Changing the lives of littlest refugees
U.N. official says Houston is setting standard for help to newcomers
Sometimes, at Las Americas Newcomer Middle School, an accidentally slammed door can send students diving under desks. They are afraid, explained the school social worker, worried that it could be a bomb or building collapse or something worse.
That is one of the scars that comes with being a refugee child.
There are others: The fear of speaking when you barely know the language of your new country. The worries about having clothes to wear and food to eat. The thoughts of suicide and depression that can haunt families long after war and famine are left behind.
So it means everything
to be greeted with a beaming smile and a welcoming embrace from Houston ISD’s Las Americas faculty and principal, to find acceptance among classmates who hail from 32 different countries, said a former student, a Syrian refugee who is now a rising sophomore at Wisdom High School.
“I consider it the best year out of my four years in this country,” the girl told a group of visitors at the newcomer school on Tuesday. “We were like a big family.”
The 14-year-old former student, who is not being identified for her safety, arrived in the United States knowing only the most basic English. She now flits back and forth effortlessly between that language and Arabic in conversations with her best friend, another Las Americas alumna from Afghanistan.
Human face on a number
As the Syrian teenager spoke, Kelly T. Clements listened intently.
There is power in stories like hers, believes Clements, the deputy high commissioner for refugees for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, who toured the school during a two-day visit to Houston this week. Clements, a native of Maine who is now based at UNHCR headquarters in Geneva, also spoke at the Baker Institute and met with refugee advocates and city officials.
The stories can put a human face on a number almost too big to grasp: 65 million forcibly displaced people around the world, the highest level since World War II.
They can pierce through the suspicion and hostility many refugees now encounter in some political corners. They make a counterpoint to the arguments made by the administration of President Donald Trump, which is seeking to cut in half the number of refugees accepted annually by the U.S. — from 110,000 to 50,000 — and to ban travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries.
“These are people fleeing terror,” said Clements. “They are not the causes of terror.”
Providing refugees with services, shelter and support is not only a moral mandate, it is also in the national interest of the country where they resettle, Clements said, noting that studies have shown an influx of immigrants and refugees can provide economic boosts to cities.
As an example, Clements pointed to one woman she met in her tour of Houston — a refugee from South Sudan who fled to Ethiopia before arriving here a month and half ago. Her three sons were killed in the war in her country. She is wheelchairbound, with no family support.
It is important, Clements says, to know the woman’s story, to ask, “What happened in her village? How were her three sons killed?” and to supply assistance needed to help rebuild her life.
“If she goes through the process, then some day she may be a U.S. citizen contributing to this country, whether culturally or economically,” Clements said. “That’s why helping refugees is not just a compassionate response and one that is in line with the humanitarian values of the United States, but it’s one that makes economic and security sense, too.”
Testament to diversity
Houston is a prime example of that dynamic at work, said Clements, who first heard of the city’s welcoming attitude toward immigrants and refugees during her time at the State Department, where she worked for 25 years.
Between October and May, 1,162 refugees were resettled in Houston, one-third of those received by Texas. California is the only state that resettled more refugees, according to State Department data analyzed by the Pew Research Center, a think tank in Washington, D.C.
The number of refugees coming to the United States dropped significantly after Trump issued the travel ban, which was blocked by federal judges and is now headed to the Supreme Court. Resettlement is expected to be reduced to about 65,000 refugees this year if the current pace continues.
Texas, which saw a surge of children driven out of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala by violence and the rise of armed criminal gangs, is “at the front lines” of the displacement crisis, Clements said in her speech at the Baker Institute.
“In a testament to the diversity and progressive nature of the city of Houston, you did not wait for this visit to adopt your own whole-of-society approach through the ‘Welcoming Houston’ initiative,” Clements told a standing-room only crowd. “The initiative recognizes that working together with new Houstonians, including refugees, is not only the right thing to do, it is also in the economic interests of the city, with foreign-born residents contributing more than $116 billion to the city’s economy in 2014.”
Since half of the refugee population are children, education is key to helping newcomers integrate, Clements said. Children, who pick up a new language quicker than adults, often serve as a bridge between parents and the new community.
Education can also keep refugee children from becoming disaffected, which makes them prime targets for radicalization by “those that want to take advantage of the situation,” Clements said.
‘Just what the kids need’
At Las Americas, where classes are held in a collection of white portables trimmed in red and students speak 29 languages, Clements visited classrooms where children clapped and sang as they sharpened English skills, worked on computer learning stations and in groups to master syntax and vocabulary, and grew marigolds in a container garden. The school also includes wraparound services for the whole family, such as immigration referrals, social workers, a clothing closet and mentoring programs.
“I wish we could replicate this in all 50 states,” Clements said. “This is just what the kids need.”
Still, a shadow — cast by the current political climate — hung over Clements’ visit.
On Monday, when Clements talked to Houston officials and refugee resettlement agencies, Trump posted a series of tweets reiterating his call for a travel ban.
“That’s right, we need a TRAVEL BAN for certain DANGEROUS countries,” read one, “not some politically correct term that won’t help us protect our people.”
On Tuesday, some families, fearful because of legal status or anxious about racial backlash, politely declined the chance to meet Clements. Las Americas principal Marie Moreno recounted an incident in which a 13-year-old student headed to a recent school dance was stopped at random by police and asked to show ID.
“It makes me sad as an American,” Clements said of the anti-refugee rhetoric. “I hope it changes back for better, to communities opening doors.”