Refugees Displaced by Deadly Storm Find Support from EMM Affiliate

On June 1, Essam Alrubaei was leaving his West Springfield, Massachusetts apartment on his way to work when he encountered something unforeseen that was about to change his life.

A neighbor alerted him that the weather forecast was calling for a tornado, and Alrubaei rushed back into his home and sheltered in the basement with his two sons, Yousif, age 2, and Mustafa, age 5, while the building above them shook from the powerful winds.

“When I’m back inside, I feel the house moving. It’s terrible. I feel all the house coming down, but I’m still inside the basement,” Alrubaei said. “My son, he cried so much. The ceiling, the tornado brings it inside my house. I feel, like, an explosion.”

Alrubaei is a refugee from Iraq. He worked for a company that contracted with the U.S. government and in 2009 was threatened and forced to flee. He was resettled in West Springfield with assistance from Lutheran Social Services of New England , an EMM affiliate.

After the tornado and the resulting terror passed, Alrubaei went out into the street, where he looked on a scene that evoked Baghdad in wartime.

“I go outside and I see everything is destroyed. That makes me remember my country. It’s like war,” Alrubaei said. “I don’t know what I can do. It’s very difficult for us. It’s so hard for everybody.”

The impact of the tornado has been widely reported in the weeks since the deadly storm struck the Springfield area. Among those most affected were the members of the refugee community, representing many nationalities, who have been resettled in West Springfield over the last decade.

Mohammed Najeeb is the long-term relief coordinator for Lutheran Social Services and the person in charge of coordinating services to the nearly 50 refugee families – including 22 who are current LSS clients - who lost their homes in the storm. Many, like the Alrubaeis, lost their cars, apartments and possessions.

Najeeb said that LSS provided emergency shelter in their office space immediately after the storm before beginning the Herculean task of helping nearly 200 individuals find short-term and long-term housing, replace essential possessions, coordinate with employers and register with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other aid providers.

In six weeks of nearly non-stop work, Najeeb said LSS staff and volunteers were able to help find stable, secure solutions for all affected by the storm while maintaining services to the agency’s refugee clients.

But he said that many of those affected by the storm are still dealing with the physical, mental and emotional results of being once again displaced.

“Refugee clients come to me and say, ‘Why does God keep on doing this to me? Why is it happening to me again?’” Najeeb said. “And I say, 'That’s why you have good people like us, good neighbors to help you.”

Donors, volunteers and other agencies have worked extremely hard to help those displaced overcome the tornado’s devastation and begin to normalize their lives once again. And Najeeb noted that LSS and others will continue to provide support as new challenges emerge.

“We don’t want these people to walk out our doors and be forgotten,” Najeeb said. That’s why America is so great. We have good communities, strong communities and people with good hearts.”

To learn how you can help those affected by the June 1 tornado, please visit www.lssne.org.

Minnesota agency shares stories of refugee clients in new book

In June, the Minnesota Council of Churches Refugee Services office celebrated a major milestone; the publication of their first book.

This Much I can Tell You; Stories of Courage and Hope from Refugees in Minnsota is a compliation of narratives from refugees resettled by MCC, Episcopal Migration Ministries' affiliate in the Twin Cities.

The book features the compelling stories of 18 refugees hailing from nine countries as they journeyed from persecution and violence overseas to lives of possibility in Minnesota.

MCC celebrated the publication of the book - released by Beaver's Pond Press - with a reception and reading June 20, coinciding with World Refugee Day.

Rachele King is Director of Refugee Services at MCC; she's been delighted with the interest the book has generated to date.

"We’ve received great response to the launch of this book," King said.  "From local political figures and university faculty, to social service providers and individuals in the community who want to know more about their refugee neighbors. We're proud to be able to document this part of Minnesotan history"

MCC received a generous grant from the Minnesota Historical Society to cover publication expenses. Prominent writer, radio host and Minnesotan Garrison Keillor provided a dedication, and many local leaders and refugee advocates endorsed and promoted the project from the early-going.

All proceed from book sales will cover future printings and will supplement MCC's direct services to refugee clients. You can find out about This Much I can Tell You by following this link , and you can purchase a copy for $15 here.

