Refugee Unemployment – By the Numbers

Anyone who has spent more than a day or two in the refugee community knows that the refugee employment situation here is bad.  Granted, employment is probably the biggest issue facing America as a whole right now, but it is particularly difficult for refugees who don't know the language, culture, or laws of America, and have virtually no access to networks of people that could help them find employment.  Just how hard is it?  Numbers recently released by Washington State's Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance show that though Washington State is resettling more and more refugees each year (2588 in 2009), the number of those refugees who find gainful employment is abysmally low.

In 2009, the Refugee Employment Caseload for Washington State was 3,447 people.  Of those employable people, only 28% of them were employed, and only 13% of those jobs came with benefits.  In other words, Washington State's refugee population currently has an unemployment rate of approximately 72%.  These numbers put Washington State 46th out of all 50 states.  Worse off than us are only Tennessee, Georgia, Michigan, and West Virginia.  Even Florida, which had a Refugee Employment Caseload of mind-bogglingly high 28,225 people got their number up to 37%.

So, the situation is bad.  Really bad.  It should be noted, however, that Spokane (largely through the work of World Relief and WorkSource) ranked a little bit higher than the rest of Washington State.    Even so, we as a community have a responsibility to assist the refugee community in whatever way we can.  A good place to start would be letting us know if your place of work has any job openings.  We could really use your help in providing references and recommendations.  

-B.H.

Accents Affect the Lives of Non-English Speakers

According to a recent study in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, people who have stronger accents are more likely to be judged as less trustworthy than those who are native English speakers. Follow the below link to read more on the study:

Americans with accents judged less credible than native speakers

This study is helpful in understanding why some refugees may be viewed by Americans, or other countries around the world, with distrust or fear. 

-A.H.

Putting Faces to Refugees

While statistics, charts, and current news keep people updated on the situations of refugees around the world, oftentimes we forget that refugees are actually people who have been, for the most part, through some pretty terrible and traumatizing events. Alixandra Fazzina, a photo journalist with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, has captured the journey, faces, and hardships of refugees in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia. Follow this link to see the entire gallery: Alixandra Fazzina Photo Gallery

Global Neighborhood wishes to represent refugees in a way that is dignifying, and that paints a true picture of what life as a refugee is really like. 

-A.H.

Al-Bashir Charged with Genocide over Darfur

Recently, the International Criminal Court (ICC) formally charged the President of Sudan, Omar Al-Bashir with Genocide.  This is in addition to the previous charges leveled against him of War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity.

If you've been watching the news at all in the last 3 or 4 years, you know at least a little about what is going on in Darfur.  Arab militias armed by the government are storming into the Western region of Dafur, raping, killing, pillaging, and burning.  Hundreds of Thousands have been forced to flee.

Personally, it is welcome news that the ICC has formally charged Al-Bashir, but I also doubt the ICC's capacity to enforce its warrant and bring about real justice.  Hopefully I am proved wrong and the West will prove that they will not allow another African genocide to be carried out with no interference.  

In related gossip, the word in the refugee community is that Darfuris are now being placed into the UNHCR pipeline for western resettlement.  In other words, we could be seeing Al-Bashir's victims here in Spokane in the next year or two.  Let's give them a warm welcome…

Read the full story HERE

-B.H.

The Difference Between Inconvenience and Disaster

Whether you are a 5th generation upper class American or a refugee who's been here only a few months, some bad things are bound to happen to you.  Regardless of how prepared you are, some events are simply inevitable.  Take for instance, a car crash.

Driving to your job before dawn you are preparing for another day's work.  Your wife and child are still at home sleeping, and you wish you could be with them, but you have work that supports them, and for that you are thankful.

Then, out of nowhere, a car blasts through a red light and smashes into your car.  You have no time to swerve or respond.  The airbag smashes into your face, only slightly lessening the whiplash to your neck.

You come out of a daze to find the police on the scene, writing the other driver a ticket.  As you are helped into an ambulance you see the police officer writing the other driver a second ticket – she didn't have insurance.

