[ a (trans)national effort ]
The United States is by far the largest recipient of resettled refugees in the world. In 2010 alone, over 70,000 refugees resettled in cities across the country. Once arrived, refugees have a short time to establish themselves, learn English, and become economically “self-sufficient”. It has been widely recognized that refugee voluntary agencies struggle to achieve this somewhat unrealistic goal with the limited resources that they receive from the federal government. In the past ten years, university students have established themselves as tremendous resources in the refugee resettlement experience.
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The vast majority of the refugee population is resettled into metropolitan areas, the very same urban settings in which university campuses are located. There is a profound mutual benefit of university students and refugees working together—for the refugees it opens up society which they are excluded from, and additionally connects them to educational and social opportunities. For students, it opens up their eyes to a deeply complicated world of conflict, exposing them to real and important global crises and their effects on individual beings. And for refugees and students both, the bonds formed often outweigh all the other benefits combined. The rational for a national coalition for refugees is to connect student groups across the country who all share a common goal of ensuring that these vulnerable people can have the necessary resources to gaining a dignified life. By creating a unified voice in their support, the very students who are both teaching and learning from them will be able to advocate on their behalf and be a part of a growing national coalition that stands firmly on their side.
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The vast majority of the refugee population is resettled into metropolitan areas, the very same urban settings in which university campuses are located. There is a profound mutual benefit of university students and refugees working together—for the refugees it opens up society which they are excluded from, and additionally connects them to educational and social opportunities. For students, it opens up their eyes to a deeply complicated world of conflict, exposing them to real and important global crises and their effects on individual beings. And for refugees and students both, the bonds formed often outweigh all the other benefits combined. The rational for a national coalition for refugees is to connect student groups across the country who all share a common goal of ensuring that these vulnerable people can have the necessary resources to gaining a dignified life. By creating a unified voice in their support, the very students who are both teaching and learning from them will be able to advocate on their behalf and be a part of a growing national coalition that stands firmly on their side.
