Starting over isn't easy, but refugees do it every day
by Gale Horton Gay
fastgale@hotmail.com
Elizabeth Downes addresses a language class for refugees at the IRC office on Memorial Drive.
Photo/Gale Horton Gay.
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From the expressions on the faces of the nearly 30 people in the classroom, most are desperately trying to grasp what Elizabeth Downes is urgently trying to convey.
Her words come smoothly first in English, then a little less so in French as she occasionally struggles to find the right word.
Downes, who heads the international nursing program at Emory School of Nursing, is sharing information about hygiene to this group of refugees from Burma, Burundi, Russia and other places around the globe, most of whom have been in the U.S. for just a few weeks and do not speak English or do not speak it well. Using her hands almost as much as words, Downes demonstrates washing hands, brushing teeth, applying deodorant, etc. Generally her movements seem to get her point across.
Downes, who is a guest speaker on this Thursday at the International Rescue Committee’s (IRC) office on Memorial Drive in Decatur, is aided by three translators in a large classroom: one who spoke Spanish to a group of four or five on the right side of the classroom, one who spoke Burmese to a three people on the left side and a man from Rwanda who translates into Kirundi for about eight people from Burundi who occupied the entire back row.
DeKalb County is in the midst of an influx of refugees. A local expert in the field of refugee resettlement estimates that 75 percent of the 2,000 refugees who are resettled in Georgia annually are brought to DeKalb County.
Mike Mills is IRC’s English as a second language instructor and oversees a myriad of language classes ranging from beginners to advanced.
"We are not a school," stressed Mills. "My goal is not just to teach English. We give as much skills as possible. We teach English through how do you write a check, how to ride the train."
Mills said he often jokes that they are not teaching "see Jane run" but "see Jane pay her electric bill on time so her electricity is not cut off. If it’s not practical, I’m not doing my job." Among the practical matters explained to the new DeKalbites are that slipping bribes to police is not par for the course here as it is in other parts of the world and doing so can lead to legal problems.
The English, life skills and parenting classes take place almost every day of the week at IRC and at First Baptist Church in Avondale Estates on an open enrollment basis with people coming in and out of the classes almost daily.
Going to School
Before a refugee child can begin classes at a DeKalb School System public school, their first stop is at the school system’s International Center. Located on Alton Road off Chamblee Tucker Road and I-285, the center is where students are tested and evaluated in math and English to determine if they should be placed in one of the county’s 145 schools and centers or if their languages are so limited that they first will be enrolled in the center’s English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program. At the center, students receive intensive English training for six weeks to six months. ESOL labs are operated at Clarkston and Cross Keys high schools.
According to Sandra Nunez, director of DSS’s English Language Learner program and principal of the International Center, the center serves immigrants from all over the world who come to Georgia for a variety of reasons. Any child born outside of the U.S. and those U.S. born but whose primary language is other than English must first go through the center.
"It’s amazing how resilient the students are," said Nunez, noting that most are quick to observe, learn and within a short time catch up. "It’s amazing how quickly they learn."
The center was established in 1985 and has experienced steady growth. This year, the center has registered an estimated 3,500 student newcomers to the United States, 750 of them refugees. The total number of new arrives represent 170 countries and speak 145 languages and dialects. This school year at the International Center there are 132 students in six classes. Before a student can exit the program, they are given the same tests as when they first arrived and the results are compared.
Asked how she judges success for the students they serve, Nunez said that for an elementary child it’s "wanting to come to school everyday, knowing things are going to be OK and being wiling to learn all these new things. For middle school [students] feeling accepted and feeling they belong and feeling welcome" She said for high school, success is knowing that they will graduate.
Finding Work
Working in America for refugees is no easy task. Among the hurdles they face are language skills and understanding American culture and expectations on the job. However some companies are working with organizations such as IRC as a resource to find employees.
IRC reports that they work with the Evergreen and Westin hotels at Perimeter to fill housekeeper positions, Villa Christina restaurant to meet their need for dishwashers and kitchen prep personnel and Ames Tools to fill assembly work position.
Refugee relief agencies such as RRIS match local businesses with a need for employers with newly arrived refugees who need to work. Located on Memorial Drive in Decatur, RRISA has worked with companies such as Ritz-Carlton, Kroger, Mediterranean Grill, Federal Home Loan Bank, Burlington Coat Factory in placing refugees in open positions at no cost to the employers.
RRISA also allow employers to email job orders to them and to fax job listings to the agency on a weekly basis. In addition, they assist refugees with their job applications and interview skills and counsel their clients on how to be a good employee and understand the rules at work. RRISA employment specialists will accompany individuals to the interview, and drug testing if needed and can arrange for interpretation during orientation.
Overcoming torture and trauma
While refugees come to the United States with only minimal tangible belongings, they often bring considerable physical and emotional baggage. Many of those fleeing a country because of war, persecution or genocide are also the victim of torture or trauma. In DeKalb County, there is a place for those refugees to turn to for assistance.
Opened in February 2005, the Center for Torture and Trauma Survivors is housed in the DeKalb Board of Health’s office on Winn Way in Decatur. It is funded through a grant from the Torture Victims’ Relief Act. The center, which serves immigrants some of whom are refugees, provides counseling, medical assessment and care, nutritional assessment and treatment, psychological affidavits for asylum, referral for legal representation and more.
Kathryn (Kitty) Kelly, Ph.D., program coordinator of the center, said torure has taken place and still takes place all over the world and that locally most people are unaware that there are others living among them who are torture victims. "People are quite surprised. I think there’s a natural aversion. It’s a difficult thing to talk about, not an easy thing to accept," said Kelly. "I think for the victims themselves they keep that part of their lives so very secretive."
An additional mission of the center is documenting the consequences of torture and by doing so helping to prevent it from continuing. And Kelly explained that workers at the center also try to help refugees and immigrant understand distinct aspects of American culture such as explaining why taking a razor blade, commonly used in some African cultures to cut fingernails and sharpen pencils, to school caused a refugee child to be expelled or why the Serbian practice of drinking beer on the way home from work can get a person thrown in jail here. "Some things people do legally in their country but is illegal here," said Kelly.
Then there are the fires. Kelly reports that many of the DeKalb apartment fires, especially in the Clarkston area, have been devastating for refugee families whether they are directly involved or not. During one fire, a man was found hiding in the shrubs at his apartment complex. According to Kelly, the man was traumatized by the incident and had flashbacks of losing several family members when his village was burned. "It set him back," said one official. "It was a nightmare for him."
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