Migration Office Welcomes the Stranger

By Mary McCarthy
HERALD Staff Writer
(From the issue of 11/28/02)

"The Church is ever mindful that Jesus Christ was himself a refugee, that as a child he had to flee with his parents from his native land in order to escape persecution. In every age, therefore, the church feels herself called to help refugees. And she will continue to do so to the full extent that her limited means allow." —Pope John Paul II

The Arlington Diocese Office of Resettlement recently received a contract from the Virginia Office of Newcomer Services, a division of Health and Human Services, that will enable them to expand their services to refugees and will make the office the largest service provider to refugees in the area. The funding will allow the office to expand from four staff members to 12, with additional offices in Chantilly, Fairfax and Manassas.

Then United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) defines a refugee as a person who has fled their native country because of a "well-founded fear of persecution" based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a social group. The term "refugee" does not include those people who have left their homeland seeking solely a more prosperous life.

There are two kinds of refugees. One has family in this country, even if it is a distant relation, and that family helps to support them when they arrive. The other refugee relies on an agency such as the Office of Resettlement to be their "family," and to help them grow accustomed to their new surroundings.

The diocesan office is one of 101 offices of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Office of Migration and Refugee Services (MRS). In the last 30 years, over 1 million refugees have been resettled through MRS. The Arlington office has helped over 16,000 refugees from all over the world resettle in Northern Virginia since 1975. The people they have helped have come from Somalia, Sudan, Iraq, Iran, Eritrea, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Cambodia, Cuba, Russia, Romania, Burma, Laos, Poland, Hungary, Liberia, Afghanistan, Congo and Sierra Leone.

According to the office, its mission is to "welcome people of all races, nationalities and creeds to the Northern Virginia community, to provide a supportive environment in which the dignity of each person is respected and each culture celebrated, and to provide these individuals with the tools necessary for self-sufficiency and independence in America." The Office of Resettlement helps refugees not because they are Catholic, or because they want to convert them, but because it is the duty of the Catholic community to "welcome the stranger."

The Arlington office serves, on average, 300 people a year. It does not have any involvement in bringing refugees into the country. Its purpose is to assist them once they are here so that they may become self-sufficient and integrate into society.

When refugees arrive, someone from the office will meet them at the airport. They will then go through an orientation process and receive a health screening. The office helps refugees apply for a Social Security card and enroll in Social Services. All of these things are done with the goal of employment in mind. Other services provided by the office include counseling and acculturation services; housing, furniture and the basic needs for their first month; transportation; emergency assistance; English as a second language classes; comprehensive employment services; computer training; interpretation services; and immigration counseling.

Although the Office of Resettlement is excited to have received the state contract, it only covers the cost of salaries for the additional employees, and for a few specific added services to the refugees. The diocese has donated office space and a storage area to the Office of Resettlement. However, there are still many bills that need to be paid. The office will rely heavily on donated supplies and services. The office will have to rely on donations to supply the eight new employees with computers, telephones and internet access. The office was able to purchase a few second-hand desks.

Help from the community is most critical. Aside from donations, volunteers are needed for services such as English tutoring, translation and orientation, transportation to appointments and interviews and helping the staff gather and move donations and furnish homes.

The refugees need people to help them learn more about the area where they live. They need someone to show them where the grocery store is, where they can buy clothes, how to send a letter. Refugees coming into this area need furniture for their homes and vehicles to get to work. The office relies on donations to be able to supply people with these necessities.

Some parishes and groups have combined resources so that they can "adopt" a refugee family, providing them with material goods, transportation, and most importantly, friendship.

Rebecca Ruiz, resource manager, said her office is offering people the opportunity to act out the corporal works of mercy in their own back yard. "You don’t have to go on a mission. You don’t have to go to another country," she said. She feels that it is the duty of Catholics to be the Good Samaritan, and help the poorest of the poor.

Berhe hopes that this Christmas they might be able to show the refugees currently under their care, that Christmas has expanded beyond just a Christian holiday. He hopes that the children of refugees might be able to receive presents just as their peers do. Berhe wants Christmas to be an event to spread camaraderie across religious lines.

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