You decide to flee your country that is in war because you believe leaving could save your life. You choose to pay a smuggler money because you believe he can get you on a boat. You board the overloaded rubber dinghy because you believe it would drift to a safer nation. But you didn’t know this is a life-threatening sea journey, where huge waves, storms, and strong currents can overwhelm the dinghy you are on: death can happen in a flash. This is what refugees commonly have to experience because they still hold on to the hope of getting a peaceful and normal life in a protected country. Political upheaval, war, or persecution have forced millions to flee their homes, tens of thousands to risk their life by drifting on the sea. Who is a refugee? According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee, “A refugee is someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war, or violence.” Why are they fleeing their home? The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee also mentions, “A refugee has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. Most likely, they cannot return home or are afraid to do so” (“What is a Refugee? Definition and Meaning”).
San Diego has been a safe haven for refugees since the 1910s, when Baja California residents escaped the turmoil of the Mexican Revolution, followed in the 1920s by Jews who fled the European pogroms, an organized massacre. World War II and Vietnam War have brought more refugees to the area, and almost every unrest sweeping the world over the years has continued to force refugees to enter this county (Wilkens, Rowe). Despite the deep-rooted history of refugees in San Diego, a lot of people still tend to think that it is not their responsibility to care for refugees, and are against the decision of immigration of refugees to their country. However, there are statistics, facts, and stories to prove that refugees are not depriving citizens the benefits they receive. Instead, they are contributing to the nation’s economy, professional workforce, community building, and local culture.
Many citizens think that refugees are a danger to the nation, so they oppose the decision of accepting refugees. Opponents worry that terrorist or attacker might enter the country as a refugee who hides their identity from the government. For example, in one of the President Donald Trump’s tweets, he writes, “Refugees from Syria are now pouring into our great country. Who knows who they are – some could be ISIS. Is our president insane?” He is concerned with the decision of the Former President Barack Obama that welcome refugees from Syria to the Unites States. President Trump assumes that some Syrian refugees could be the member of ISIS, a militant Islamic fundamentalist group active particularly in Syria and Iraq. Refugees are assumed to be a threat to the nation if they are admitted. In fact, what most people didn’t know about is being a refugee is the most difficult way to enter the United States legally. No other group of travelers to the United States undergoes such a rigorous and detailed screening process. Refugees have to go through biographic and fingerprint security checks to confirm their identity. They are also extensively interviewed by specially trained officers of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (). Ultimately, if government has concerns that an applicant is a threat or safety risk, that refugee will not be allowed into the United States. Refugees are individuals that seek help to start their new life away from danger. We should accept them to our country and assist them with their new journey in this unfamiliar environment.
Furthermore, opponents believe that taking in refugees would increase competitiveness of jobs for U.S. workers, especially the unskilled ones. Many people think that refugees often lack the skills required to work for higher-paid position, and so a massive influx of refugees into the job market can cause wages at the lower-end of the spectrum to fall. (example) However, according to the United States Labor Department, refugees do not receive any special treatment when obtaining employment. They must apply and compete for jobs the same as any citizen. Refugees also create jobs for U.S. employees because they have a high propensity to start their new businesses. Refugees have been a major force in contributing to the urban renewal of several major cities.
Regardless of how opponents think about the drawbacks that refugees would bring to their country, they are helping their host country in every way they can. Refugees are assisting the rise of the nation’s economy. A study done by the Center of American Progress shown that four refugee groups – Somali, Burmese, Hmong, and Bosnian – are gaining a foothold in the American labor force. Refugee men have equivalent or higher rates of participation in the labor force than those of their U.S.-born counterparts. Refugee women begin with comparatively low labor force participation rates, but once they have been in the United States for 10 years, they tend to roughly match and sometimes exceed the rates of labor force participation of their U.S.-born counterparts. Moreover, many refugees are entrepreneurs, job creators, taxpayers, and consumers. They start their own businesses, which eventually help expand local economies. According to the Center of American Progress, 31 out of every 1,000 Bosnian refugees in the labor force are business owners, as are 26 out of every 1,000 Burmese, 22 out of every 1,000 Hmong, and 15 out of every 1,000 Somalis (Kallick, “Refugee Integration in the United States”). Besides, Francisco Garcia, the owner of Modern Architecture Services, said that immigrants regardless of status are crucial to his business. He says, “I’ve been in business for a decade, and I see the contributions of fellow immigrants, documented and undocumented, on our local communities” (Stewart, Joshua). Some refugees come with capital to invest, some come with skills to assist, and some have their own businesses. Over time, refugees would increasingly integrate into the American labor force to help with the U.S. economy.
