BAME young carers face a double whammy of disadvantage
Family and community is really important in most cultures, especially Asian. Having grown up in Birmingham’s Pakistani/Kashmiri community, I know this better than most.
People often look out for and after each other and there’s always someone nearby who can lend a hand. This, of course, is a wonderful support network but, on the flipside, it can lead to a ‘keep-it-in-the-family’ mentality and a reluctance to ask for help from elsewhere.
Young carers are a case in point. For many South Asian cultures, the idea of someone being a ‘carer’ is completely alien. In fact, I’m not aware of any such word in Urdu — or in Mirpuri, Bengali, Gujarati or Punjabi for that matter.
In some families there is an expectation that children will help out around the house and, in some cases, look after other family members like younger siblings, and sometimes parents who are sick or disabled.
Of course this happens in all cultures, but Barnardo’s research shows fear of being stigmatised by others in the community, and a mistrust of social services or authorities can lead to children from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) cultures being leaned on more heavily than those from other backgrounds.
Our research also found that children from BAME backgrounds are far too often being relied upon as interpreters for their parents’ medical appointments, often translating technical and deeply personal medical information between patients and doctors.
Young carer Neha, whose mum and dad both have serious health problems, has to interpret at hospital appointments for both parents. “There’s never been a translator from the hospital, so I have to be there to do it,” she says. “And sometimes a word simply doesn’t exist in Gujarati, so I have to try and find another word or explain some other way.”
It can be difficult for adults to understand explanations of procedures, diagnoses and prognoses, let alone children who often don’t understand in detail what is being discussed.
And parents don’t always want to discuss the minutiae of their health problems with their children, especially if they relate to mental health difficulties, so important details inevitably get left out and serious medical issues can end up being misdiagnosed or staying hidden.
Young carers of any background face challenges. Attending doctors’ and hospital appointments as well as cooking, cleaning, shopping and looking after younger siblings means that often education takes a bit of a back seat.
But being BAME and a young carer can be a double whammy of disadvantage. The playing field is already skewed and BAME families are more likely than others to be impacted by mental health issues, poverty and domestic abuse, putting extra strain on young carers in these households.
There needs to be a concerted effort from agencies and workers to be mindful of cultural and religious issues, build and maintain trust and engage with and educate BAME families and help them access the support that is out there.
At Barnardo’s our diverse staff and volunteers have helped us become a charity that reflects and supports communities across the UK, supporting the needs of children from all backgrounds.
But more work needs to be done within BAME communities to ensure there is a good understanding of what being a young carer means, the impact caring has on children and young people, what support is out there and how to access it — and that asking for help is not a bad thing.
Looking after family members is something that our young carers are fiercely proud of, but it shouldn’t be at the expense of their childhoods or their futures.
