Refugees 101
Originally presented Wednesday, October 23, 2008, by Join Valerie Wonder, Immigrant & Refugee Programs Manager at Seattle Public Library (WA) and Homa Naficy Manager of Multicultural Education and Outreach Services at Hartford Public Library (CT).
In 1975 the United States began accepting large numbers of refugees in response to the Fall of Saigon. Over the next 33 years approximately 2.6 million refugees have been resettled in this country, and many of these individuals are now using our libraries. Join Valerie Wonder, Immigrant & Refugee Programs Manager at Seattle Public Library (WA) and Homa Naficy Manager of Multicultural Education and Outreach Services at Hartford Public Library (CT) as they provide an overview of refugee resettlement in the United States including information on recent refugee populations. They will also highlight some successful approaches to serving refugees in public libraries. Before working for SPL, Valerie was the Community Programs Manager for the International Rescue Committee's Seattle office where she specialized in refugee services.
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US Dept of State, Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration
Responsible for formulating policies on population, refugees, and migration, and for administering U.S. refugee assistance and admissions programs
US Dept. Health and Human Services, Administration of Children and Services, Office of Refugee Resettlement
Provides information about the resettlement process along with data.
Cultural Orientation Resource Center
Povides orientation resources for refugee newcomers and service providers throughout the United States and overseas. Housed at the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL), the COR Center combines CAL's linguistic expertise, the cross-cultural and technical knowledge of COR's many consultants, and the field experience of refugee service practitioners.
Recommended Books and Films
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
The Spirit Catches and You Fall Down: a Hmong Child, her American doctors, and the collision of two Cultures by Anne Fadiman
The Middle of Everywhere: the world's refugees come to our town by Mary Brary Pipher
A Long Way Gone Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishamael Beah
When Broken Glass Floats by Chanrithy Him
Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Romeo Dallaire (Documentary)
The Letter (Documentary)
The Lost Boys of Sudan (Documentary)
