2023 - Q3

Friends,

This newsletter is from Joe Mitchell of the Idaho Falls Bridge Builders, and is an update on refugees in Idaho Falls.  If you want to skip my reflections and get straight to the donations the refugees have asked for, scroll to the Donations section near the end.

A brief recap

The Refugee Act of 1980 meant that Idaho Falls, being more than 100 miles from the Idaho refugee resettlement agencies in Boise and Twin Falls, was not eligible for any refugees to resettle here.

Until April 2022, when three young men from Afghanistan resettled through the Operation Allies Welcome program. In February 2023 a three-generational family of four (now five; welcome baby Daniil!) resettled through the Uniting for Ukraine Program.  My wife Kim and I have led two Sponsor Circles and started a non-profit, all for the purpose of assisting these legal refugees and helping the community welcome them. Our Sponsor Circles and nonprofit partners have been generous with their time and money, and a joy to work with. Thank you!

All of the working-age newcomers have full-time jobs, and also work side-gigs with Walmart Delivery and DoorDash. All of the newcomers of every age from newborn to 67 are improving their English, making friends, and are a benefit to our community.

Since I left a happy engineering career two years ago, I have spent most of my time learning about refugees, learning about Idaho Falls, laughing at Google translate (example, when discussing rain gutters with Grandma, Google translated one of her statements as: “There’s grass in my bra!” What she actually said - in Ukrainian - remains a mystery), speaking at civic organizations about refugees, reading books about Afghanistan and the Ukraine, and other fascinating activities.  I want to spend a little time in this newsletter reflecting on what I have learned so far.

Refugees are still in crisis, even after arriving in the US

The Afghan men have been separated from their newlywed wives since Kabul fell on August 15, 2021.  The Taliban is an on-going threat to their families there. Economic devastation is also an on-going risk and they all send money from their paychecks home every month.

The Ukrainian grandma, who actually rarely has grass in her clothes, has been separated from her husband for more than six months.  She also misses, in no particular order, her other grandkids, her garden, and her chickens.

The Russian Christian husband and his Ukrainian Christian wife have heard accounts of wartime atrocities, and news of how their homeland churches have become increasingly nationalistic.  (One of many examples:  https://carnegieendowment.org/politika/88916)

Application: When we interact with refugees we need to remember that even in the US they are still in crisis, not fully at peace.

Motivation for helping refugees

I’ve seen three major motivations.

Faith-based.  Sometimes people from this background will quote Bible verses, for example from the Old Testament:  “God defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners.” And from the New Testament, quoting Jesus, after the parable of the Good Samaritan, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Application: For people of faith, helping refugees is a practical way to put it into action.

Economic.  In March 2023 the Idaho Office of Refugees held a Refugee Appreciation Luncheon and invited organizations to support refugees in Idaho.  169 groups expressed support.  Over 100 of these were businesses or business groups that benefit from having refugees in Idaho.

The luncheon was sponsored by the Idaho Dairymen’s Association.

This should not come as a surprise.  Refugees are significantly  more likely than Americans as a whole to have full time jobs.  And those jobs are more likely to be in essential industries such as food processing, truck driving, and manufacturing.  Also, refugees are about three times more likely to start a small business which employs others.

Application:  Don’t limit our thinking to refugees as people to show compassion to.  Realize that they are an economic benefit to our communities.

Loyalty to Military Allies.  I’ve come to appreciate that our veterans are (almost pathologically) loyal to their allies.  Most of the groups that we have connected with that are helping Afghans under the Operation Allies Welcome programs were started by veterans.

The best source of information about Afghan issues in the US is this one: https://afghanevac.org/

Take a look at their coalition partners here, noticing how many are military/veterans groups:  https://afghanevac.org/about/#coalitionpartners

I’m not a veteran, although two of my brothers and my uncle and some nephews are.  I’m predisposed to respect our veterans, but working with refugees has only caused that respect to increase, especially for the role veterans can play after finishing active duty.  Thank you.

Application: Don’t judge people if their motivations for helping refugees are different than yours. Enjoy the chance to team with someone from a different background.

Three cheers for Idaho Falls

When Kim and I first started telling people about a new opportunity to bring Afghan refugees to Idaho Falls, we expected some opposition.  I honestly expected some pickup trucks with threatening flags and “F__ You BLM!” bumper stickers to show up and rev their un-mufflered engines in our driveway, or even worse, in the driveway of our allies.  It hasn’t happened.  

We went hiking with our (Muslim) Afghan friends last week and asked them how much racial and religious discrimination they have heard in the past year in Idaho Falls.  They said: “None! Sometimes people have thought we are Latino and spoken to us in Spanish, but that's not a problem! Even after people understand who we are, it's OK.” (One of them is learning Spanish, as his fifth language.  His pronunciation is flawless.)

Even better than showing tolerance, Idaho Falls has shown love.  All of the newcomers have local friends.  They have received donations for necessities and school fees. Bridge Builders has been supported by many churches, civic groups, the mayor’s offices, the senator’s offices, the IF African American Alliance, the Idaho Falls Muslim Association, and many more groups.  I have always been happy to live in Idaho Falls, now I have even more local pride.  Thank you!

Donations

I asked all of the newcomers what they could use if people want to donate.  They said

• Used fishing equipment, either spin fishing or fly fishing

• Used camping equipment, like tents and sleeping bags

• A used picnic table or scrap wood they can use to build one (they have built lots of things using recycled wood from the Hatch Pit)

• Scrap wood that could be used to build a sandbox for the five year old

• Money to help R with his college expenses this year.  His program requires a year at ISU which is more expensive than CEI. He has been energetically working overtime and applying for scholarships but at this point is still about $5k short.  The others, all at CEI, appear to be all set for next year.

You can take donations straight to the house where all eight of the newcomers live (contact me for the address if you don’t have it) or contact me for pickup.  If you want a tax receipt you can give the gift to Bridge Builders, after which I will give you a receipt and pass the gift on.

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Joe Mitchell, July 10, 2023,  Idaho Falls Bridge Builders - Our mission is to assist legal refugees who choose to relocate to Idaho Falls, and to assist the community in welcoming them. 

https://sites.google.com/view/idaho-falls-bridge-builders/home

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