Tag: refugees

Refugees

Today, I went to the Budlong Woods branch of Chicago Public Library to listed to the talk about the history and mission of RefugeeOne – the charity which helps refugees to resettle.

A huge portion of this talk was about the definition of who are refugees and who are asylum seekers (and I have to admit, I didn’t know that these worlds have precise UN definitions).

I didn’t know how long people usually stay in the refugee camps until they are resettled – can you believe it’s seventeen years on average?! Also, I had no idea about how many displaced people are there in the world – the picture below provides 2021 numbers, before the war in Ukraine, and as of now, the estimates are over 100 million, including internal displacement.

Even when the refugees ae resettled, have an apartment to live in, and help to become independent and self-sufficient, it still takes a huge effort, and that’s what RefugeeOne is doing.

They are calling for volunteers who follow the newly arriving families for the first six months, “holding their hands.” That’s something I was already thinking about last year, and I have to say that, unfortunately, I can’t make that sort of commitment, at least for now. But I will keep it in mind for the future.

A Family Weekend

My girls were here over the weekend, and this time, nobody got sick (although somebody was coughing), and we did so many things together! We went to the Art Institute, did many art projects at home, drew with colored chalk in the courtyard, and biked!

Nadia stunned me by riding her bike for more than nine miles total! From my house to the Lakefront Trail, almost two more miles to the playground, and then back. I am telling you – an amazing kid!

Anna learned about refugees from me, and she managed to help them in so many ways that I can’t even describe, As I already mentioned, I do not want to talk a lot about this to protect people’s privacy, but just let me tell you – it has become a family project!

I am very sleep-deprived, but I won’t change anything about these past several days!

Refugees

so… I easily could skip this notification from the NextDoor, but I didn’t. And once I saw the situation the people are in, I could neither just walk away, nor drop some donations and check it done.

After one week of doing my best to help (with moderate success), I have a couple of statements to make:

  • It is awesome that we have so many organizations that help refugees
  • It’s ridiculous, that the refugees are not informed about them, and that there is no centralized agency which would direct them to the right resources
  • This whole system of affidavits is wrong, and I do not know how to make it right
  • Last week, I mentioned on this blog that I wonder why none of my Ukrainian friends ever told me that “I do not understand their situation,” and at the same time, most of my friends in Russia tell me that I do not understand their sufferings. Now, I want to make a similar statement. Why a refugee, who was a poll watcher, received multiple threats, had her friends arrested, and finally fleed Russia, why she is saying: Ukrainian refugees do not want to talk to us, I totally understand, after everything we did… and at the same time, people who are currently in Russia are saying: why the whole world is against us, just based on nationality.

Also, I am exceptionally thankful to Anna, who jumped in and spent a good part of her weekend her helping; to Igor who jumped in on the first day and helped in many ways, and to my next door neighbors, who donated not the things which they wanted to get rid of, but the items which were really needed.