February 22nd 2008, I prayed God.

God I want you to help me to be in America.

In the first days after we arrived, we looked at ourselves different and it was very evident that everyone around us realized that we are different.

When I landed in St.

Louis I saw things were totally different, I was amazed on how the Americans built the the highways the bridges We were like "oh wow."

I see these these guitars what's happening?

Okay you're gonna sing some Iraqi songs?

What kind of songs?

About Egypt?

Really?

I'm homesick now.

So everyone say salad fork, dinner fork, dinner plate.

I find it helps if you make a real ass of yourself day-to-day.

Sir could I have the chicken soup, but hold the chicken?

So you just want soup?

We're we're really looking for people that want to work.

Want to get their hands dirty and work eight hours a day.

Ask her if she's comfortable with what she sees?

And then it goes on a big slicer and we slice it into very very thin pieces.

That okay?

We have some kids who were from refugee camps weren't that fluent in English and there was a communication problem but when I put the soccer ball down, they had their shoes on, there was no communication problems.

Welcome to the United States.

The day they told me that hey Justin you are to be resettled to the US and you'll go to St.

Louis, that was my first time to hear the word "St.

Louis" - I didn't know where, even if, they exist.

I remember the beauty of where I came from we have mountains, we have valleys, our place is wonderful.

I've never seen any other place like home.

I remember it was in the middle of my where my village was attacked and I said this is a night I will never ever forget in my life, and I remember my dad screaming out and telling us everyone has to run out and find his or her own way to the bush.

We could hear the voices of women, kids, shouting for help, crying, people are being burned in the homes, people are being cut, being slaughtered.

My cousin said that he wants to go out and see what's going on, if the attackers have left the village.

I say no let us stay here in the bush He went out that's when I was sure.

I got separated with my family from then I I got separated with my family, from then I don't know whether my parents my father my mother, they are alive or they dead.

Godfather we thank you for this special time bringing together for the food in front of us, let it be of nutrition benefit to our bodies as we share this friendship and union that you have gifted us.

In Jesus name, amen.

We are all from the same country and we are in foreign country, so it's good for all of us to live together to be together and to take care of one another.

In my village we had no technology, no running water, we had no electricity, no phone.

We share everything we share shoes, we share socks, we share clothes.

Sometimes we all sleep on this bed four of us if this will be in the village and they have like kind of event eight eight ten people sleep on this bed.

Four months sleeping on this, we are just like being Americans.

Americanized.

Good morning everybody.

How are you?

your children are doing very well.

you know your children are on the other side with the welcome school, we see them every day.

Knowing where the families are coming from, not just countries but experiences, the war, the refugee journey, most of our students are refugees, that means they were forced to flee.

The journey sometimes is clean and sometimes they've gone through refugee camps and as they arrive at our doors in the schools, that's the first time they have ever had their basic needs met.

Mom's here today, good morning.

How's everything?

It went well yesterday?

It's a place where you can catch your breath, it's a place where there is a sense of refuge, where it is safe.

You know how back home we have coffee shops on the street.

Where you feel validated and culturally equal and sometimes we all gather in the middle of the village in the village square.

You don't stand out as the foreigner, the alien.

We sit and ask how are you doing and what's going on how can I help you.

Among all the internationals you're part of a larger group.

This is your place.

We have families from all over the world, the Nepali group is at the refreshment table, our Somalis followed by Iraqis, Burmese, Bosnians, Russians you have it all.

We want them to step here and feel it's an extension of their home.

Our families come, they're very poor, the poorest of the poor, they will end in neighborhoods that are not safe, but it's not safe not just for refugees for everybody.

You know this hood is not safe at night times, to all the scared to walk out tonight it's better to stay inside because there's safety when you're in the house it is more safety than outside, but sometimes sometimes there are people working at night, so when you when they come out of their work, many things can happen to them.

We can't talk about the night.

The immigrants, it's taboo to have a relationship with law enforcement whatever myths that they may bring over here regarding law enforcement in their respective countries we just try to let them know that and cement that we are here to to help them in in every way.

By far the kids are good but anytime you have a large group of people, you're bound a half of trouble.

How's school today?

Oh yeah, no problems, no problems at all?

Okay no problems all right well that's good.

I'm just gonna walk around and blend in how you doing Hey ladies, what's up now?

How you doing?

bro what's all this, man?

