Refugee Resettlement

It was a Saturday morning in the heat of early August. Eight men and women gathered inside a computer lab at the Muscatine Community College. These eight were former refugees, once living in the uncertainty of refugee camps after fleeing their homes during war or ethnic violence.

On this day, however, they were simply students, learning about typing, word documents and spreadsheets. It was the completion of a three-week computer class – one more small but extraordinary step forward in building a new life.

"The people who took our first computer class were so excited I thought they would hug and kiss the instructor at the end," said Michelle Nagy, LSI community resource supervisor. "They were so grateful. One man came up to me and said 'I thank you in advance. I thank you for all the work you will do for the refugee community here."

The computer class is one of the growing programs and possibilities for Muscatine's refugee community. In February, LSI responded to the community need for these types of services by starting Muscatine Refugee Community Services.

The Muscatine community is home to approximately 100 individuals who are secondary migrants. Predominantly Liberian, many of these individuals first lived in Minnesota and New York after coming to the U.S. from West African refugee camps.

The new program uses space and resources from community partners such as Zion Lutheran Church, Muscatine Community College, Volunteers and Information and the Muscatine Center for Strategic Action to give these families and individuals a place to learn. While most aren't new to Muscatine, they still need assistance in areas such as technology training, adult literacy, paperwork for citizenship status or learning about the transportation, health care and school systems.

"They are so grateful for the opportunity to learn skills they were lacking," Nagy said. "The idea for the computer class absolutely came from the community. They were saying 'We need this. One man who took the class said 'Now I can show my boss I can do more."

Developing that kind of self-sufficiency is the goal of the program, Nagy said.

"Early on that might mean we're very active," she said. "Maybe we're helping someone who's never gone to the grocery store and was buying food at a convenience store. We hope that as a family becomes more acclimated that their mentor relationship becomes more of a friendship than a helping role."

More volunteer mentors are needed to partner with these former refugees and help them adjust to a new culture, especially for youth who may need help with schoolwork or learning the customs of their American peers.

"A child may come to the United States in seventh or eighth grade, but doesn't have that amount of years of reading or writing skills, which really puts them behind," Nagy explained.

The Muscatine refugee community now finally has a point person in Nagy to contact for resources or to ask questions, particularly crucial when navigating government paperwork.

Nagy should know. Her family moved to Iowa from Canada several years ago, albeit under very different circumstances than the families she now assists.

"I'd seen the I-485 form, the application for residency," she said. "But we had an attorney fill it out and only had to read and sign it. They have to fill out the form. It also took us four years to get our green card. It takes a long time. It's frustrating for them, especially after all of their life experiences."

The hope is that the LSI program can help ease some of those frustrations and difficulties in starting a new life.

"Over the next months, I hope we see all of the legwork beginning to really come together," Nagy said.

It already is – a second computer class is now in session.