A much-needed reminder from one of our colleagues here at MRS
She wrote this on her personal Facebook page, and we received permission to share it here:
I have worked for the past 10 years as an advocate, a social worker, and a program director for refugees and immigrants. This is my calling. I do this work because I am a humanitarian and a person of faith and I believe we are all brothers and sisters in this world and need to take care of each other. I do it because I am a proud American and I am so grateful to have been born into this country that serves as a beacon of hope for refugees and immigrants fleeing persecution and violence and searching for safety and freedom for themselves and their families. Most importantly, I do this work because I am deeply moved, and know I am in the presence of God, each and every time I talk to a refugee or asylum seeker. I have learned more about compassion, gratitude, faith, hope, and resilience from refugees and migrants than from anyone else.
Refugees and asylum seekers often witness torture and murder of their families-- like a 21-year-old refugee I know from Congo who witnessed the slaughtering of his family when he was 12 and narrowly escaped. He wandered through Uganda for two years before finding a refugee camp where he lived for another three years before being registered as a refugee by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and undergoing comprehensive screening by the U.S. Government. He arrived to the U.S. at 17, knowing less than 10 words of English and having minimal formal education and was placed in the Unaccompanied Refugee Minor program. He studied every day until midnight, graduated from high school with a 3.8 GPA, is now pursuing a dual degree in political science and criminal justice at an university, mentors at-risk youth, and founded a NGO in Uganda to protect refugee children. He finds strength in his faith, and loves America. I am privileged to know him and be a part of his story and I am so excited about what the future holds for him. He is extraordinary.
Refugees and asylum seekers are often forcibly displaced, like the Syrian refugee I met in Malaysia whose entire neighborhood was burned down by ISIS. She, her husband, and their two children fled Syria with nothing but the clothes on their back-- everything else perished in the fire. They went to Yemen, where they found more conflict and violence, and ended up in Malaysia. Malaysia is not a signatory to the Geneva refugee convention (a UN treaty established after WWII which holds signatory countries accountable for providing refuge to persons who are fleeing persecution). They are living in poverty as refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia are not allowed to legally work; are afraid to go outside as exploitation, extortion, and detention of refugees is a standard practice in Malaysia; and their children are receiving limited education from a NGO with a minuscule budget as refugee children in Malaysia are not allowed to matriculate through the school system. She looked at me with longing and said, "I am just like you. I have a Ph.D. in computer science. I lived in a nice house. Now, l worry that my children are being deprived of a childhood and an education. I worry about their futures. I worry about their safety."
They are women and children from Central America who, like a grandmother in El Salvador told me, "are ashamed that they can not protect their own families." She told me about her two grandsons who were targeted by gangs as they rode the bus to and from school. She knew that the fate of young boys targeted by gangs is to become a gang member or be killed by the gangs. Police reports went unanswered. She tried moving and encountered the same experience in the new neighborhood. "There is no safe space," she said.
I have many more stories to share if you'd like to hear them.
Working in this field has its challenges-- there is never enough resources to respond to the human need and we are constantly challenged by policies that restrict the ability of refugees and asylum seekers to access protection. Our current challenge is ensuring that we, from a place of compassion, educate our families and friends on the refugee context and lift the voices of refugees and asylum-seekers among us.
We live in a scary world. There are 60 million people who are forcibly displaced-- the highest since WWII. The news is flooded with stories of human tragedy.
Providing welcoming and hope to refugees is the bright light amidst the horror and tragedy of war. It is the human thing to do.
