The life of a refugee has to be one of the most difficult and dangerous as far as I am concerned. In Africa it is more likely than in any other place to one day wake up and find yourself in this kind of situation. Countries like Somalia and Sudan are just two of the few where it is more common. In the blink of an eye a village can be attacked and burned down, and just like that the inhabitants have no choice but to get up and run far away to some sort of safety, sometimes even losing family members among the chaos. Half of the battle is surviving the long walk to the neighboring country, but the second half of the battle is arriving in a new country and finding the basic living necessities while having limited capability of communication.
Of course there are special camps that house refugees, but as the saying goes, there’s no place like home. Life in a refugee camp is better than nothing, but it is also similar to living in a prison because you get the basic necessities like a place to live in and some food to eat. Outside of that, you are surrounded by a lot of people who don’t know you or your language. There is also still a fear of once again having to leave the current camp and starting a whole new journey to a new place.
http://tribexmarketing.com/events/africans-in-chicago-cnn-inside-africa-reports/
Eventually, some organizations began to form partnerships in order to help integrate some of these refugees into cities across the United States. One such organization is the Ethiopian Community Association of Chicago, which was formed in 1984 along with support from the United African Association. As of now there are approximately 180,000 African refugees living in Illinois, making it one of the states with largest refugee communities. Not surprisingly, given Chicago’s diversity and growth as a global city, it is the city with the biggest population of immigrants in the nation. Therefore, it makes it a great place to bring refugees in order to help make them feel accepted.
Acceptance and assimilation is crucial for the refugees because they are in a whole new world upon arriving anywhere in the United States. Before coming over, refugees are promised homes, jobs, educations and basically the opportunity to live the American Dream. After only a couple of months they figure out that in order to stay in their homes they will have to provide for themselves and pay for all of their things regardless of their inabilities to even speak English at this point. Apparently this is something that is not made clear to them from the beginning, which becomes a problem for these unprepared individuals both financially and emotionally.
As for the children, they are brought up with the notion that education is very important and they are usually very motivated to learn. As they begin to attend school in the U.S. it becomes difficult to fit in given their accent, customs, and maybe even appearance. For anybody these are reasons enough to feel discouraged, but it doesn’t end here because these students will often become outkasts even in the classroom when even teachers ignore them.
http://www.unhcr.org/50a0fc4b9.html
Even under such circumstances, we do see that from their upbringing, and the lessons they learn from their experiences as refugees that these children learn to persevere. When something as important as their education is on the line they will find a way to muscle through it. This is a characteristic that refugees carry on throughout their lives and bring to the workplace once they are given the opportunity to do so.
If not in already establishes businesses, the refugees will find a way to use their talents through their own businesses. The south side of Chicago is becoming home to more and more of these businesses which are owned and operated by African refugees and immigrants. In this way they are not only providing us with hard working people, they are also bringing with them a culture with many great characteristics such as food, music, and friendliness.
In the future I can really see a more back and forth interaction between Americans and African refugees that will help improve the lives of all people involved. While Americans have the resources and certain advantages from being citizens, the refugees bring a new dimension that combines positive vibes with perseverance. Above all, in its quest to become global, I think it is always good to be able to bring as many different kinds of people to the city as long as they want to work hard and innovate.
References:
https://docs.google.com/a/hawk.iit.edu/file/d/0B2PW1O5nZNjAb0Y1YS1mXzlpVFE/edit
http://tribexmarketing.com/events/africans-in-chicago-cnn-inside-africa-reports/
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