From the Congo to Concord

 

            Throughout this unit on the Social and Economic side of Human Rights, we have read and discussed different ethnic and racial groups, such as poor whites, African-Americans, and illegal immigrants. One group of people in America who we have not discussed, and one whom I have had a significant amount of exposure to, are the Africans who are being brought to the United States from refugee camps in Somalia, Rwanda, The Congo, and other war and famine ridden nations. Unfortunately, the refugees who are brought to America are often simply put into communities with little support or guidance in the ways of living and prospering.

My hometown of Concord, New Hampshire is one of the cities where the Government and Lutheran World Services place refugees. In the last few years, hundreds of “Displaced Persons” from Africa have moved into the city. For many of these people, it is the first time they have ever seen paved roads, stores with food, or even over-weight people. There are a significant number of refugees who have never seen doorknobs, stairs, or a kitchen sink. Recent immigrants being struck and killed by cars is a common news story, for many Africans have no concept of safely crossing the street, because they have never had to in their lives. There is a cruel joke in Concord that drivers must be careful to “Dodge the frost heaves and the Africans.”

The major problems are the inadequate social and educational networks that have been set up for the refugees. When the refugees arrive in Concord, usually straight off the plane from Africa, the Government gives them $1600 for housing, a debit card with a limited amount of money on it for food shopping, and not much else. While social workers do as much as they can, the number of social workers is insufficient to handle the increasing number of immigrants. It is very hard for immigrants to find work, for very few of them can speak even rudimentary English. In Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich states that, “Unlike many low-wage workers, I have the further advantage of being white and a native English speaker.” (Ehrenreich 6).

My mother, a 4^th grade teacher at a public elementary school, has first hand experience with the difficulty of educating the refugees. A recent example is that a month ago, a new refugee child was assigned to her class. This girl is from Burundi, a neighboring country of Rwanda, and was born in a refugee camp. The girl speaks no English except, “Hello”, and she has never been to school before. There are only a few ESL aids for the whole school district, so she can only meet with them once or twice a week. According to “No Child Left Behind”, this girl must take the same exams and do the same work as a normal 4^th grader, and because the school district could not keep up with the standards set by “No Child Left Behind” it lost a significant portion of its federal aid funding. This girl now spends her days coloring with crayons in the back of the room because there is nothing else for her to do.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt once said that, “A new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all – regardless of station, race, or creed.” (Sunstein 13). I believe that more should be done to help the refugees who are brought to our country to begin a new life. The money that is currently being used to fund the war in Iraq for a single day could be used to hire many new social workers and start adaptation programs. The “Sink or Swim” mentality currently in place does not work if the person has literally never seen a pool before.