Fatshimetrie recently covered a poignant event, highlighting the warm welcome a family from Congo received as they discovered their new home in the United States. On that memorable day, volunteers from a local church stood at the apartment door to welcome them.
When the couple and the woman’s brother crossed the threshold of this two-room apartment in South Carolina, the emotion was palpable. Church volunteers had made blankets for the beds and arranged toys for the couple’s son.
Volunteer David Tait expresses the importance of generosity towards newcomers: “Being the richest country in the world, I think it is our duty to welcome people from countries…”
Attentive, the family follows the instructions of a translator to make their new living space their own. “No matter where they take us, we are just happy,” Kaaskile Kashindi, 28, says through the translator.
Originally from Congo, this young man fled his country with his family to take refuge in a camp in Tanzania, where they lived until a few weeks ago. They then moved to Columbia, a college town of 140,000 people.
Emotional scenes like this are increasing in the United States, where the refugee resettlement program is recovering after the previous administration’s budget cuts.
The Biden administration has worked to streamline the process of screening and placing refugees in the United States, while refugee resettlement agencies have opened new sites across the country.
Seth Hershberger, director of refugee resettlement for Lutheran Services of the Carolinas, emphasizes the importance of self-sufficiency and integration: “What we’re really aiming for, at the end of the day, is self-sufficiency. and integration. »
In 2020, approximately 40 refugees were settled in Columbia. This year, the organization plans to host about 440, opening new sites in three other cities.
Despite political debates, the reception of refugees within communities, like that of Columbia, is generally positive. If President Joe Biden succeeds in meeting his goal of welcoming 125,000 refugees this year, it would be the highest number of arrivals in more than three decades.
The increase in the number of refugees welcomed into the United States is a sign of hope and solidarity for those seeking refuge and a new life. Through these gestures of welcome and integration, the diversity and humanity of American communities shine brightly.