By Chris Russell
Lumina News
Syrian refugees will not be placed in Wilmington any time soon, but local refugee resettlement organizations like Interfaith Refugee Ministry (IRM) say they would welcome them arriving through the government-designed process. Interfaith Refugee Ministry works with the U.S. Department of State’s refugee resettlement program to place screened refugees in the Wilmington area.
“It is very different than what you see on the news happening in Europe. People can’t just come as a refugee to the United States. It is a very long process that begins overseas,” said Sara Pascal, coordinator of IRM.
A refugee must register with the United Nations in the country to which he or she has fled, the U.S. Department of State website states. The state department may invite certain refugees to come live in the United States after thorough screening and background checks occur overseas.
In a press release last week, N.C. Governor Pat McCrory questioned the integrity of any background checks coming from Syria. He stated that intelligence coming from the war-torn country is hard to obtain and he cited the closing of the U.S. Embassy in 2012 as a lack of resources there.
McCrory’s letter also stated F.B.I. Director James Comey told the U.S. House in October that the U.S. does not have the resources to perform thorough checks on the 10,000 Syrian refugees that President Obama said he plans to admit to the country.
All refugees to the United States must work through the state department program. Once refugees are cleared for entry, the state department works to arrange placement through one of nine contract agencies. The Episcopal Migration Ministries in New York City is the agency IRM is affiliated with to locate refugees in the Wilmington area.
Pascal said during a phone interview that she hoped government officials would not politicize refugees to create an atmosphere of fear.
“The Syrian refugees are themselves victims of terrorism, the victims of ISIS,” Pascal said. “They are fleeing the same terrorists that everyone here is scared of. They have been confronted by this violence over and over in their hometowns for almost five years, so they are not the people to fear, they are people running from terrorists.”
Pascal reminded that the United States has a long history of welcoming people fleeing persecution.
“If you are not Native American, then we came here at one point in our history from somewhere else, usually because the conditions overseas were not favorable for our ancestors and they decided to come to America,” she said.
Pascal noted refugees they place have been persecuted because of who they are, for their race, religion or ethnicity. She said many have been treated badly in their home countries and forced to live in refugee camps for a long time.
“We have a case manager on staff who lived in a refugee camp for 23 years before being offered this chance for resettlement,” she said.
Once a refugee finally arrives in a new location, he or she is very hopeful, optimistic, and wants to work hard, Pascal said.
“Many times people ask directly when we pick them up from the airport, ‘When can I start working?’ They are willing to take those entry-level jobs. They are willing to work hard, six to seven days a week for very little money, in terms of American standards,” she said.
Many volunteers work through the interfaith ministry to help refugees from all over the world make the transition to life in North Carolina. Volunteers may mentor a family, teach English, help with transportation or help children with homework.
“Our goal is to have them be not noticeable to the outside world — they’re just other Wilmington residents,” Pascal said.