This accident could have happened to any one of us.  What differs is our capacities to respond to situations like this when they occur.  This accident did actually happen recently to a refugee that Global Neighborhood is working with.  He was doing everything right.  The car he was driving had been purchased with his own hard earned money.  He had insurance, he was driving the speed limit, he was obeying the rules.  Because of the accident he ended up in the hospital, missed a few days of work, and had his car totaled.  Now he cannot bring his child to day-care or get to work because the buses don't run early enough to get him there on time.  To make matters worse, since the offending driver did not carry insurance, he is offered no reimbursement for his car, lost income, or medical expenses.

I think about what I would have done if I had been in his place.  It certainly would have been just as bad of an accident, but my capacity to respond would have been much greater.  I have the $10 extra each month to afford "uninsured motorist" coverage on my insurance plan.  I have a whole community of friends who could help me and my family while we're recuperating.  I have a flexible enough job schedule to accommodate a few missed days.  I speak English well enough to file a complete police report, and when stuff really gets messy, I understand the court system well enough to figure out how to sue for damages.  I have the capacity to respond to bad situations in a way that ensures justice.  My refugee friend, however, does not.  His situation is such that he does not yet have the income, language, or cultural knowledge to set things straight.  

For me, this event would be a massive inconvenience, but little more.  For my refugee friend, an event like this could end up being a life-changing disaster.

-B.H.

Book Review: When Helping Hurts

What confronted with a need of a refugee or poor individual, what is the first question that you ask? For many Americans, that first question is "How much money do I need to give?" While this is a valid question, and can quickly address a physical need, sometimes, and, arguable, most of the time, meeting a physical need with money can be more detrimental to the person in need than if you had never given anything at all. 

This is one of the main arguments in a book called When Helping Hurts, by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert. This book is an eye-opening exploration of needs assessment in Western societies. If you are working with any sort of needy population, or doing community development of some kind, we would highly recommend this book.

Corbett and Fikkert discuss the need for discernment when we help other people. One of the most striking points of the book is summed up the need to assess what is an appropriate action in a particular situation. The process of discernment is broken down into 3 parts- Relief, Rehabilitation, and Development. Relief is described as "stopping the bleeding"-the provider gives assistance (often material) to the receiver, who is largely incapable of helping themselves at that time. Rehabilitation is when a provider works with the victim to restore people and their communities to the positive elements of their precrisis conditions. Development is the process of ongoing change, where both the "helpers" and the "helped" are working together. Development is not done to people or for people but with people. The authors state that "One of the biggest mistakes that North American churches make- by far- is in applying relief in situations in which rehabilitation or development is the appropriate intervention" (p 105). 

This idea is shaping the work of Global Neighborhood. While, in a few situations, crisis management and relief is necessary, there are far more times where rehabilitation and development should be taking place. No- these are not the most time-efficient ways of getting things done, as they usually have to happen over a long period of time and may need more money than relief, but, in the end, are usually more sustainable and empowering for people. Pretty neat.

-A.H.

Employment Hardships

For many refugees in Spokane (and, probably everywhere else in the U.S.), finding a job is as easy as finding a needle in a haystack. This isn't to say that refugees are in any way inferior in knowledge or lacking in work ability. Most American employers don't recognize a degree in Nepali Literature, or a Master's in Political Science from the University of Baghdad. With many Americans competing for blue-collar, entry-level jobs at hotels and factories, an employer will probably take an English-speaking, mildly educated America over a level-3 English-speaking, overly educated Burmese refugee. This isn't to bash American employers. Really, it's probably a lot easier to hire someone who understands all of the directions and tasks being asked of them when they are spoken quickly one time. 

However, this doesn't diminish the fact that refugees still need jobs. Most of them are eager, hard-working individuals, some with or without education, who are in need of a way to support their family. Global Neighborhood, World Relief, Work Source, and other organizations are working to help refugees find jobs. In this economy, the job scene could be compared to the badlands of South Dakota- utterly dismal. 

