Proud to be a Refugee?

Definition of REFUGEE

: one that flees; especially : a person who flees to a foreign country or power to escape danger or persecution

Here in Utica, NY it is estimated that between 12-18% of the population is made up of refugees. This is a concentration so large that it has been known to make national lists and has caught the attention of NPR, the New York Times, PBS, and countless other publications.

Many of the individuals we serve here at Utica Eastside Mission are refugees and discussions about culture happen on a regular basis at our After-School Program around the snack table.  


Recently I was brainstorming new ideas for our summer program and I was trying to come up with a name.  I want the name to tell individuals who have no idea about the refugee population in Utica exactly who we are and what we do but I have been afraid to use the word "refugee".


When I worked in the Deaf community in Baltimore, MD the Deaf individuals there were proud of their Deafness, so proud that they intentionally used a capitol "D" whenever writing the word.  I began to wonder if refugees are proud of, ashamed of, or indifferent to the fact that they are refugees.


When you search for images under "refugee" these are the typical results:

This is very close to my own image of refugees before moving to Utica and this is absolutely an honest portrayal of individuals who have been forced to flee from their homes around the world.  Although, once I arrived in Utica my image of refugees changed to something more like this:

Isn't that something to be proud of, something worthy of honoring?  So, I asked two of the kids that attend our After-School Program and here is the deeply significant response I received...


Me: I have a question for you, are you a refugee?  Is that something you talk about at home?
Child #1: I don't know.  My family is from Vietnam, my brother was born in another country and I was born here.
Me: Does your family ever talk about being refugees?
Child #2: What is a refugee?
Me:  A refugee is a person or group of people that need to leave where there are living because something bad happened to them.  They then go live in another place. It just refers to the group of people.  Would your feelings be hurt if I called you a refugee or said we had programs here for refugees?
Child #2: What is a refugee?


Next time I will ask the older kids and adults.  For now I will continue to think this over.  What I know is that I cherish the relationships I have made with these group of individuals.  I understand that some of them have been through terrible things in their lives and I want to show them the greatest amount of respect.  I also want volunteers who come to work with us to know who they are working alongside.  Maybe I will name the program "Awesome People Who Have Great Stories, Outreach"