They say that if you look at a picture at a different angle, something new will speak to you. Maybe you didn’t catch that shade of blue in the sky when you looked at it before or you didn’t realize the true emotion of someone’s mannerisms until you looked at it in a different angle. Last year when I was serving as an ESL teacher in Chicago, I was moved by this phrase, “Insha’Allah” which means “God willing.” I think I have a different perspective of that phrase after some of my experiences in Atlanta this year.
As
an employment specialist, there are a lot of different moving parts that I need
to control at the same time in order for a refugee to be happy. “Is that job
close to home? Is it accessible by bus? Does it pay well? Can I work second
shift?” are a few of the many questions I get asked in deciding if this is a
job that a particular refugee wants. It gets tough sometimes— having to reject
a refugee’s desires to work in a sushi restaurant because you know that they
will not be able to live off of the unjust wages that most workers working in
Asian restaurants in Georgia receive. Sometimes, with all my might, prayers and
power, I am not able to sway refugees in the direction that I perceive as
correct. Are these the type of outcomes that God wills? Am I doing something
wrong in not trying harder? There’s an incredible amount of pressure trying not
to “drop the ball” on these refugees. At any given time, I am helping out 30-35
refugees, at different points in their lives, find gainful employment in order
to be self-sufficient, a term that is highly taken for granted by many people
in this country.
I’ve
realized that there are many aspects of life that are taken for granted by
Americans in general. I have come to this realization on a deeper level after
the catastrophic attacks in Paris. I had no idea that I would continue to be mentally
impacted by this event for weeks and months afterward.
Above is a photograph I took before the Paris attacks of
a wonderful little picture showing Atlanta endorsing the lives of refugees moving and
resettling here, making Atlanta their home. It says, “Refugees, Welcome… Bring
your families.”
Here is a picture I took of the same place, three days after the Paris attacks.
As
I drove past this, my heart sank. Not to mention, I’m living in a country that
has condemned not only Syrian refugees, but all refugees. Syrian refugees were
being denied to come into this country, to receive benefits, food stamps, to
live. I thought, “What a disgusting moment in time for America.”
It was a rough time to wake up every morning and go to work
knowing that I might be hated by many, many people that don’t even know me
around the country. It was hard for me to also hear that fellow resettlement
agencies had received death threats and cryptic phone calls in the weeks
following the Paris attacks. I was wondering at the time if God willed these
incredulous acts and responses, and if some kind of devastating attack on my resettlement
agency would happen because of such hate towards ones that are what, escaping
fear themselves and the ones helping them rebuild a new life? I also remembered
that God also gave each individual free will. To me, the thought of each person
having free will allowed me to be peaceful just the slightest bit and continue
my work every day. I know that God will protect not only me but also all of us
trying to rebuild the lives of those displaced.
To make it even better, during those 4-6 weeks of what I
want to consider as a dark moral time in America, I had the incredible honor to
place a Syrian refugee in a job. That was the moment in time that made
everything worth it. And it continues to drive my passion to continue to help
these refugees gain employment, live a life that they deserve to live and not
have to fear anymore.
This is a time in America to become more educated about who
lives around us and about the refugees that come to this country to live a
better life, to live a life without fear. It is not the time to be shunning the
existence of those who haven’t even committed crimes. If things were to turn
for the worst in our own country, I’m sure that many of us wouldn’t want to be
denied entrance into other countries. I continue to be blessed everyday with
refugees that come in with different stories and journeys with the same common
goal. They want to be able to provide for their family. They want to be able to
know the feeling of living how an average American feels, without fear. So I
will continue to advocate for refugees and to be their rock and their helper in
their continuing journeys, Insha’Allah. But I know that God will always will my
actions.
For more information
about refugee resettlement and other services Catholic Charities Atlanta
provides, please visit catholiccharitiesatlanta.org
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| Both Chris Bargeron and Holly Sammons, work in Catholic Charities Atlanta serving in refugee resettlement. |
Proud of you and all you do. Don't give up!
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