Interfaith Poultry Sociological Analysis

Intro: Refugees face a far worse life than most people can imagine, and there is no easy way out for them. They first must get out of whatever dangerous place they are in, then travel long distances with almost no resources, and even if they do make it safely to the USA there is a chance they will be sent back or even put in jail. The refugee experience is defined by risks and belonging.

This week’s reading topic is about the history of chickens. In the Smithsonian article “ How the Chicken Conquered the World” by Andrew Lawler and Jerry Adler, it discusses about how chickens have saved the Western civilization. According to the legend, the Athenian general Themistocles came across a cocks fight during his way to invade the Persians forces. In addition, history records that the Greeks repel the invaders and preserved the civilisation “honors the creatures by breading, frying and dipping them into one’s choice of sauce.” These creatures are known as the descendants of roosters.

In the battle of refugee resettlement, America is its own worst enemy. By abandoning and victimizing harmless refugees, America robs them of their chance at the American Dream. After spending two years interviewing refugees, Anna Husarska was able to support her argument that America is outrageously unfair to foreign refugees (90). In Husarska’s journal, “Exile Off Main Street: Refugees and America’s Ingratitude,” Husarska emphasizes how widespread and commonplace America’s refugee abandonment is, as well as how seldom America attempts to reconcile for it, and how poor it is at doing so.

Bill Mehlinger shares how he learned to accept the refugees. His grocery store business was doing poorly. With help from one of his employees, Hong Diep Vo, Mehlinger got the idea of making his grocery store fit the needs of the refugees. He got all kinds of ethnic food and started selling them in his store. It was convenient for the refugees because they do not need to go very far to get their food. Then his business was doing better than before. This shows how something new can change your life forever. It proves how diversity serves the goals and interests of everyone. ‘ “If it wasn’t for the refugees knowing us and knowing we go out of our way for them, we’d be gone,’ Mehlinger said” ‘ (175). Furthermore, the old Clarkston Baptist church undergoed the same experience. ‘ “ We realized that what the Lord had in store for that old Clarkston Baptist Church was to transition into a truly international church and to help minister to all these ethnic groups moving into the country,’ he said” ‘(176). As the cliche, “what comes around goes around” greatly applies to this experience. The church was on the verge to becoming broke and there was less people going to church. Then the noticed that they needed to cater to all the refugees in Clarkston. And in turn, the church was filled with people. They believed that the church was a place for everybody and they embraced the new

For the podcast, I interviewed Lina Abdulnoor, with the intention of exploring the intricacies of refugeehood by analyzing Lina’s refugee experience. Lina lived in Iraq with her family until they began receiving death threats due to their religious beliefs. Convinced that they needed to flee the country to survive, they left Iraq as refugees. After leaving Iraq, they settled in Jordan, where they waited two years until the U.N. to approve their request to move to the U.S. in 2012. Lina and her family initially settled in Virginia, where she experienced culture shock as she adapted to American culture and the English language. However, Lina did not feel accepted in Virginia; her experiences in the state led her to think that Americans treated her according to negative stereotypes of Iraqis. After living in Virginia for several months, Lina and her family chose to resettle in San Diego, California, which harbored a larger Iraqi population than Virginia did. Supported by San Diego’s Iraqi community and various refugee organizations, Lina flourished, and she currently studies at UCSD while holding a stable job.

Many Christians were displaced when Islamic forces invaded large Christian cities in Iraq. People from different social and religious backgrounds are at the camps. One thing the people all have in common is the loss of their homes. A priest, Father Douglas Bazi, stated that, “During the first week, the only thing I could hear was crying” (qtd. In “Inside The Refugee Camps Of Northern Iraq”). The refugees were devastated that their homes, and that even some peoples lives were taken away. The refugees do get medical attention for psychological conditions they may have. Experiencing the trauma they had experienced having their home taken away can cause psychological problems. The refugee camps in Iraq house people who have had their homes taken from them.

Some of these children immigrated to the United States for political or religious reasons, while others – like Ushab – were granted asylum so they could escape the refugee camps. Though they were only eight years old, these children have faced more change and tragedy than I hope to encounter in my entire lifetime. Each day that I spent with these kids, I was able to contribute something that improved their lives, and each day, they contributed something that improved mine.

Elia Chaldean Catholic Church in Ankawa, northern Iraq. He ministers to hundreds of refugees living in flimsy tents around his parish. He recalls: “When the kids arrived here, they were completely lost for the first two weeks, angry and selfish. I remember the first time we offered them toys; within five minutes they destroyed them all”.

The process of becoming a refugee is a lengthy progress. The United States Refugee Admission Program (USRAP) have different priorities to identify different individuals or groups who are a special concern to the United States to be process. The three priority groups include; Priority One (i.e. people who are refer by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United State Embassy, or some non-governmental organization), Priority Two (i.e. groups of special humanitarian concern), Priority Three (i.e. family reunification cases). After an individual or a group is referred by one of the three priority group, the applicant will be working with a Resettlement Support Center, who is under supervision of the United States Department

The ultimate goal for Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services is to make every refugee secure a job in the country (U.S) and become a self-sufficient individual.

Over the years, America has taken in many refugees; however we are currently in state of political unrest and the political future of America’s refuge program looks unclear.

The hardest thing for migrants/refugees is that they are required to contact their high school, which the refugee attended in their home country. Some schools they attended in their home country is that some of the school that they went to did not have any technology. It made it difficult for the migrants/refugee to get all the requirement document. The church is responding to charitable works is that so they can help the migrant and the

As hundreds of thousands of refugees have been flooding into the European continent seeking asylum, refugees have been faced with delay, mistreatment, and lack of access to food or proper shelter for several days. Christian relief organizations have been taking steps to provide immediate needs for the refugees.

My proposal focuses on the Syrian refugee crisis in the United States. Specifically, my proposal will deal with American attitudes towards refugees fleeing their country and what we could do better to help them adapt to this country. This topic is important in today’s society because with the election of Donald J. Trump, the rise of xenophobia and islamophobia has occurred.

The second part is, are they doing enough to settle the refugees when arriving here?. I learned about this when I went to Baltimore for Amnesty International conference. There was many experts talking about why are we not doing a good job resettling refugees. They explained many bad tactics they used to resettle refugees. For example, the organization will help you for about 90 days to sing the kids up for school (Bohman, Houda). Make doctor appointments, teach you how to shop, find you a job, and many more things in that short period of time.