Violence, Displacement, and Transformation: The Ukrainian Experience

Citation

Connon ILC, Burlaka V, Buchko K, Dominelli L, Feen-Calligan H, Burlaka A, Peshkova V( & Javanbakht A (2026) Violence, Displacement, and Transformation: The Ukrainian Experience. In: Violence and trauma without borders: Perspectives of immigrants, migrants, and refugees post-migration. Edited by J.S. Hong, J.M. Bondy, & A. A. Peguero. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Abstract
Drawing on examples from clinical practice, program implementation, research, and personal experiences, this chapter uses a narrative case study approach to explore the lived realities of the migration experiences of Ukrainians affected by the Russian war in order to demonstrate the relational, emotional and identity-shifting process that war-induced migration entails. Focusing on displaced Ukrainians’ decisions to leave home, the challenges they faced, their strategies for adapting and coping with uncertainty, experiences of culture shock and of interventions supporting resettlement, and the ways in which these experiences and interventions shaped self-perception and worldview, we reveal the ways in which Ukrainian war-related migration involves the reorientation and renegotiation of worldviews and identities over time and space. We also highlight how cultural rituals, shared stories, and emotionally safe spaces—such as the Christmas with Ukraine event in Scotland and trauma-informed programming in U.S. schools serve as catalysts for the establishment of new anchors of belonging and the reconstruction of meaningful identities in unfamiliar environments. Our analysis contributes to migration theory by combining Anchored Migration Theory with the Transformational Identity Theory of Migration to conceptualize not only the motivations for displacement but also the emotional and symbolic mechanisms through which migrants reconstruct identity and meaning. In doing so, we offer a relational and theory-enriching perspective on the lived dynamics of forced migration.