Okay you know these guys?

All right all right all right all right Thus far it's been peaceful it's been peaceful no problems and that's what we're here for we're here at dismissal making sure that it remains peaceful What's up sir you hot?

No?

All right The police, they looked after each other, they like a big family, they understand us more so than you understand them.

Because you can speak to them and they'll start laughing and then they wave back and that's to let you know that they know you being friendly so they be friendly, yeah, She how she waived and smiled, she don't even know me but it's just a fact that they are very kind.

I grew up over here cross Page I had no idea all these foreigners lived over here.

It wasn't like that then, so this is new to me.

nice Soccer, next to family it's everything.

The kids are in refugee camps together and then they form stronger bonds when they get here.

A lot of these kids they live like in really bad communities.

And where they live is horrible they talk about the drugs, the guns.

I have a kid who's from Iraq and he was telling me how like dangerous Iraq was and he said Iraq is worse than Page and Hodiamont, but he said he does not go out and always at home.

You have to understand the trajectory of the people who are here.

Many of them lived in refugee camps, refugee camps that were isolated people living next to each other, some from the same country, some not, different tribes, that kind of thing.

They're very used to being almost in like a reservation, if they see their world and it is just this place then they will severely limit their involvement in their American experience.

One of the reasons we decided to locate here is because we wanted to get to families, we were very cognizant of the fact that kids were leaving their parents going to school, to the International welcome school, having a social experience that was very different and then coming back to isolation.

And the parents were literally in those houses not going anywhere other than groceries and to wash clothes.

It's not engaging in the American experience at all.

Many depressed, two weeks ago I took eight adults and we went to McDonald's to have ice cream, as simple as that is, sat down on the outside right in U. City, sat down on the outside and we just talked while we ate ice cream and we had the best old time and you could tell they were so happy.

When I got back here and dropped the ladies off they all just embraced me and all think you think it was like I took them to Spain and back.

Have you ever had hummus?

Oh no.

That's hummus You like that?

This is my first time very very like, I love it.

Just to be able to welcome my home and and make them feel like they have family here, since all of them have lost their family.

I think it's the opportunity to forget for a moment what they've been through and their experiences and and know that they can have a future without the violence and destruction.

They cut his head and they were putting his head in this tree and they were saying, this is the way these people must be punished.

I stayed in the bush and I was shaking a lot, if I thought maybe they will see how the bush is shaking.

I had no nowhere to go, I had nowhere at all to go I went from our village to other villages, from those villages to wander from Rwanda to Uganda He never found a place of safety, he finally ended up in Nairobi, he was an orphan and was living in the streets Nairobi is dangerous people are attacked there regularly, you don't know from one day to the next what might happen and Justin was living in places where there's a huge amount of violence and people are mugged and attacked and if you're a woman, raped.

When you think about the people who fled from their homes but live in very precarious situations and can't return home and are actually in danger where they are and resettlement is often used as a life-saving mechanism The services that people receive here is often much less than the services that people receive in other countries.

We bring in a lot of refugees but refugees need to become self-sufficient and support themselves and they're really on their own a lot more than in many other countries that do refugee resettlement.

Do you know her?

she was shot through the leg and and burned in her back.

I know one of the difficulties with refugees coming here is that they're always focused on their family members and their friends who are still living as refugees.

Justin found that his brother and sister are alive and they're now living as refugees in Nairobi.

I was wondering if you can tell me what do you think about them and when you think they might be able to join me here in the US?

So first of all I'm not a hundred percent sure when, but I know that our office in Nairobi is looking into it.

One of the things that makes it a little... Before I used to feel like no one, but being here, working where I'm working, that made me feel like I'm someone Did they have immunizations in Tanzania before they came here?

(translating) I love my job.

I love it.

I've been success because I speak English, if you communicate with people it's easier for you to express or to tell people what you want people to do for you, so the communication is the bridge of everything.

(music playing) Morning ladies, how are you?

Good morning, good morning how are you?

Is that chewing gum?

No.

Okay you know you know what happens when chewing gum.

Remember how we had walker, walker has "er" at the end if we take the "er" away walk will still make sense.

"warm" what do it at the end How long has she been in the United States Eight months, has she worked yet here in the states?

No okay um I have some questions and I'll tell them to you can you interpret them to her?

All right okay Can you stand for long periods of time during your shift?

