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Honey, Soap and Towels: Signs of Welcome a Refugee Family Won’t See Honey, Soap and Towels: Signs of Welcome a Refugee Family Won’t See
(about 17 hours later)
Vanessa Crawford’s list for Costco this week included these items:Vanessa Crawford’s list for Costco this week included these items:
Toilet paper.Toilet paper.
Paper towels.Paper towels.
Garbage bags.Garbage bags.
Dish soaps.Dish soaps.
Detergent.Detergent.
Bulk jar of honey.Bulk jar of honey.
That was Ms. Crawford’s share of the shopping for a Syrian family of three: a grandmother, 78, her daughter, 52, and granddaughter, 16, who fled Damascus four years ago and were due to take refuge, at last, in the United States next week. (The daughter’s husband died in Damascus of natural causes, a relative said.)That was Ms. Crawford’s share of the shopping for a Syrian family of three: a grandmother, 78, her daughter, 52, and granddaughter, 16, who fled Damascus four years ago and were due to take refuge, at last, in the United States next week. (The daughter’s husband died in Damascus of natural causes, a relative said.)
Their resettlement was being sponsored by a community group in the Spring Glen section of Hamden, Conn.Their resettlement was being sponsored by a community group in the Spring Glen section of Hamden, Conn.
“We had a list, like a wedding registry, of all the things we needed to set up house for a family,” Ms. Crawford said. “Those are the things I signed up for.”“We had a list, like a wedding registry, of all the things we needed to set up house for a family,” Ms. Crawford said. “Those are the things I signed up for.”
Money was needed, too, to help pay for housing while the family got on its feet. Last Tuesday, the group — called the Spring Glen Alliance for Refugee Settlement, which is allied with the Spring Glen United Church of Christ — started to raise funds online through Crowdrise. By Friday, it had collected more than $10,000, said Megan Kahn, a member of the group. Money was needed, too, to help pay for housing while the family got on its feet. Last Tuesday, the group — called the Spring Glen Alliance for Refugee Settlement, which is allied with the Spring Glen United Church of Christ — started to raise funds online through Crowdrise. By Friday, it had collected more than $10,000, said Megan Khan, a member of the group.
Three synagogues in the area had also sponsored refugee families. In other cities and towns, apartments were rented, furnished and made ready, some by faith groups, some by neighbors. But in all these cases, the families were not chosen by religion, or country of origin, but by their need.Three synagogues in the area had also sponsored refugee families. In other cities and towns, apartments were rented, furnished and made ready, some by faith groups, some by neighbors. But in all these cases, the families were not chosen by religion, or country of origin, but by their need.
These sponsors were a neighborhood or a parish or a congregation, the United States, pixel by pixel. At that local, practical level, executive orders on refugees are not baffling pronouncements, indifferent to human needs, but shopping lists for dish detergent and diapers and too many rolls of paper towel.These sponsors were a neighborhood or a parish or a congregation, the United States, pixel by pixel. At that local, practical level, executive orders on refugees are not baffling pronouncements, indifferent to human needs, but shopping lists for dish detergent and diapers and too many rolls of paper towel.
The Syrian family bound for Connecticut had been living in Jordan since leaving Syria in 2013, said Ghassan Atohmashli, a distant cousin who lives in West Haven and provided a valuable credential in the United States approval process: a family tie. Mr. Atohmashli and his relatives are clients of Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Assistance, or Iris, an agency that resettles refugees in Connecticut and collaborates with the community and religious groups to get newcomers set up. The Syrian family bound for Connecticut had been living in Jordan since leaving Syria in 2013, said Ghassan Atohmashli, a distant cousin who lives in West Haven and provided a valuable credential in the United States approval process: a family tie. Mr. Atohmashli and his relatives are clients of Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services, or Iris, an agency that resettles refugees in Connecticut and collaborates with the community and religious groups to get newcomers set up.
