“The sufferings and persecution of my people back home is the one that really burns and boils in me every single day”: Exploring expressions of well-being in the Oromo diaspora

Oromos are an Indigenous people living in the horn of Africa and in diaspora. Their long history of struggle against (internal) colonization creates a challenging context in which to strive for well-being. For the last 30-40 years, Canada has been a common destination and safe haven for many persecuted Oromos. The current project sought to explore Oromo conceptions of well-being through a qualitative study involving participant-observations and 14 interviews in three Canadian cities. The findings reveal that Oromo people’s origins in Oromia remain an important and continuing determinant of their health and well-being, despite migration to Canada. The findings suggest that our current understandings of determinants of immigrant health in Canada are too narrowly focused on post-migration conditions. These findings contribute to a growing body of literature that prioritize understandings of collective over individual well-being, as well as the important exploration of social determinants of immigrant health.