International Rescue Committee and Refugee Resettlement

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International Rescue Committee and Refugee
Resettlement
IRC
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What is a refugee?
A refugee is outside of their home country and
is unable or unwilling to return due to a well
founded fear of persecution based on their a)
Race b) Religion c) Nationality d) Membership
in a social group and/or e) Political opinion
IRC
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There are over 13 million refugees worldwide
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80 of them are women children
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Why are they here?

• Internally Displaced Persons
• Refugees in countries of first asylum
• Temporary protection
• Third country resettlement

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Where are refugees from?

Foreign Policy Association
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Refugee Camps

• Warehousing
• No modern amenities
• Limited resources
• Malnutrition
• Security threats

IRC
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Psychosocial Considerations

• Little English/literacy
• New expectations
• Poverty employment
• Role reversal/intergenerational strain
• Trauma and LOSS
• Community orientation

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Resettlement

• IRC and CCS
• 425/refugee
• Housing, utilities and food
• 6 months
• transfer to AAU

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IRC Core Services

• Arrival logistics
• Housing
• Financial assistance
• Case management
• Orientation
• Health
• Employment
• Immigration

IRC
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IRC Salt Lake City

• English classes
• Financial Literacy
• Youth Program
• American Friends
• Interpreters

IRC SLC
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Refugee Backgrounders
IRC SLC
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1972 Burundians
Fled Burundi in 1972 20 literacy Large
families Speak Kirundi, Swahili and French
CIA World Factbook
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Burmese Refugees
Military government persecutes religious
minorities, ethnic minorities and political party
members Speak Burmese, Thai, Karen and Chin
CIA World Factbook
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Iranian Refugees

• Bahai faith
• Islamic Revolution in 1979
• Reunited with family
• Speak Farsi

CIA World Factbook
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Somali Refugees

• Tribal and civil War
• Over 140,000 in Kenya
• Trauma
• Malnutrition
• Somali

CIA World Factbook
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Iraqi Refugees
4 million Interpreters and contractors Fled to
Syria and Jordan Arabic
CIA World Factbook
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Bhutanese Refugees

• Stripped of Bhutanese citizenship
• Camps for 15 years
• Ethnic Nepali
• Speak Nepalese

CIA World Factbook
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Famous Refugees

• Albert Einstein
• Madeleine Albright
• Henry Kissinger
• The Dalai Lama
• Andy Garcia

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• P.O.R.T.A.L. PROGRAM
• Facilitating Acculturation
• to Life in Utah

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P.O.R.T.A.L.

• Programs
• Optimizing
• Refugee
• Transition and
• Adaptation to
• Life in Utah

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Client Orientation Activities

• Neighborhood Orientation
• UTA Orientation
• Police/Emergency Services
• Education
• Community Resources
• Recreation

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Month 1-6 PORTAL Orientations

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Acculturation

• What is acculturation?
• The learning of the ideas, values, conventions,
  and behavior that characterize a social group.
• Acculturation is also used to describe the
  results of contact between two or more different
  cultures a new, composite culture emerges, in
  which some existing cultural features are
  combined, some are lost, and new features are
  generated. Usually one culture is dominant over
  the other but both are subject to influence.

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Reciprocity

• Acculturation as a reciprocal process
• Sustainable transition determined by the degree
  of reciprocity
• Refugee perspective Sense of belonging and
  self-efficacy vs. marginalization
• Host Community Perspective Refugee as societal
  burden vs. refugee as beneficial resource for the
  future.

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Host Community Choice

• The lens through which the dynamic process of
  acculturation is viewed, ultimately determines
  the success or failure of resettlement for
  refugees and the receiving community alike.
• Through what kind of lens does
• your organization view this issue?

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Thank you for your attention

• Jonathan Codell - IRC Acculturation
  PORTAL Coordinator
• Jonathan.Codell_at_theirc.org - Tel.
  801-328-1091 ext. 105

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Thank you for your attention

• Jonathan Codell
• IRC Acculturation PORTAL Coordinator
• Jonathan.Codell_at_theirc.org
• Tel. [phone] ext. 105

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The PORTAL Program is made possible by