Can you work around dust or mold?

So this building we have a downstairs where we do the raw meat and then upstairs where we do the finished product.

You can explain that for her.

Why don't you explain to her what we do, that you can use your language, it'd be easier for you to do it, okay?

Ask her if one of these is too heavy?

If she feels comfortable working here then we'll go ahead and hire her.

Does she know that?

Okay, it doesn't seem like it.

Okay, all right, Congratulations, welcome aboard.

Will loves mayonnaise, but I prefer mustard.

Good, would you like to write it down?

Correctly.

Let's go your turn.

Hold on it's her choice now, choose which brain activity would you like us to do?

ready yeah I'm not trying to embarrass you, I just want you to throw that voice, be loud come on now, go ahead, come on, speak I wanna hear you speak, you guys are using all pantomimes, you, I want to hear some language.

A lot of times you know depending on the culture they're pretty shy.

There's a silent period these kids go through, I mean some kids, there was a girl that didn't speak for three years and then she started talking, and then like "wow" then you couldn't shut her up.

Tim and Tim don't like to go to the doctor.

Sometimes two years kids don't speak but they're processing everything and their brains making connections and all of a sudden it's like yeah, she said a word!

So here we see that if I were the waiter, when I say waiter or server that's a person that comes to the table and takes the order.

He's gonna bring the drinks and you'll bring it on a tray like this and you'll serve it and say there's your drink sir okay you understand?

yeah.

Smoking or non-smoking?

Non.

Near the window or not?

We'd like a window seat yeah yeah okay thanks Oh we have a lovely table for two.

Yeah I would like a large chocolate milkshake please.

Sir, sir, we'd like a basket of bread rolls.

This is in the bread family, we call it rice Chex.

Meatball sandwich?

It goes good with the chocolate milk.

Yes.

We did kind of like a Spanish or Italian restaurant, you could do anything anything you want, you could do Eritrean restaurant you could do Nepali restaurant can do American or whatever you like but get started right now write the dialogue down.

The shooting happened in Hodiamont?

Okay tell us what happened in your knowledge.

The different groups of refugees play soccer together, they were practicing soccer until dark, and they eat dinner, and they went to drop one of the students off who lives over on Hodiamont and there were seven of them, and shots were fired, they don't know who or why.

And our student was killed and another one injured?

Yes.

Thank you for the (unintelligible) thank you okay okay okay There were five young men who were in a car that they were being chased in trying to get into the parking space, there were ten shots fired, two young men were hit, one was shot in the head and he died, the other was shot in the chest and he is surviving at this point.

Maybe as things calm down in the school we can later on in the afternoon visit with mom and see how she's doing.

Good morning Patrick Nate Chapman how are you?

Oh not that good not that good.

Yes, yes, in Hodiamont area.

It's actually one of our students.

It's it's part of the reality of the refugee survival in the city.

The drug trafficking in that neighborhood, the violence, the shooting, it has to be addressed.

Hodiamont, this part, this square, can you shape that for us and let's scan it and send it to the district security.

How soon, how fast?

As soon as I can.

Would you tell them there's a fire drill at 10:15 to prepare the kids so the kids don't think it's an air raid.

The families are running scared and our summer school is impacted but beyond that their life is affected, they're all behind closed doors afraid of coming out.

The homicide detectives are working hard to solve it, working really hard to solve it.

There was a young man who was in Eritrea, which is a country near Ethiopia, and he came back to see his friends because he once lived here and then he moved to the south side so he wanted to see his buddies who were at the refugee camp.

There was a car that came by and they shot him down and killed him, he was 15 years old.

And this young man had come to this country because of the war in his own country, he had lost his father.

There are primarily immigrants living over here in this complex and primarily African Americans living over here, what we've noticed is that the coming together hasn't really happened and like any relationship somebody's got to say hello or someone has to say, hey my name is and I'd like to get to know you, so that's what you guys are doing, you are here to help us to reach out to this community and invite them here to Amherst for a concert that is going to unify the community.

Hello we're having a concert across the park, we would like you and your family to come, just to bring community together, there are different kinds of music and stuff.

I tell she's Indian.

She's not Indian.

Hope we see you guys at the concert.

They come from a tough environment to a tough environment, just seems pretty ironic to think about it because you know the way he talked about being here he talked about it being a lot safer environment, but it doesn't really turn out that way for him.