This newsletter is produced with support from the United States Department of State. Opinions expressed here may not reflect the positions of the Department of State.

Deacon, former refugee to represent EMM at Refugee Congress

When Esmail Dezhbod goes to Washington in August, he’ll be representing the concerns of refugees from his native Iran, those resettled in Connecticut and the thousands of former clients of Episcopal Migration Ministries.

But he’ll also be sharing his own insight, developed through a life experience defined as much by his resilience, integrity and kindness as by the hardship and discrimination he’s endured.

Dezhbod will be a delegate to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee’s first ever Refugee Congress in Washington, D.C., August 2-4.

The Congress will be a gathering of refugees from all 50 states, representing many nationalities and six decades of resettlement dating to the passage of the UN Convention on the Status of Refugees in 1951.

During the gathering, refugee delegates will discuss the many facets of the resettlement program as they’ve seen it, develop proposed solutions for the difficulties refugees face in integrating into life in the U.S., and share their stories and suggestions with members of Congress on Capitol Hill.

As the delegate from Connecticut and one of two nominated and sponsored by EMM, Dezhbod said he values the opportunity to add his voice to the conversation.

“I feel honored to go. It’s really interesting for me,” said Dezhbod, 58. “I need to talk to others, to listen and figure out what they want. I would like to discuss, ‘What’s the situation? What can I do?’ I will try to not represent myself, but represent everybody.”

Dezhbod has been in the United States since 2000, when he was assisted by Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services, EMM’s affiliate in New Haven.

He was an active member of the Christian community in Iran, and he was forced to flee when several of his friends were murdered for their faith.

Today, he’s a transitional deacon in the Episcopal Church seeking ordination as a priest, and he works full time as a hospice chaplain, ministering to the spiritual needs of the dying and their families.

It's a job Dezhbod finds rewarding and one that he's able to do  because of a lot of hard work put in after he and his family arrived in the U.S.

In the 11 years since coming to Connecticut, Dezhbod has earned an associate degree, a bachelor’s and made progress toward his MBA, completed clinical pastoral education and his courses in seminary. His wife is a licensed practicing nurse and his oldest daughter, one of three children, begins college in the fall.

Dezhbod those accomplishments may not have been possible in Iran, where opportunities for education are rare and highly restricted.

“It’s a good opportunity here. It’s lots of sacrifice. At one time I had three different courses; I was in bachelor, I was in seminary and I was in chaplain residency, which means full time, 60 hours, working and studying. It wasn’t easy,” Dezhbod said.

Despite the many difficulties he’s encountered, and perhaps because of them, Dezhbod has developed a unique and inspiring perspective.

As a man of faith, a servant, father, husband and refugee, he appreciates the insight that his experience provides, and he's come to recognize the value of diversity.

"You know, I’m out of box for here and here is out of box for me," Dezhbod said. "I am who I am and what I experienced. That shaped me. I’m not the same person as I came here. I’m so different. And when I came here, I found even the other Iranians so different from me. And I didn’t understand, but now I understand it. I’ve been changed."

"And that’s the big deal about diversity; people can find different experiences, different backgrounds. It makes it richer if people  without the same culture, the same race, the same experience talk to each other. These days that's very popular and I think it's right."

And when he gets to Washington, he'll get to put that noble idea into practice.

As of June 30, 2011, EMM affiliates had assisted 2,376 refugees since the start of the fiscal year on October 1, 2010. This work is carried out with the support of parishes and community volunteers across many dioceses of our church.

Those refugees comes from the following regions:

Europe and Central Asia: 16 refugees

Africa: 268 refugees

Near East and South Asia: 1,231  refugees

East Asia: 751 refugees

Latin America and Caribbean: 110 refugees

Human Rights First shared this online photo gallery featuring images of refugees and the American neighbors who welcomed them. Many of the photos feature EMM clients and community partners. The gallery comes from an exhibition co-sponsored by Human Rights First, EMM, the Episcopal Church and a number of other refugee advocates that was displayed on Capitol Hill for World Refugee Day.

Louisville Magazine ran this in-depth profile of EMM affiliate Kentucky Refugee Ministries and the many refugee clients they serve.

EMM's Svetlana Brajdic shared the story of her journey to the United States with the Episcopal New Service in June. Read her story here.