A month or so ago I posted a story about average Canadians coming to the aid of a lost family of refugees trying to visit family in London. The image I used with the post compared the Canadian response to the refuge crisis with the American response - the later being fearful and closed, the former welcoming. A reader from the Chicago area commented that all is not what it appears to be on Fox news and that she was actively working to assist refuges in her community.
I reached out and asked her to provide a counterpoint tale to the negativity that pours from certain right-wing politicians and Fox news.
This is her story:
I don't want to bore you with a 10-page paper on refugees in the US so I'll try to be succinct. I can only speak to what I know is happening here in Chicago, but there are many, many refugee resettlement agencies throughout the country that wouldn't exist with the support of US citizens.
I am involved with RefugeeOne, the largest refugee resettlement agency in the state of Illinois. Currently, they are resettling refugees who are primarily from Syria, Burma, Congo, Eritrea and Iraq. You can see more here if you're interested: www.refugeeone.org
I'm on a grant making committee for a donor organization and a personal donor to the agency. One of my closest friends sponsored an arriving Iraqi family many years ago, which if how I became acquainted with the agency. I've toured RefugeeOne twice for site visits and met many of the staff members and, most importantly, got to meet many clients. The phenomenal executive director, Melineh Kano, was herself an Iraqi refugee. The work they do is exceptional -- getting families welcomed and settled in apartments, mostly in Chicago, starting them in English classes and computer literacy classes immediately, offering job training, supporting children in school, etc. I am most closely involved with their wellness program, which addresses the unique medical and mental health needs of refugees, most of whom are women. Unfortunately, many of the women have survived horrific events such as witnessing the murders of their husbands and/or sexual violence in their homeland or in refugee camps. Some women arrive pregnant as a result of rape. RefugeeOne has developed a culturally-sensitive wellness program tor address these specific needs. Most of it is done within the agency and they have interpreters in something like 30+ languages!
So how are normal US citizens like me involved? The State Department underwrites a portion of the cost of resettlement, which is funneled through the State of Illinois in our case. These funds are expected to decline. But, in any case, individuals, donor groups, religious organizations etc provide a lion's share of financial and material support, as well as personally volunteering with individual families and children.
Here's the thing you should know -- because you're right that the rhetoric and sound bites from people like Trump and right-wingers make it seem like they're speaking for all of the US -- many, many ordinary citizens do not agree. Here's an example. Last fall, several right-leaning governors (Indiana, land of Trump's VP candidate, for example) stated they wanted to halt the resettlement of refugees in their states (never mind the fact the the US government controls this, not them). Illinois' Republican governor Bruce Rauner jumped on the bandwagon and made a public statement. Within days, RefugeeOne received so many calls with offers of financial and volunteer support that they had to freeze their volunteer sign ups and turn away potential volunteers because so many people rejected the governor and wanted to help. This is just one way in which I know there are hundreds, if not thousands, of individuals helping new refugees in my own city.
There is also a fantastic organization in Chicago called GirlForward. It was started five years ago by a 20-something young woman who recognized the special needs of refugee adolescent and young women who are not only trying to navigate their way in a foreign land, but often assume many adult responsibilities for their refugee parents. One impressive feature of the programs is that Chicago women volunteer to mentor a GirlForward girl for one year. This involves weekly meetings, following a solid curriculum that involves life skills, financial literacy, education and more. The number of volunteer hours and the results they achieve are impressive. GirlForward wouldn't exist with volunteers.
Unfortunately, the US is only resettling about 85,000 people per year, which is miniscule. And who knows what the future will bring? The average wait time for a refugee to be resettled in an astonishing 17 years! People who think "anyone" can get in the US don't know that the process takes 18-24 months and requires multiple levels of vetting.There has been some effort to fast-track Syrian refugees, who are predominantly widows with children.
Thanks for listening. This is just a quick snapshot, but I hope you get the idea that there are many, many Americans who are quietly welcoming and supporting refugees to the US.
In times like this it is heartening to hear stories such as this - it reaffirms your faith in humanity! We get so wrapped up in the barrage of negativity that we make broad generalizations that these horrific comments are somehow emblematic of the entire populace (easily done when 13.3 million Americans voted for Trump).
Comments