Syrian refugees share stories of suffering with Canadian Centre for the Victims of Torture

A psychiatrist with theCanadian Centre for the Victims of Torture said reportsof suffering fromrefugees are "a pretty familiar story" on CBC'sMetro Morning Tuesday, after hearing how one Syrian refugee was arrested and abused.

MohamadSarkbi, a government-sponsored refugee who landed with his wife and children at PearsonInternational Airport just a few months ago, recently told the CBC'sYasmineHassanof his imprisonment and torture merely for helping families who had nothing to eat.

• Syrian refugee recalls the torture and betrayal that made him flee his home

He describedhow his captors would laugh as they prepared to electrocute him.

"I lost consciousness right away," he said."I woke up in my cell and was told I was electrocuted for sevenhours."

A familiar story

Psychiatrist Debra Stein has been with the centre for over 20 years, and providesa safe space for refugeesto talk about their past.

Stein saysshe and her colleagues hear manystories like Sarkbi's, as refugees escape from prisons, from persecution and from oppressive regimes.

Even for those who escaped without torture, there are still terrible memories of refugee camps and the trauma frommigration.

Although Stein sayssome people don't benefit from sharing their story, others do need to talkthrough their emotions.

"It's really important toheara story andlistenwithout judgement, to validate what happened, and to also explore and address the feelings and thoughts that went with the experience, and to address feelings like shame, humiliation, guilt, horror," Stein said.

"It can be very, very helpful to have someone sit and listen and say, 'This happened to you, this was wrong, and you know, you're okay now. You're safe now.'"

Metro Morning5:08Torture

Many Syrian refugees have fled torture, one psychiatrist who has heard many of those stories from around the world explained how to respond and why it matters. Matt Galloway spoke with Debra Stein, she teaches psychiatry at the University of Toronto.

'Very silent thing'

The centre has seen 81 Syrian refugees since December; according to executive director Mulugeta Abai, whowas tortured himself before coming toCanada as a refugee.

The centreexpected to hear from a lot more, butmany refugees maystill be in a state of euphoria, Abaisaid,celebrating the fact they've arrived in a new place.

Others may just need to find a space to speak freely after a horrific experience, saidStein.

"Someone who's torturedgets released into the community completely broken as a warning and a message to others that, you know, any dissent won't be tolerated," she said.

"There's a lot of fear that builds up and people don't talk about it, and then it becomes this very silent thing."