you agree with the view of refugees as likely terrorists, perhaps the way the government or media presents information confirms what you already believed about who is a threat to US safety. 

Mental Model #4: Refugees are far away and not our problem. 

When hearing about refugees fleeing from far-off conflicts, many American Christians may feel a moment of sympathy before returning to their daily concerns. If you think of refugees as belonging to a distant reality from American Christians, why do you think that is? 

The traumatic ordeals that many refugees have undergone are so far outside the experience of most Americans that it makes it hard for us to empathize fully. We might then develop a mental model about the “otherness” of refugees, where the injustice done to them does not affect us.

Country-to-Country Net Migration, snapshot taken October 22, 2019 from “All the World’s Migration in 1 Map”.

The reality is that war and displacement can happen anywhere, and our empathy for refugees is directly related to our capacity to acknowledge this vulnerability. Many refugees lived in places that were once peaceful, and they struggle to understand what has happened to their community. 

Some Americans have difficulty picturing an interrelated world where the problems of one nation also belong to others. In truth, we are more interdependent than we like to think. In acting in its immediate interests, the US has sometimes contributed to instability around the world. 

For example, Rev. Krua mentioned above the founding of Liberia by the US government. He elaborated, “Liberia was founded unlawfully through the American Colonization Society (ACS) by high-ranking American government officials who were slaveholders and white supremacists. Using American taxpayers’ money and the United States Navy, they colonized Liberia with Black Americans and mixed-race Americans to prevent a slave revolt.”

What do such realities say about our responsibility to accept and support refugees displaced by the ensuing chaos? What is the US’ duty, for example, to Liberian refugees who continue to be denied work permits over 16 years after they arrived in the US accompanied by US soldiers?

If refugees feel like far-away “others” to you, you might wish to learn more about refugees in Massachusetts who contribute to our local communities. Pay attention to what surprises you about this information. Consider what mental models you hold and how the current data helps you update those mental models.

Mental Model #5: Refugees are survivors & leaders.

American Christians who consider the resourcefulness of refugees begin to see them as resilient, agile innovators—people who can survive, succeed, and lead. Rev. Krua defines refugee leadership as “a leadership that adapts to the circumstances around itself. It’s a leadership that looks to the future. So it’s a resilient leadership—and I think it’s necessary leadership.” 

Photos from GBRM Refugee Entrepreneurs Gathering, June 10, 2017.

While this positive image of refugees is still a simplification (as all mental models are), in my experience, it better captures the truth about this remarkable population. If we imagine the ingenuity and grit needed to make a new home, we grow in understanding and respect.

Photo from the 2018 GBRM Fundraiser Party.

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About the Author

Olivia Blumenshine worked a dual internship at EGC during the summer of 2019, serving both as a writing intern in Applied Research & Consulting and a ministry intern with Greater Boston Refugee Ministry. Originally from Greater Boston, she is a double major in English and Anthropology at Washington University in St. Louis. She loves experimenting with the power of story to connect people across cultures and backgrounds.