This story was reported for San Diego News Network on March 24, 2009.
Wars of race, religion, political ideologies and more have sent many of the world’s refugees to the U.S. to resettle. As one of the top 15 resettlement cities in the country, San Diego is expected to see another wave of refugees arrive this year.
Among those already in San Diego is Samar Alsafarai. She and her husband Mohammed, both gynecologists from Baghdad, received an evacuation notice from the United Nations on Feb. 12, 2008. Because of the War on Terror, the Alsafarais and their two sons had three days to uproot and find a new home outside of Iraq.
“It was quite a good life, very peaceful,” Alsafarai said. “But when the war began, life became less secure and became restricted and limited.”
That’s where Catholic Charities stepped in. The Alsafarais are among the 884 refugees who accepted assistance from Catholic Charities in 2008. Six days after leaving Iraq, the Alsafarais arrived in the U.S. as San Diego’s newest residents, while their parents opted to stay in Baghdad, and their extended family resettled elsewhere.
They wanted to stay, but felt forced to relocate because of the violence.
“If I had the choice, I would have stayed,” Alsafarai said. “But I wasn’t given the choice. Now we have family in Australia, New Zealand and Canada.”
Today, the Alsafarais work at El Centro Regional Medical Center and plan to complete the necessary tests to become licensed gynecologists in the U.S. Fourteen-year-old Abdullah completed his English as a Second Language (ESL) course in two weeks while 11-year-old Taha finished in four months. Alsafarai said her family has adapted well to American culture and lifestyle and they intend to reside in San Diego evermore.
“We really love it here – the system and the people. For our boys, their future is here,” Alsafarai said.
Catholic Charities and three other San Diego agencies are qualified to aid refugees while obtaining allocated federal aid. Two of them expect to relocate more this year. International Rescue Committee is expected to assist 950 refugees for 2009; the number is more than twice as much as the IRC was allocated to assist in 2007 at 450, development manager Sharron Darrough said. Catholic Charities estimates it will assist about 1,030 refugees this fiscal year – also a jump from 284 in 2007 and 884 in 2008, the charity’s refugee services department director Michael McKay said.
As with most refugees who arrive in the U.S., the Alsafarais expended programs offered by Catholic Charities as part of the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement plan, according to McKay. At the IRC, Kam Sue Theing has grasped the opportunity to learn English at their “First Things First” program.
Theing, who arrived from Burma in 2006, is a member of the ethnic minority group, Karen. Since arriving in San Diego, her husband has found employment as Electronic Surface Mounted Industries – a company, which has employed numerous refugees, according to Colleen Krause of the IRC. Like the Alsafarais, the Theings have two sons, who have adapted well to American culture. Theing’s sons, age 9 and 12, have great hopes for their futures in the U.S.
“They want to go to college and be doctors,” Theing said.
Rukia Mohammed is also active in the “First Things First” program. From Somalia, her husband and five sons arrived in San Diego in 2006. She and her family left Somalia after the civil war began and four of her children were killed in front of her, she said candidly. For the next five years, she couldn’t recall much of her life and resided in a Kenyan refugee camp until they came to the United States. Mohammed said she is now happy about the current opportunities bestowed upon her family.
“My life is good. My children go to school and their futures are good,” Mohammed said. “The teachers [of the IRC] are always helping me. They help everyday and are very special.”
Although Alsafarai, Theing and Mohammed have resettled comfortably in San Diego , IRC’s Darrough said many refugee families are struggling because of a lack of federal aid.
“The per capita funding has not changed in almost 30 years and the ORR doesn’t factor in today’s cost of living,” Darrough said. “We’re having to rely more and more on the community to fund us.”
McKay also said those involved in Catholic Charities’ programs are facing tough financial times.
“The water line is at their nose and they don’t have wiggle room,” McKay said. “It’s [ORR] thinly-funded. So, the heart is very much there but what’s not available is the money to maintain the system.”
Although U.S.-sponsored-refugees are given financial assistance their first eight months in the country, Darrough and McKay said most refugees, including their clients, are hardworking people.
“The [U.S.] government has a spirit and commitment to provide for refugees and it’s our responsibility to act on that commitment,” McKay said. “The program is orderly and it works – to get them off of welfare and contribute to our society.”
McKay said that refugees are also often viewed as homogenous, in terms of their backgrounds, when in reality, they differ from person to person. He points out that numerous Iraqi refugees are educated and left skilled careers. In turn, many Burmese refugees lived rural settings.
“If we all knew their personal story, we might think differently,” McKay said.
Since 1975, more than 2.6 million refugees have resettled in the U.S. with more than 750,000 resettling in California, according to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. In San Diego, approximately 33,976 refugees resettled in the city between fiscal years 1980 and 2004, according to the Migration Policy Institute.
Hoa Quach is the political editor for the San Diego News Network.