“They were going to go to Cairo on Feb. 6 and then to the United States,” Mr. Atohmashli said.“They were going to go to Cairo on Feb. 6 and then to the United States,” Mr. Atohmashli said.
That was to be the end of a long process that began with an application to a United Nations commission for refugee status in 2013. A ruling that someone is a refugee can take years, and periodically requires new interviews. After that, the United States screening process begins. A State Department website describes the process:That was to be the end of a long process that began with an application to a United Nations commission for refugee status in 2013. A ruling that someone is a refugee can take years, and periodically requires new interviews. After that, the United States screening process begins. A State Department website describes the process:
“U.S. Security screening of all refugees involves multiple U.S. agencies, including the Departments of State, Homeland Security (DHS), and Defense, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Counterterrorism Center, the Terrorist Screening Center, and two federal intelligence agencies,” according to a State Department fact sheet dated Jan. 20.“U.S. Security screening of all refugees involves multiple U.S. agencies, including the Departments of State, Homeland Security (DHS), and Defense, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Counterterrorism Center, the Terrorist Screening Center, and two federal intelligence agencies,” according to a State Department fact sheet dated Jan. 20.
After months of questioning and paperwork, the family was approved. They bought three airline tickets at $950 each, Mr. Atohmashli said. On Friday, just as the Spring Glen group had topped $10,000 in its fund-raising, President Trump issued an executive order that indefinitely barred all immigration by people who had come from Syria.After months of questioning and paperwork, the family was approved. They bought three airline tickets at $950 each, Mr. Atohmashli said. On Friday, just as the Spring Glen group had topped $10,000 in its fund-raising, President Trump issued an executive order that indefinitely barred all immigration by people who had come from Syria.
“They don’t know how they are going to survive in Jordan,” Mr. Atohmashli said. “The mother works a bit, but she can’t do everything, and the older woman can’t work.”“They don’t know how they are going to survive in Jordan,” Mr. Atohmashli said. “The mother works a bit, but she can’t do everything, and the older woman can’t work.”
The executive order does not frame the new restrictions in religious terms, but was issued in a context that could hardly have been more explicit. One of the president’s advisers, Rudolph W. Giuliani, said Mr. Trump wanted a ban on Muslims but needed “the right way to do it legally.” During the presidential campaign, Mr. Trump promised a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States” until officials had studied the matter. And Mr. Trump said last week in an interview that Christian refugees would be given priority for visas.The executive order does not frame the new restrictions in religious terms, but was issued in a context that could hardly have been more explicit. One of the president’s advisers, Rudolph W. Giuliani, said Mr. Trump wanted a ban on Muslims but needed “the right way to do it legally.” During the presidential campaign, Mr. Trump promised a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States” until officials had studied the matter. And Mr. Trump said last week in an interview that Christian refugees would be given priority for visas.
The existing vetting process gave ample opportunity to identify people with terrorist inclinations, Mr. Atohmashli said. “They ask you a hundred questions, from the first meeting, they could tell if you are ISIS,” he said. “Or at least from the second.”The existing vetting process gave ample opportunity to identify people with terrorist inclinations, Mr. Atohmashli said. “They ask you a hundred questions, from the first meeting, they could tell if you are ISIS,” he said. “Or at least from the second.”
To Chris George, the executive director of the resettlement agency, the explanation for their sudden exclusion was obvious. “Wrong nationality,” he said.To Chris George, the executive director of the resettlement agency, the explanation for their sudden exclusion was obvious. “Wrong nationality,” he said.
Mr. Atohmashli, who came to the United States last year, said he had no regrets about his move. “Every government is different from its people,” he said. “I know this isn’t coming from the American people.”Mr. Atohmashli, who came to the United States last year, said he had no regrets about his move. “Every government is different from its people,” he said. “I know this isn’t coming from the American people.”
He had seen firsthand the Americans and their shopping lists.He had seen firsthand the Americans and their shopping lists.