Syrian refugees welcomed by agencies despite states’ fight

Wednesday, December 9, 2015
By Paul Martin

By NOMAAN MERCHANT and BRIAN SLODYSKO
AP.org
Dec. 9, 2015

DALLAS (AP) — Days before a family of six Syrian refugees was to arrive in Texas, the furniture and supplies for their apartment were ready.

Local volunteers collected mattresses, toys and bicycles for two children. Syrians already settled here were prepared to welcome them and help them get acquainted with their new home thousands of miles from their war-torn homeland.

Even as governors in some states say Syrian refugees aren’t welcome, resettlement agencies and volunteer groups with refugees continue welcoming them.

Refugees arrived this week in two cities in Texas and in Indiana, both states whose governors have said they reject Syrian refugees due to concerns they might pose a threat to public safety.

A family of six refugees was settled Monday night in Dallas, joining relatives living in the region already, and a couple and their four daughters arrived in Houston. They arrived as Texas was mounting the most aggressive campaign of any state against Syrian refugees.

And a couple and their two young children arrived in Indiana at the invitation of the Roman Catholic archdiocese in Indianapolis, which went on with plans to resettle them despite calls from Gov. Mike Pence not to do so.

The family in Dallas arrived to a furnished apartment and a stocked refrigerator, said Lucy Carrigan, spokeswoman for the International Rescue Committee. An IRC caseworker was expected to meet with them shortly after their arrival and map out their next steps, from enrolling children in school to how to use local mass transit, said Donna Duvin, executive director of the IRC’s Dallas office.

Duvin said her agency’s work with the Syrian family was not greatly different from how it regularly helps refugees, though heavy media attention has followed this family’s arrival. The agency, she said, wanted to “as much as possible, create a sense of a normal life” for this family and all refugees.

“Families who have been separated, especially by the trauma of war, are desperate to have their families with them here so they can really feel like they can get on with their lives,” Duvin said.

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