Author: yuniz001

by Jeffrey Warner

University of Minnesota Family Social Science department graduate students gathered twice monthly throughout the Fall 2019 semester as an immigrant and refugee family discussion and work group.

Facilitated by Dr. Jaime Ballard and Dr. Catherine Solheim, this think tank’s purpose was to promote interdisciplinary understanding of research on immigrant and refugee families, to discuss research practices pertaining to immigrant and refugee families, and to open space for group members to share knowledge regarding the migrant and refugee phenomenon. These discussions were backboned by peer-reviewed articles published by Minnesota scholars about topics such as health and spirituality, family relationships and resilience, mental health, technology and economic well-being, as well as cultural adaptations.

Guest speakers joined this group, fielded questions, and offered expert input. One speaker was Pamela Zeller. In addition to being a nonprofit management consultant, Zeller is the executive director of Women’s Initiative for Self-Empowerment (WISE; www.womenofwise.org). This is a non-governmental organization focusing on educational and economic empowerment for immigrant and refugee women, so they can succeed through advocacy and culturally competent services.  

Zeller’s four decades of community outreach experience fueled a dynamic discussion regarding immigrant and refugee families’ economic well-being, as well as other topics. The following is a framework of this exchange.

Plight of Immigration, and Cultural Roles

Ms. Zeller discussed with students how Americans comprise an individualistic cultural socio-fabric, which frequently does not coincide with immigrants’ cultural traditions and related expectations. Migrants to Minnesota, such as those from Southeast Asia, live as and for family. Often, their sense of personal worth is rooted in how these cultural roles are fulfilled.

For example, young migrants generally live with their family. If they are earning money, these funds are shared. Even married couples sometimes live with family and remain tied to their parents’ financial practices; again, resources are pooled. Males and females have respective roles and responsibilities, and this varies with different ethnicities and generations.

Another example is of a Karen father living in Minnesota and who refused to retire so that his children could save and invest in their future rather than send remittances to the family.  This is an example of how one man navigates two cultures. He worked beyond retirement to send remittances home, fulfilling his own native cultural obligations; this is while allowing his children freedom to save and pioneer their own life path (in accordance with American cultural expectations) and also capacitating his children to lessen their plight in life.

A Multitude of Stressors

While refugees and migrants’ overall situation upon arrival to the USA may be more favorable than what they had prior experienced, life during the transition is arduous, to say the least. A number of obstacles and a steep learning curve often adds to the overall difficulty.

For example, refugees must quickly how learn to navigate new systems and well enough to secure employment and income. While the government provides them with some startup money — contrary to some public discourse regarding how much support they actually receive — refugees in Minnesota must otherwise pay their way. This is often accomplished with a loan, which must be repaid within six months.

Another challenge for them is becoming suddenly plunged into the U.S. financial system that contrasts their life experiences and worldview. For example, credit and debt in America is a cultural norm. However, in some countries, such as those from where migrants come, home ownership is part of the socio-fabric but not credit and debt. Some refugees even were nomads! How can they become quickly competent at navigating their new world in the USA?

Many migrants, in addition to experiencing massive culture shock, are enduring post-traumatic stress (PTSD) from their experiences in their country of origin or the refugee camp. For the reality is that immigrants were forced to emigrate from one place and now must integrate into another; this is while enduring internalized oppression amid the realities of American national culture.

Implications for Programs and Policies

Zeller stressed the importance of refugees (and those who are working with them) becoming culturally oriented. Migrants need to be granted space for learning and growth. Education is a huge equalizer. English language education (particularly that which is trade-based, so they can secure employment), and practice is vitally necessary. Moreover, the formidable barriers immigrants face in obtaining safe and affordable healthcare, as well as navigating transportation and overall life responsibilities, need to be acknowledged. A community worker must understand the entire picture. Creativity is required.

Zeller said that what is needed is for people to become unified through language, spirituality, music, dance, and an overall desire to support one another. She added that there is a disconnect between older and younger generations, and the elders need their contribution space.

Vital for refugees is that they hold pride in who they are. We as the hosting country should support immigrants in sharing in their culture, about what they value, and illuminate their profound successes while walking such a courageous path.  

by Megan Kysylyczyn

On February 12^th, the Immigrant and Refugee Discussion Group had a visit from two LEAP High School (of the Saint Paul Public School District) staff, including social worker Sue Gonzalez, and teaching assistant Plen. LEAP High School is mainly comprised of immigrant and refugee students who speak English as a second language. A couple themes came out of our discussion including navigating systems as undocumented students and challenges students at LEAP can face.

Navigating Systems as Undocumented Students

With the current Hispanic majority there are concerns surrounding being undocumented and what opportunities exist because of that, and how to navigate a political system and society when one is undocumented. Fortunately, in Minnesota we have a state level Dream Act which allows students to apply for college, receive in-state tuition, and can apply for the MN state grant for financial aid if they meet certain criteria. While it doesn’t erase all anxiety and burdens students face, it can eliminate some barriers to attending post-secondary education. Although, the MN state grant will more than likely not cover all educational expenses, so there are still financial barriers for students to overcome.

