Review: "What it's like to be a refugee in America"

You may know what a refugee is. Under the 1951 Refugee Convention, a refugee is anyone that, “owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country."

 

You may know the numbers. The UN considers 10.5 million refugees “of concern.”

 

You may even know a refugee.

 

Yet what very few people realize is that when a refugee arrives in the United States, bereft of social support and ripped from what is often the only culture s/he has ever known, local volunteers can prove crucial to successful adaptation. If you haven’t already, check out “What it’s like to be a refugee in America,” in the July 14, 2009 issue of the Christian Science Monitor. You’ll find an excellent, heartfelt description of the struggles refugees face in finding jobs, learning English, and adjusting to American culture. 

 

What the article dwells less on, however, are the robust networks of social support required for refugees to successfully integrate into American society. Resettlement caseworkers and refugees that have been here a while, as the article notes, are important links, yet local refugee mentors, “adopting” refugee families on a voluntary basis, often contribute invaluable support as well. Volunteers have both the time and the cultural know-how to help refugees rewrite resumes. They can spend 20 or 30 minutes explaining that yes, if the husband takes that prescription and this insurance card to the pharmacy, he can get his wife’s blood pressure medicine – and another 20 minutes explaining that this paper the daughter has in hand verifies the month’s utility bill has been paid in full. They can show up for a refugee baby’s first birthday party, bearing a small gift and modest card, and have the mother exclaim that she’ll keep the card forever – because it’s the first and only real American greeting card she’s ever owned. 

 

Obviously, volunteers are not the end-all and be-all in making refugees’ transitions easier, yet regardless of macro-level policies and programs helping or hindering refugee resettlement, the benefits of the micro-level support volunteer mentors can provide are immense. 

 

If you are interested in becoming one of a refugee’s crucial links to their new world, please email refugees@ypfp.org to learn more about YPFP’s Refugee Assistance Program.

 

I will not attempt here to repeat the story the Christian Science Monitor tells. I can only commend you to read its article and to realize, in so doing, that this is why we do what we do.