Thoughts on Immigrant/Refugee Communities

Lately, I have been volunteering at a local library with the Adult Learning Center here in my neighborhood in Minneapolis. I have greatly enjoyed being able to help people seeking to improve their lives through language learning, GED preparation and citizenship exam preparation. Since this neighborhood is comprised of a large number of Somali, Hmong and other non-English speaking people, much of my time is spent in working on their abilities to read, speak, grammar and vocabulary all in English. As I have been working with these people, I am always curious of their personal stories of coming to this place. Many of these people have left their countries alone and with almost nothing. Often, the reason they have left their countries is because of unsafe conditions through civil wars, political conditions and inhumane economic conditions.

I met one young man who left Somalia four years ago because of the civil war. He first arrived in Fargo, North Dakota in late October. He had never touched snow, but had only seen it in movies. He had no idea it was even cold or wet. If you know what winters in North Dakota are like, you understand that this young man was going to be about as surprised as possible once winter came. He told me of one other young Somali man he lived with in Fargo who broke his arm falling on ice as he was chasing after a bus to take him home. This is just one story of the countless accounts of immigrants and refugees who have come to the U.S. to better their lives (or even survive past 30 - the median age in Somalia is 17.6 years old as compared to the 36.8 median in the U.S.)

Instead of offering compassion and help, many of the people in this country will, at best, turn away from these people, and at worst claim they are all criminals and demonize them. I have seen the people of this country debate such things like having closed borders to "prevent" terrorism, rounding up all undocumented immigrants in this country to send them back to their country of origin, police that feel it is their responsibility to end immigration and even guarding the border with Mexico and killing anything they see. I just don't understand this attack and real hatred. Unfortunately, the human condition is flawed and we are taught to hate "the other" out of fear and mistrust.

When are we going to move beyond this as a country? We can we actually come to see the beauty and love in these people who are different than us, but certainly are deserving of our hatred?

In every community we might find ourselves in in this country, there are people in need around us - people who are different and cause anxiety within us. Reach out to them in love as we are all those who share this world.