Moreover, many refugees come to the United States with skills and knowledge that can be utilized in the professional workforce. Although these skills vary, they often include those of more educated group, such as health professionals and teachers. Even in limited numbers, these professions can make a significant contribution in remote areas. For instance, Najwan Al Ani is an Iraqi refugee who spent seven years as a primary care physician in Iraq and Jordan before gaining refugee status in the United States. Being a foreign doctor, she must redo a significant portion of her training before becoming a full-fledged doctor again in the United States. She is now accepted into a medical residency program at Family Health Centers in San Diego, where she will be a soon-to-be doctor (Burks, Megan). Najwan will definitely benefit San Diego when she becomes a licensed physician because she had great experience when she worked under intense pressure during the Iraq War. Similarly, Mohammad Khajehpour was a refugee from Iran. He fled to San Diego to save his son from being arrested in Iran because he converted to Christianity. Khajehpour was a chemist by profession when he was in Iran, but was not able to practice here in the United States. Instead, he received his high school credentials in teaching science and is a tutor for high school students in chemistry. He is now left with few tests to complete which he would soon become a teacher in chemistry (Florido, Adrian). High schools in San Diego are really fortunate to have Khajehpour to be their teacher in chemistry. Nothing would be better than having someone who is passionate and experienced in chemistry to give lesson to students. Refugees came with their professions, but were not allowed to practice by their host country originally. Despite of that, they never give up on obtaining a credential for their profession which they contribute to the professional workforce of their host country. They in turn can serve their communities in time to come.
Refugees not only get help from local organizations, they too provide help to other displaced persons who seek refuge. They have strengthened the local community they live in by starting organizations to help people who might have the same experience as them. For example, Walter Lam, the founder of the Alliance for African Assistance, is a refugee from northern Uganda. He fled to Kenya then to San Diego due to political persecution at his home. Lam was an agricultural engineer, but he was unable to resume his profession in San Diego. Instead, when he was in San Diego, he learned to help refugees to settle in, and in 1989, he founded the Alliance for African Assistance. The Alliance has remained consistent with its mission, “to assist refugees, immigrants, the economically challenged, and underserved to become self-sufficient, productive members of their communities” (). Lam has not only helped refugees to resettle in San Diego, he also proved to others that refugees could be great leaders in the building of community. Likewise, Elizabeth Lou, the founder of Nile Sisters, is a native from South Sudan and has lived the life of a refugee since she was a child. She was born in the middle of a civil war which led her parents to flee to northern Uganda for the first 10 years of her life. After rebel forces signed a peace treaty, her family moved back to Sudan. However, violence broke out again forcing her family to seek refuge in Kenya for a few years and ultimately San Diego (Henderson, Edward). Drawing from resources in both her personal background and profession as a community organizer and a health educator, she founded the Nile Sisters Development Initiative. The organization’s mission is “to educate, support, and offer training to refugee and immigrant women and their families to help them overcome barriers to social and economic self-reliance” (). Both Walter Lam and Elizabeth Lou have founded organizations that contributed to the community building by providing help to refugees from all over the world who come to San Diego to seek refuge and to resettle their life.
Furthermore, refugees are enriching the local communities with the cultures they bring and the languages they speak. In the introduction of Sunshine/Noir II: Writing from San Diego and Tijuana, Jim Miller mentions, “San Diego is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the United States” (page 18). San Diego has welcomed people from different parts of the world that has different ethnicity, including thousands of refugees, to enrich the local culture. Although refugees were forced to leave their home, but they never leave behind their ethnicities and their cultures. The Karen Organization of San Diego (KOSD) is providing help to various ethnic minority groups from Burma and preserving their arts and culture. They provide classes to young Burmese refugees to learn their traditional dances and weaving techniques (“Karen Organization of San Diego”). On the World Refugees Day, refugees from different countries would share their cultures with the residents. Refugees from Burma would perform their traditional dances wearing their traditional costume and demonstrate their weaving techniques. They keep their tradition alive through this World Refugees Day every year. In addition, refugees from different parts of the world have their own native languages. According to the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, there are more than 30 types of languages that people speak in San Diego county, which includes Arabic, Navajo, Yiddish, and many more (). These languages they speak are what makes San Diego extraordinary compared to cities with less cultural diversity. San Diego is benefitting from welcoming refugees. Refugees enhance the local culture with their amazing traditions and languages that they brought with them.
Refugees are humans in this world; they deserve the right to survive in a better country. Somebody becomes a refugee by circumstance: it’s not by choice. None of the displaced persons around the world would want at any time to become a refugee. In Sunshine/Noir II, Miller writes, “We insist upon the sunshine while ignoring the noir, like a politician sticking to his talking points” (page 18). He says we tend to focus on the bright side of something while pay no attention to the opposite side of it. He gives the example of a politician only talks about things that benefits himself while set aside the truth that would put himself at a disadvantage. In fact, people tend to see the noir side of refugee while ignore the positives that they brought to host country. Opponents refuse to accept refugees to their country because they believe that refugees are terrorist threat or persons who increase competitiveness in the labor force. But the truths are they have contributed to the United States in economy, professional workforce, community building, local culture, and more areas that we did not see and know. We should help them in order to help our nation because refugees are a diverse group, and they have the potential to make positive contributions to society in a variety of ways. Everyone deserves to have a better life in a safe country and wants to live with the dignity and respect of others. Well, refugees too.