A life is gone and it hurts, especially when it's a young person, we keep trying to let them know that we're out here for them.

There was no love in the land and God decided to start all over again and they took two of every living creature, male and female with them.

It's like a first date you cut a slice up each other and then you decide whether to do it again but we're definitely going to do it again.

(singing) "If I can help, somebody.... If I can cheer, somebody... I sleep in my mom and me, this is a bedroom, bathroom, we can wash your body like this, I like it.

Can you give me these sentences?

Where's the ____?

Pencil.

Good.

Thank you.

It's...in the...sharpener.

The pencil sharpener.

At a Wednesday, Lina was born.

In a Wednesday, Lina was born.

On a Wednesday.

The correct answer would be what?

She.

She.

They.

They.

Think.

Think.

Very good, hear the "ta ta" When we had the dictator, he said we don't need English language this is our enemy language, we don't have to learn it but me and my cousin we would like to learn English.

I like to play the game Resident Evil.

I like to surf, listen remember yesterday when I was talking about, I like to drive, I like driving but not I like to drive... For me it was a nice language to speak now the technology court, you have to have English to work with it.

The computers the I suppose everything you need English.

My father is a lawyer and until now he can't even work because he don't have a English, and he don't like talk like a Klingon.

Because you know when a lawyer come to party work as a cleaning, he don't like that because, let's say I have a diploma while I work like a people who didn't graduate from the school.

My mother she teach math and physics she don't have enough English to teach math.

But no good English... This says the student shows an increase in language development, so you have what?

What's your grade?

Four.

Here what does that four mean?

Exemplary progress.

So I think you're doing a very good job in class and you'll get you will get this tomorrow.

Okay.

You will get this tomorrow and then tomorrow you can take it home and explain it to your mom.

She never seemed to grasp and feel completely comfortable with the job role.

She couldn't process the job from one end to the other, one of the most difficult things that we had to overcome was the language barrier.

I t takes at least three years to be able to master the language, the social English.

But it takes six to eight to be able to come, to be a par, with the academic English.

I have not met a parent who would not give his right hand to learn English, it is not that easy.

It's hard for people to imagine what refugees go through and what kind of violence and horror they face.

On the night of August 13 2004, a group of rebels crossed from the Congo into Burundi.

This was a refugee camp massacre, the Kitumba massacre.

They lit the tents on fire and they started shooting and they threw grenades into the tents.

They massacred and injured about 250 people that night.

Many of Justin's relatives survived that Massacre and others did not survive, These are people who've already fled their own homes because of violence and persecution, but then they were attacked in a place where they were supposed to be safe.

They selected St.

Louis cause we asked for it, me and my other friends and roommate, we asked for it too to come here in St.

Louis.

The estimates right now is $3,500 this is just for the food we need now to think about the transportation.

There is first of all um budget everything.

We can buy a cow?

It's hard to buy a cow at the grocery store.

I didn't know how much the work is gonna be.

In fact we need the cow by next week.

And how expensive it to be.

We take away fish and goat?

We're taking away the fish and the goat and we are taking away the cow too.

Please, why can't you first of all make a budget?

[ inaudible ] I don't want us to discuss and go far I just want to do actually.

This is a huge event we're talking about [ inaudible ] [ singing ] We put God first, even though we pass through all this circumstances but we were born in Christian families, we believe in God and the we know God is everything and God will do everything to to help us and to sustain us.

Hallelujah.

When I was born I would say I want to be soccer player but when I go to school I want to start an international business or marketing.

He's a good kid number one but also he has he has a good good ability on the ball.

He definitely has the talent the ability to play somewhere at the college level.

Michael don't lose this okay, I may have given you one of those already.

But that last time I tried to call like you ask me to.

Always when you call me make sure you leave a number okay?

[ background music ] When people are coming here there's a honeymoon period, and in that honeymoon period they're ecstatic they're so happy, because they don't have to worry about where they're going to eat, or if they're going to be attacked, or what life will hold today and tomorrow.

So all of a sudden they realize that they're safe and with that safety comes obviously euphoria.

After about six months that kind of the harsh reality of their new lives start to set in.

But after a couple of years there's a change in people's demeanor and how they hold themselves and I think that change comes with starting to understand your environment and starting to understand how to operate here, and when that change happens people start to look like they belong here.