The Refugee Population
A refugee is someone who has fled from his or her home country and cannot return because he or she has a well-founded fear of persecution based on religion, race, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group" (state.gov).
After scrounging together all the money and valuable items your whole family posses in order to purchase a pair of cheap plane tickets that you could barely get your hands on, you pack your family and all of your belongings. You now can carry yourselves in mere suitcase since the other pieces have been abandoned along the journey, sparing only the most precious items. You and your family get onto an airplane for the first time, buckle your seat belts, and listen too intently to every word that comes out of the flight attendants mouths. The sensation of flying is unlike anything you've experienced before. You are gliding thousands of feet above the ground in a metal projectile. You doze off to sleep lulled by the gentle sailing. Time elapses while you rest and suddenly you are awoken by the jolting of landing the plane.
You step off of your air plane into a new world. A fresh life lies before you.
You follow the crowd to the belt that spits your luggage out at you. The meager pieces that belong to your family are collected in the hustle of the buzz terminal. You smile to see all of your family, weary from the journey, all together and in a place unthreatened by your previous tormentors. Then you try to figure out where to go next and realize, there is not a single sign in the entire airport put into your native language. Once again you are lost abandoned in the great unknown.
At that point a refugee and any of their family that has accompanied them, must begin to integrate into American society, without a an inclination of the new customs. The process of becoming a refugee in the United States is limited to 90 days of government aid. Within these 3 months a refugee is expected to be assigned to a specific in an area where they then have to learn the transportation systems, get legal identification, adjust to the new culture, overcome the language barrier, and find a job so that when the 90 day period is up, they have some hope to maintain a successful life in their new country. Due to the numerous things that can rarely be accomplished in this given time, like learning enough English to get a job, most refugees fall into a cycle of government handouts if they are not successfully connected to another organization that will assist in the transition period.
"Though the Department of State’s Reception and Placement program is limited to the first three months after arrival, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement works through the states and nongovernmental organizations to provide longer-term cash and medical assistance, as well as language and social services" (state.gov).
The Department of State’s Reception and Placement program financially aids a refugee in the first few months that they are in the US. The money is in a simple lump sum and no further aid is given. "Most of these funds go toward the refugees’ rent, furniture, food, and clothing, as well as to pay the costs of agency staff salaries, office space and other resettlement-related expenses that are not donated or provided by volunteers" (state.gov).
The transition from a complete foreigner into a settled refugee can go well, if one is able to settle, learn quickly, and acquire a stable job. Unfortunately, without additional help from an outside organization like Upcycle Life, most refugees fall into the perpetuating cycle of government financial reliance. If the refugees do not gain their independence within those first few months, they are most likely to never escape the dependance cycle. The requirements on refugees is a continuous process because within a year "refugees are expected to apply for permanent residence (commonly referred to as a green card) and, after five years in the United States, a refugee is eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship" (state.gov). In contrast, if an organization or ministry can come alongside a refugee individual, family, or community and supplement their language and job skills, the potential for them to become upstanding members of society is quite high. Examples of this success can be seen in the stories of the members of Upcycle Life.
As we see in the inner city of Charlotte, high populations of refugees from countries such as Vietnam, Nepal, Bhurma, and Bhutan have found a home in close proximity to each other. With the additional aid of organizations like Upcycle Life and their partner Project 658, the refugee community as a whole in the Charlotte area is thriving. There are various opportunities for refugee families to grow in their skills, find community, receive assistance, and explore job opportunities.
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