Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio

Matthew Ball, Summer 2013

It's difficult, or maybe even impossible, to convey in words how terrifying it is to function in a foreign country when you don't speak the language. As an Auxiliar (English teaching assistant) in Spain, not speaking Spanish, I experienced this part of refugee life in some small way. Even something as simple as going to the grocery store becomes a Herculean task of gesturing, repeating, and soliciting help from strangers that can be totally derailed by an unexpected question or impatient listener. Now add to this the formidable challenge of not having a car or driver's license, being close to penniless and possibly afflicted with serious health issues, and being surrounded by a completely different culture, often having to take care of your children without your spouse who wasn't able to come with you. The life of a refugee is one of unending toil, and was because of that and the fact that I was uniquely equipped to empathize that I decided to work with Catholic Charities Refugee Resettlement Services.

CCRRS starts working with refugees essentially the second they step foot in the USA. Our clients come primarily from Bhutan, a small country between China and India, though some also come from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Burundi, Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia, Iraq, Burkina Faso, and others. We assist with airport pickup, housing, procuring furniture, enrolling children in school, setting up and transporting to medical appointments, employment placement, green card applications, connection to social services, and whatever else they may need help with within roughly the first six months. At one point or another, I helped everyone on staff with one of these tasks. My primary responsibility, however, was to assist in organizing, scheduling, and transporting to medical appointments. From time to time, I was able to translate some basic things from French to English and vice versa (several of our clients come from Francophone countries like The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi.

It's easy to become cynical about the United States of America's role in the world. We've certainly had our controversies surrounding privacy, foreign meddling, our immigration system, and the level of freedom and prosperity that one can expect here. One of the best things about this internship is that it has reminded me of a beautiful truth of the USA: we are a nation of refugees and immigrants. In fact, inscribed on the Statue of Liberty, the most recognizable symbol of our nation, is a call to send "the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to" the US. Refugees are those wretched, homeless tempest-tossed people, and in that respect, are the most American of any of us. It has been such an extreme pleasure to help these brave seekers of a better life for their children at the cost of a scary, stressful, alien life for themselves, an experience I wouldn't have traded for any other.