Student Challenges

On a more general note, the whole student base of LEAP High School face many challenges. Many are navigating an entirely new system and country while learning an entirely new language. They could be the liaison between their family and community if they speak enough English. Several students even have disabled parents who require some care and help. Many students work to help their family financially. In a nutshell these students have many responsibilities, of which education is only one.

Sue talked a lot about helping her students navigate systems that they or their families have probably never navigated before. One example that resonated with me was that she will take students to therapy appointments if they want. She realized that if she did therapy with students, come Summer they wouldn’t have access to it, which she didn’t want to be the reason why they stopped. To minimize the barrier of not knowing how to do it for themselves or not knowing where to go Sue will help set up an appointment and accompany them. Along the way she’ll explain things, set it up during school hours if that makes it easier for them to attend, and will wait in the waiting room till the appointment is done to bring them back to school. This is only one of many situations Sue helps her students navigate.

Leaving our meeting, I was left thinking about the increasingly large amounts of responsibility some immigrant and refugee students are asked to take on. Sometimes something must give, and sometimes it’s their education. I hope we as family professionals, social workers, teachers, university faculty, etc. can learn to be kind to all young people who have immense responsibilities and be there to teach them how to navigate and balance them instead of punishing them for not magically knowing how to do it.

When I came out of high school it felt like I should magically know how to navigate college, work, my health, getting good grades, maintaining my relationships and fulfilling familial obligations. My family pushed my whole life for me to go to college (and now that I’m almost done with a bachelor’s they’re pushing for a master’s), so I’ve been afforded slack when it comes to putting school first. I was given the opportunities and the ability to put education first. Not everyone has that. If I came from a culture which valued family over everything and I had to constantly decide between family or education, it’d be extremely hard to choose education. In fact, I don’t know if there’d even be a choice to make; it’d be family.

Ultimately, the meeting reminded me to be more understanding of young people (and people in general) on multiple levels and that I want to normalize taking any route to higher education instead of no route to higher education. We tell young people to go to college, usually with a silent message that it should be a 4-year university, without acknowledging any of the barriers in their way. Some students encounter more barriers than others. We can’t be a society that demands young people obtain higher education at any and all personal costs to them but get upset when they can’t agree to that. From meeting with Sue and Plen forward I decided to remember that we all have responsibilities that influence our choices about education and understanding those is the first step to making education more easily accessible.

by Megan Kysylyczyn

In the cold of January, I went to Thailand for 2 weeks. It was a wildly amazing experience that lasted forever but flashed before my eyes. I had the privilege of traveling with Dr. Catherine Solheim who knows Thailand well and five other students. During the trip and upon returning I’ve had some realizations about the value of security, being fluent in a language, and building familiarity or a home wherever you go and the far reaching effects that has in your life.

While I can’t begin to imagine the stress and anxiety felt leaving one’s home country to move to a new one, I appreciate my security in my home country more now. The United States hasn’t had war on its soil in a very long time which brings a level of security and ease to my life I didn’t fully appreciate or even recognize beforehand.

I was continually reminded of what it’s like to navigate a country you don’t know the language in, and I’d argue that there was even an adequate amount in English in Thailand. In Chiang Mai’s airport, some labels were in English, Thai, and another language or two, and the government, royal family, and temple buildings typically had Thai and English on them. In the U.S. we don’t do things like that, not even in airports. Part of the issue could be that the U.S. has such a variety of other languages spoken it would be hard to decide which languages to print.

My last big realization had to do with building home wherever you go. It’s something I’ve worked on while traveling in the U.S., but I’ve always traveled with family or my boyfriend. Thailand was my first trip where I didn’t know the people I was going with. What’s always rang true for me is the belief that I’ll never grow if I don’t get out of my comfort zone. Writing this now, that seems like such a privileged thing to say. I am someone who can decide when to go outside of their comfort zone. There are people everywhere who essentially live their lives outside their comfort zones. There were parts of my life when I was younger where that was the case for my parents. I never realized it before.

On our trip, I had some belongings with me to remind me of home, and I think our group created a familiarity and type of home with each other. It wasn’t until we met up after the trip to do a recap that I fully realized we all felt outside of our comfort zone at first and we all shared a bond now. I bring this realization now into my class discussions at the University of Minnesota; there are immigrants, refugees, and migrant workers who need to create a sense of home wherever they are, whether it’s their choice to move or they’ve been forced to. There are homeless people and people who spend a lot of time in transitional housing who master this skill too. In a sense, creating familiarity and home wherever you go is related to utilizing one’s social capital. It’s a way of fostering resilience and coping.

On this trip I learned more than I ever thought I would. It was an eye-opening experience that I am so privileged and grateful to have had. With my family’s background traveling abroad was a dream I thought would only happen years from now. I made it happen and have benefited immensely. Taking all of this forward, I’ve promised myself I will continue to travel abroad when possible and learn as much as I can from other cultures at home and abroad. Here I plan to continue to expand my palette by trying different places to eat that are owned by immigrants and refugees, and attending different cultural celebrations that are open to the public.