We have helped hundreds of refugees search for jobs. Some have applied for over 20 jobs per week, and have continued to be unemployed for over 4 months. At the end of these 4 months, many people want to give up the search. One Bhutanese man came to our office, and, with tears of fear and dismay in his eyes, started to laugh, stating that he couldn't even be hired as a taxi driver here (considered a lower-class job in Bhutan).

In the midst of a lot of disappointment and discouragement on our part, and, of course, on the part of many refugees, we hold onto to some degree of hope. We see the skills that refugees bring to Spokane- strong work ethics, an eagerness to serve, crafts skills, construction and farming experience. We trust God has a plan for each of these refugees, and pray hard for them to find jobs soon.

Genocide Leader Arrested

Earlier today, it was announced that one of the men suspected to be among the leaders of the 1994 Rwandan genocide was arrested as he entered Uganda.  Jean-Bosco Uwinkindi was one of the 11 most wanted men after the horrible ethnic violence that killed over 800,000 in 100 days.  While Uwinkindi has pleaded "not guilty" to the charges, it is unlikely that he will be exonerated with the amount of evidence against him. (Read the full story HERE.)

Though it is good news that justice is moving forward, this arrest also displays one of the most depressing aspects of the Rwandan genocide – that Christians killed Christians in Rwanda.  You see, Jean-Bosco Uwinkindi was a priest.  He is accused of directing the murder of thousands of fellow Christians that fled to his church for sanctuary during the violence.  Part of the evidence against him are the 2,000 corpses that were found strewn around his church building after the violence abated.

What can we learn from this?  Though issues like this are too messy to be often discussed in the Church, I believe it is of vital importance think through this and talk about it.  After all, it did actually happen (and not just in this one case, either).  I believe that a good place to start is by admitting that everyone, everywhere (Christian or not) is influenced by the beliefs and tensions that surround them in society.  We must be willing to confess, discuss, and heal these divisions openly while there is peace so that in times of unrest the Church will contain no spark of hate that can be fanned into flame.

-B.H.

Review: Of Beetles and Angels

We often have people come to us asking for resources to help better understand the lives of refugees coming to the United States.  In response to that, we are going to be posting the occasional book review here on our Website for people to look over.  These books are a great place to start learning about refugees.  Of course, an even better place would be learning from refugees themselves, which can be done by volunteering…

The first book is titled, "Of Beetles and Angels" and was given to us by one of our stellar volunteers.

Of Beetles and Angels is written by an Ethiopian refugee named Mawi Asgedom.  The book tells Mawi's story, beginning with his life in Ethiopia.  It follows his travels to a refugee camp and his eventual resettlement in America.  It goes on to highlight many of the major cultural struggles that he and his family faced, how they overcame them, and what they learned (and taught) along the way.  Mawi eventually got a scholarship to Harvard where he graduated at the head of his class.  If only that could be the outcome for every refugee!

There were a lot of lessons to be learned from this great little book, but the one that stuck out most to me was how 20 years after the fact, Mawi could still identify the American friends who came into the life of his family to provide love, support, and care as they struggled with their difficult transition.  In the book, he thanked them over and over again.  This reinforced again our belief that relationships are the most powerful means to transforming the lives of refugees in our community.  I highly recommend reading this book.  

If you want to learn more, or if you want to purchase the book, it can be found HERE, on Amazon.com

-B.H.

World Relief’s New Director

Global Neighborhood staff would like to welcome Mark Kadel as the new director of World Relief, Spokane! Mark has done some pretty incredible work with World Relief in North Carolina, and we look forward to seeing how God will use him in his new position at World Relief. We are currently working on ways to better establish Global Neighborhood's partnership with World Relief. Mark is an advocate for long-term support of refugees. World Relief was recently notified of a cut in the length of time they are contracted to work with refugees (cut from 180 days to 90 days). More than ever, long-term support and commitment to refugees is needed in Spokane. Global Neighborhood is happy to help these refugees, and is eager to see how God will shape this newly defined partnership with World Relief in Spokane.