Wars, conflict and
persecution never end in the earth. UNHCR’s annual Global Trends Report points
out that worldwide displacement was at the highest level in 2014, 59.5 million
people forced to flee their home. To me, who has never been to a battlefield,
the war-torn Middle East seems to be a far away land. Of course, there was a Baltimore riot last May, and it is not that quiet area, but still, I think I am in the place that misery displacement never happens. I am so apathetic. While
Syria has become the world’s biggest producer of refugees and internally
displaced people, what have I done...?
I looked around. I was
still in Baltimore, and I believed there was something that I could do for the
community in Baltimore. When I realized that International Rescue Committee
(IRC) helps refugees settle down in the U.S., I was reluctant to become an IRC
Family Mentor for the first time. ‘I am a
student, and I have a visa that expires soon. How do I work for refugees?’
In the end, I could not
ignore the opportunity to become a Family Mentor. Though I did not know how much I
could be helpful for refugee family who just came to the U.S., at least I
thought I would be a good listener and sincere friend for them. I could not
quite understand the difference between asylee and refugee even after IRC
volunteer orientation, but I was full of both pleasure and duty that ‘I want to do this!’ When an IRC staff
asked me over the phone interview what kinds of refugee family I would like to
meet, I said without a moment’s hesitation, “I’d
like to meet big family who’s from Africa!”
Why Africa again? There
were quite a number of people who are skeptical about my work in Africa. They
did not understand why I went to Africa, so to speak, unfamiliar place located
too far away from the U.S. They said they would have done similar things what I
did in Africa, right here in Baltimore. At that time, I could not answer for
that. They may be right because I have had little concern what’s going on the
communities that were so near to me. After a long trip in Africa, I was
determined that I would do invaluable volunteer work for underserved population
in Maryland and Virginia, the place where I can reach so quick.
That’s how I met
Weldegergis’ family. He is from Eritrea, small country that gained independence
from Ethiopia in 1993. After a long period of years of living in exile in Eastern Sudan, at last, his family finally set foot on the U.S. soil in 2015. He met his wife in Sudan
and now has six kids, big family! I visit the family once a week to help them
adjust to the new life in the U.S. by going to bookstore together, teaching
English and math, or share each other’s daily life. I originally had a lot of
pressure about how to become a great mentor, but now I feel like I am more
healed whenever I see them. They moved in new, sweet home in Baltimore, go to
school, go to work, and go to Catholic Church on Sundays.
Now I finally have the
answer for those who are not sure why I like on the ground work. I would never
imagine how hard living in the asylum and refugee camp. Weldegergis talks about his refugee life in the past with a smile, but I never know how much he
had to go through. Likewise, I cannot feel the same way of pain and sorrow that
Syrians have, simply because I am not physically there, and I am not in the
same situation of forced displacement. So I need to go again, to feel their life fully in the same
environment where gives suffering to them. I believe public health is for
everyone. Wherever I am, I hope I can do outreach, go and visit people who need
helping hands.
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