By Sarah Field
Last semester I had the privilege of tutoring adults at a Refugee Development Center. At an orientation session before I started work, I was informed that there are between 400 and 700 refugees resettled in the Lansing, Michigan area each year. The difference between an immigrant and a refugee is that a refugee never planned to move to another country but because of circumstances out of their control they were obligated to leave. I heard about the horrible conditions refugees come out of and how they initially view America as a place where all their dreams will come true. However, they arrive with almost nothing, most have poor accommodation, and start out with a financial debt to pay back the UN for their plane tickets. Before they arrive in America, refugees are given a very brief orientation (from three hours to several days), covering topics like how to shake hands, how to speak “survival English,” and how to use basic kitchen appliances. After arrival, they are offered resettlement support (food, shelter, clothing, job search services and school enrollment support). One challenge of the resettlement process, however, is that all refugees are expected to be self-sufficient and independent in a short period of time.
The transition coming here can be very hard. Some children experience humiliation, feeling like an outcast at school, and some high school students are forced to drop out of school so they can work to pay the family bills because their parents don’t know any English, so can’t get a job. We heard about a 16 year-old girl who had come in crying because she had a paper to write that night, was late for work, and had to be at the hospital to translate for her sick mother. Trying to juggle a minimum wage job, feed her family, pay the rent, sort out transport, learn the language and go to school was just too much for her to handle.
At the end of the orientation session I was in tears because my heart was just broken with compassion for these people and I was now motivated to be any support that I could!
Education is highly encouraged for refugees. This is the only hope they have to move forward and get out of poverty. Many of the adults that I tutored were taking classes to advance their English – until their English is at a point where they can write college level papers and comprehend their textbooks, refugees cannot start studying for their degree. You can imagine how this is a very frustrating process for many of them, so our tutoring services are crucial.
I will always remember one man in particular.
His name is Hassan and he is deaf. In order to communicate we had to write notes back and forth to each other. He was further ahead in his English than the others I tutored but he still had a hard time comprehending the course material he needed to learn. As communication was really difficult for him I often saw tutors try to avoid working with him.
One day I walked in and he was sitting by himself, so I sat next to him. I wrote a note introducing myself and asked if I could help him. He nodded yes, and straight away started writing on a piece of paper, explaining himself in an almost defensive way with his perfect, yet misspelled, penmanship. He seemed very eager to explain himself to me before we got started. He told me his name was Hassan and that he was a refugee from southern Sudan. He was quite on edge at this point, assuring me right away that he was a very important man in his country. This proved to be true when he told me that he was a General in the Sudanese army and at one point worked as a body-guard protecting President George Bush when he came to Sudan to work with the UN regarding the civil war. It was through the relationship he built with President Bush that he was able to come to America. He also explained to me that he was a lawyer in his country and wanted to pursue the necessary education in America to continue in his work, but had a long way to go, especially at the age of 62. He also opened up to me saying that he was really struggling with finding a job as he was just fired in his previous one; someone had picked a fight with him and made it out to be his fault. They fired him immediately and he was sure that his race and disability had a lot to do with it.
In all of this, I was able to listen and reassure him that in all our continued work together I would treat him with the utmost respect. I made sure to go out of my way to do so, and was able to even pray for him. He seemed to be struggling with a lot of bitterness (and perhaps culture shock) with those who had mistreated him. We had an intense conversation about grace and forgiveness as well.
The biggest thing I learned from my time volunteering at the center was to be very sensitive and aware that refugees have very difficult situations and respect and patience is vital in working with them. I can’t imagine how I would feel putting myself in their shoes. Every day before I walked in I would pray that I
could just be a light in someone’s life to show them a glimpse of heaven and help encourage them, that even though the end goal of their education seemed incredibly far away, they are more than capable to do it! It was such an honor to work and serve those who are struggling in my community rather than just
serving my own duties—even just for a few hours a week.
Serving like that was really hard at some points. For me it meant sacrificing a lot – and even giving up dinner some days. But it was so rewarding not to let my own busyness get in the way of serving others.
The book of Matthew mentions the final judgment when Jesus returns and what Matthew describes as “Seperating the sheep and the goats.” I find this really challenging and find myself praying for God to give me an overflow of compassion to those who need it in my area. I want to be a sheep!
Matthew 25:31-40
When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why: I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I
was in prison and you came to me.’
Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’
Let’s ask God how we can serve our communities, in little or big ways, and ask Him to give us sensitive hearts to those who are often overlooked and hurting.
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