Seeking the American dream: Refugees come to job fair with high hopes

When Pah Tmay arrived in the Utah as a refugee from Myanmar, he could barely speak a sentence of English and took a job in food services at the Salt Lake City International Airport.

Tmay left Myanmar — formerly known as Burma — during political turmoil, and found refuge in a camp in Thailand. Five months have passed since his arrival in Utah, and Tmay, 21, is doing well with his second language. And he's looking for a new job — something more challenging, with higher pay.

"This looks interesting," said Tmay, pointing to a flier advertising positions with FedEx Ground during a job fair for refugees that was held Thursday at the Utah Department of Workforce Services in Salt Lake City.

Hundreds of refugees attended the job fair, hoping to achieve "the American Dream" by landing interviews and filling out applications with 20 employers such as Qwest, the University of Utah, Intermountain Healthcare and Stein Eriksen Lodge.

Companies had professional, clerical and labor positions available. Refugees were notified of the job fair through social workers who work with refugees, nonprofits and ethnic associations, said Jon Pierpont, regional director for Workforce Services.

"The last time we did a targeted job fair (for refugees) was two years ago," Pierpont said. "With the number of refugees coming into Salt Lake, we thought they needed to be connected to the business community."

Since 1983, about 19,500 refugees have settled in Utah from Southeast Asia, the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Cuba.

Some of the refugees at the job fair were dressed in their native countries' fashions, but Agnes Nduwimana wore a blue linen Western-style suit for the event. "I'm looking for any kind of job that will allow me to pay my rent and take care of my family," she said.

Nduwimana has five children. She arrived in Utah on Sept. 10 from Tanzania. Her family had fled Burundi before she was born because of civil war.

Since arriving in Utah, Nduwimana has stayed at home with her family, helping them adjust. She said that if she's lucky, she'll land her first job in the United States in hotel house-keeping.

Riea Ako, from Sudan, talked to human-resource managers at Air Terminal Gifts at the Salt Lake City airport and HMS Host, which owns restaurants at the airport. Ako, 24, said she isn't working right now and would like to enter the work force. She said she doesn't really care where she works.

"I just want a job," she said.