Refugees

I fought for and agree with those restorations, but the very particular way in which the cuts remain in effect for privately sponsored refugees is a way of saying, “we want to control the way you participate in sponsorship and we are going to hurt you this way.” It might seem to outside observers that this change impacts only a small group of refugees, but that is not true.

“I had to admit I harbored the rudiments of racism, an unconscious attitude that I fight daily, but that none of us can totally escape,” writes Mary Pipher in her book The Middle of Everywhere. How true! As refugee committees we discuss who to sponsor even though in our mission statement we express the desire to help anyone from anywhere. We worry if our country will stay ‘Christian’ and be trouble free. We stereotype and show our fear of strangers especially those coming from Muslim nations, I would argue, because of their aptitude for violence and their notorious low value on females.

Mr. & Mrs. Elgersma would arrive every Saturday morning without fail for our weekly grocery run. They would make a point of going through our refrigerator and cupboards to take inventory of what needed replenishing. Then they would walk me through each food aisle of the small Co-op Store, point to a product, name it and very patiently say, “You like? You have.” And should I nod my head, they would add the item to our grocery cart. Every week without fail we would always stop in front of the meats counter and load up on packaged wieners. This was our primary source of protein for weeks, even months!

My name is Trang Thi Nguyen and this is a true account of my life from the time of my escape from a war-tarnished Vietnam to the life I currently share with my family in Canada.

Reforming the system may take months, but reforming our hearts to care about the "stranger in our gates" may take much longer. Start now.