From Deseret News archives:
A new homeland
Starting over in Utah is 'very complicated' for refugees
They are displaced by dictators and civil war; chased from their homelands and persecuted for their politics, religious beliefs or ethnicity. Between 30,000 and 50,000 now call Utah home. They are not immigrants. They are not illegal aliens. They are refugees.
A study by Deseret Morning News reporters Lucinda Dillon Kinkead and Dennis Romboy reveals a refugee community that has delivered richness and diversity to Utah but that struggles to learn how to live, work and prosper in its new home. Beginning today, a six-part series, "Raising Refugees," will examine the challenges and contributions of Utah's refugee community.
To hear the stories of Utah refugees is to enter a foreign country.
Few Utah mothers can identify with the history of Rebecca Tailey, who spent seven years in the bush after grabbing her children and running when rebels came to her Liberian village burning homes and killing her countrymen.
Few Utah children, sated with three meals a day and a public education, can possibly see life through the eyes of 16-year-old Kamila Yaqoobi, who did not go to school and did not have enough to eat but spent much of her young life making rags on the streets of Islamabad, Pakistan, after fleeing the Taliban.
And the experience of the average Utahn is surely a world away from that of Somali Farah Abdikadir, who came to Utah three weeks ago from a Kenyan refugee camp with his wife, seven children and virtually no possessions, no English, no job skills and no knowledge of Western living.
Refugees are a growing part of the Utah community.
Officials estimate 30,000 to 50,000 have escaped perilous circumstances in other countries and have resettled here.
Resettlement officials say Utah is considered a family-friendly state and a good location for refugees because of its strong community support, a relatively low cost of living and the availability of entry-level jobs.
But an examination of the refugee community by the Deseret Morning News shows a population in various stages of struggle — and the state's support system laboring to handle challenges posed by the newest arrivals.
"The refugee movement has brought such a richness to our community," said Jan Broxton, math and science supervisor of the Salt Lake School District.
"Their learning curve is great," she said. "But ours is great, too."
