Students learn about Refugee Resettlement

On December 3rd a group of global scholar students met in the Library after school to hear from Mr. Omar Mohamed, a worker from Lutheran Social Services who works with refugee resettlement in Wisconsin and Upper Michigan.  Mr. Mohamed shared insight into refugee resettlement and the experience of refugees here in Wisconsin.

Mr. Mohamed started with his own background and how he got involved with Lutheran Social Services. He was born in Somalia and fled the country with his family as a refugee when he was younger. They first traveled to Kenya seeking asylum, and after getting into the refugee resettlement program he and his family were sent here to Wisconsin where he was received by Lutheran Social Services to help with their transition into American life. Mr. Mohamed was a middle school/high schooler at the time and his family was able to become self sufficient to the extent that they became citizens and Mr. Mohamed went on to college. He attempted to intern with Lutheran Social Services but was actually hired and has worked with them ever since.

Mr. Mohamed's presentation continued with a brief history of the refugee resettlement program and its origin after World War II to help support all the refugees that were forced out of their home countries by the war.  However the program was extended in the 1960s to support refugees in continuing conflicts throughout the world making it international law to help support these people in need.  Wisconsin began by welcoming Hmong refugees and until recently were receiving many refugees from Myanmar/Burma (Rohingya), Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congolese) and a smaller percentage from Venezuela and Nicaragua.  (Until recently is referencing very current events and can easily change and reopen in the future). 

Among the challenges refugees face, Mr. Mohamed talked about the cultural challenges. How many refugees arrive and may speak zero English, yet are expected to get a job, support their families and be able to function in American society within 90 days.  Many will break down crying when they face this reality.  However 100% of all refugee families that they work with become self sufficient.  Mr. Mohamed actually referenced one Mukwonago business that has hired about 20 refugees and has helped both create stability for these people but also to show how refugees contribute not only to the Milwaukee & Wisconsin economy but also an impact on the Mukwonago economy.  Refugees are required to learn English so they can work toward a drivers license, get their green card so they can work and receive limited benefits and will need to quickly start paying money back to the government for their loan that has provided their plane ticket and other services when they first arrive.  Even for refugees fleeing from dire situations, there are limited free handouts.  Being self sufficient and independent is a requirement. Because of these challenges, many refugees are settled in areas where other refugees from their original country are located. This way there are people who can help them overcome the language and cultural barriers they run into when they first arrive.  During this time male refugees who are of age also register for the selective service (draft) just like other US citizens and many end up serving in our military. After living in the US and Wisconsin for five years they are able to go through the naturalization process to gain US Citizenship.

In addition to the cultural challenges, Mr. Mohamed also pointed out the political challenges refugees face.  For example the number of refugees that are allowed into the United States is a number that is set by the US government.  Our government sets a quota, and then we select refugees through an interview process that does not exceed that quota.  The number allowed into the United States has fluctuated from over 100,000 per year to less than 10,000 based on changes in administration and current issues.  For example refugees are individually interviewed by the United Nations, US Immigration, Department of Homeland Security and the FBI.  All of this is required before arriving in the United States. However after recent events of an Afghan refugee (who worked with US Soldiers in Afghanistan) in Washington D.C.  shot two National Guardsmen, many refugees from the past year will have to go through these interviews again. Also many refugees that may have been ready to travel to the United States are now stopped as the government is not allowing people from 19 different countries (all countries that have asylum seekers). However the program has not fully been stopped as Afrikaners that are seeking asylum from South Africa are still being received.

The one hour presentation from Mr. Mohamed was very interesting and insightful.  If students missed the opportunity to hear from him, they should reach out to Mr. Montanye who has a recording of the presentation so they can still learn about the process and complete a reflection for the Global Citizenship requirement. 

Book Review: "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah

 It has been about twenty years since I first read this book. I remember picking it up at a Starbucks and reading it during my first year of substitute teaching. It was intriguing and eye opening twenty years ago and now the last couple years I saw students reading it as a choice book in one of their English classes a few years ago I felt it was worth reading it again.

Once again I enjoyed reading the book, while also feeling sadness for the experiences. The book is a nonfiction account by the author, Ishmael Beah, who grew up in Sierra Leone at the start of a Civil War that took place in his country. After his village was attacked and he spent months running through the jungle of west Africa for safety he was finally recruited by the army to become a child soldier. Through his stories of training, war and drug addiction you get a view of life for child soldiers. As a teacher (and from the view of a student) it is alarming to think he was the age of an eighth grader or freshman when forced into the war. Considering this is the age of students I work with (and the age of students who may read this book) it gives a lot to reflect on, even if we can't identify with the events that take place.

Thankfully the book continues after Ishmael is removed from the war and goes through rehabilitation where the reader is able to identify the challenges of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that he has to struggle with while trying to reenter society  Ishmael is able to connect with some family before fleeing the country as a refugee. I appreciated the fact that the book wasn't just a collection of war stories, so you could actually see how Ishmael was affected and changed from his life before, during and after the war.

My final reflection is a good reminder that while these events took place in the early 1990's (I was often thinking of my life in middle school while the author, only three years older than I was fighting for his life in this war), this is a historical event. Last year (2024) we had an exchange student from Sierra Leone at MHS. While he shared stories of his home country with peers at the school, and presented in my geography class, he had very little to say about the history of the Civil War. But he had a lot of pictures and stories of how wonderful the country is today and why we should consider visiting. This was a good reminder that this story, along with many books that are read in the Global Scholars Program may provide good insight into a specific place and a specific time, but we cannot assume that the experience we read is representative of the current day.  Keeping the historical time frame in mind is important so it can help us understand different places historically and today. While the plight of child soldiers may be over in Sierra Leone, it is still active in over 15 countries today which provides another thought for consideration and learning while reading this book.

Ishmael Beah has continued to write and is a spokesperson for UNICEF advocating for children in conflict areas around the world. Below is a brief video from the UNICEF website about Ishmael's story and what he is doing today.

Book Review - Silenced Voices: Reclaiming Memories for the Guatemalan Genocide

 Reading a graphic novel was new for me, not just for the global scholars program but also in general.  As our high school library is working to diversify its collection, a new book was presented to me as an option for the Global Scholars program so I had to take a look at it. 

Silenced Voices: Reclaiming Memories from the Guatemalan Genocide was a very quick read (as I think many graphic novels are). Written by Pablo Leon, a Guatemalan author and illustrator, the book focuses on the historical memory of a Guatemalan immigrant. In this story, a mother is living in the United States with two teenage boys.  She has silently carried around the trauma of surviving a genocide in Guatemala and finally opens up to her two sons after the former President of Guatemala is found guilty, and then the verdict reversed in regards to genocide charges.  The story highlights the mother’s memories and then the attempt by her sons to try and relocate her sister who was separated from her during the genocide.

Once again this was a very fast read geared toward younger readers (middle school/freshman).  It did not necessarily have the depth I enjoy for global scholar books but it also highlights a historical event that many students are not familiar with and can be a catalyst for future investigations and learning. For this reason I think it would be a good book to check out to start building that background knowledge on recent history in Guatemala and Central America.