5 Things I Learned from the Refugees I was Supposed to Teach
When I was assigned as a missionary to serve in the Salt Lake City Mission, I thought the next eighteen months would be straightforward. That is, until my mission president told me I would spend six of those months speaking Swahili and serving African refugees in the area. Little did I know that they would teach me more than I ever taught them. In fact, I knew almost nothing about refugees beforehand. Maybe I can help clear up some misconceptions that I used to hold.
1. Refugees and immigrants are not the same.
I should have already known this, but I had grouped refugees and immigrants into one category. In reality, immigrants move to a new country for employment, education, or to reconnect with families, regardless of their background or country of origin. Refugees left their countries to flee danger and protect their families. Their path to their new countries and the laws concerning each are very different.
2. Refugees aren’t scary like the media makes them out to be.
Political news outlets have a lot to say about the dangers of letting in so many refugees. This has led to a misconception that refugees from certain countries or religions are dangerous. In reality, the people I met from Afghanistan, Sudan, and other countries around the world were extremely kind and welcoming. They’d give you the shirt off their back. I met far more rude and scary Americans than refugees.
3. Many are very well-educated.
In a church meeting, one man stood to speak in French (translated into a few different languages). I learned that he used to be a university professor in Africa who fled his war-torn country for his own safety. Danger doesn’t care who’s who—it affects everyone. When we meet people who don’t speak English in America, we often make assumptions about their education or intelligence. However, many refugees are very intelligent and educated, and most that I met spoke 3-4 languages on average.
4. They have so much to offer our communities.
Most of the people who worked with us had once been refugees themselves. They had come to America as children or teenagers and learned English in school. Many are college-educated and working in large businesses. They pass on the service they received to help the others that are coming, while contributing to our economy. They take citizenship seriously, and often literally have their doors open to their neighbors. (I heard many complaints about Americans always closing their doors so their neighbors can’t stop to say hi.)
5. There is more that our communities can do to help.
The people I met while serving and teaching refugees for six months taught me about giving, being neighborly, and seeking to improve our lives. There are ways that we can help this community in return, some big and some small. That is the mission of the IRC, and we invite you to join us.
For more information, visit https://www.rescue.org/how-to-help.