Wave of refugees resettling in Indianapolis
Having survived her war-torn homeland of Somalia, Deko Abdi Hussein is now trying to adjust to her new home -- and a new language -- here in Indianapolis.
By Jason Thomas
Posted: March 16, 2010.Comments (59) Recommend (4)




Having survived her war-torn homeland of Somalia, Deko Abdi Hussein is now trying to adjust to her new home -- and a new language -- here in Indianapolis.
"The key to success if you want to live here," Hussein said through an interpreter, "is you have to learn English."

Hussein is learning English in a makeshift "classroom" at her Westside apartment complex. She's not alone.
Hussein is among a recent wave of refugees who have resettled in Indianapolis. More than 1,110 refugees are expected to make Indianapolis their home this year, an increase of more than 30 percent from last year.
Some come as families. Some come alone. All are desperately seeking a new life while escaping economic or political strife unimaginable to most Americans.
Hussein, for example, has lost two uncles in the fighting in Mogadishu.
The 23-year-old has no idea where her brothers and sisters are -- only that they are somewhere in Somalia.
The vast majority of refugees who settle in Indianapolis are Burmese, who continue to be the largest refugee group in the U.S., followed by Iraqis.
Refugees such as Hussein, who come from nations that are represented here in fewer numbers, can face an especially difficult adjustment.
Refugees "follow the American narrative of people seeking out a better economic or political life," said Una Osili, associate professor of economics and philanthropic studies at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.
"They bring with them diverse cultures, diverse traditions that help to enrich the fabric of our communities."
They also come with their own set of difficulties.
Indianapolis Public Schools, for example, has been struggling to accommodate 21 new refugee students since February. Six more are due to arrive by the end of this month.
"We've gotten refugees for years, but usually not in these kinds of numbers," said Marilee Updike, the English-as-a-Second-Language coordinator for IPS.
About 80,000 refugees are expected to be placed in the United States this year, a more than 32 percent increase from two years ago. But those numbers are not nearly as high as the early 1990s, when refugee arrivals reached 122,000.

Officials with Catholic Charities Indianapolis and Exodus Refugee Immigration, the two refugee resettlement agencies in Indianapolis, cite the area's relatively healthy economy, a welcoming community and an established Burmese population of about 8,000 people on the Southside for why refugees are placed here. About 75 percent of Indianapolis' refugees each year are Burmese. (Burma is also known as Myanmar.)
"Basically, the key is community stakeholders and churches assisting the agencies and having a dedication of what they're doing," said Susan S. Boyle, Indiana's refugee resettlement coordinator. "Everybody works together to accomplish this."

One of the most pressing obstacles to overcome is a new language. Parents and their children oftentimes are learning English simultaneously. For adults such as Hussein, the classroom is often the leasing office at Stratford Apartments, which many refugees call home. For the students, it's in classrooms across Indianapolis.
"They're immersed from the day they walk in the door," Updike said.
Spanish is by far the most prevalent language among those who are limited-English speakers -- which make up more than 11 percent of the district's enrollment -- but IPS students speak more than 40 languages in all.
Last week alone, 11 refugees enrolled in IPS schools from countries including Congo, Ethiopia and Sudan.
Six other students -- five Burmese and one Ethiopian -- will call Indianapolis home by the end of this month.
In addition to language, there are cultural differences. And in the case of some refugees, there is the added adjustment of having lived in terrible fear, amid death and torture.
"You just have to break down some barriers," said Updike, who oversees 76 English-as-a-Second-Language teachers at IPS. "It's tough for them to come from there to here. Sometimes families are in refugee camps for a very long time. Those are not nice places."
And yet against those odds, there is success.
Laurence Saw was resettled to Indianapolis in June 2005 after fleeing political persecution in his native Burma. He first lived in Thailand for six years before getting to the United States.

Saw, a case manager at Catholic Charities, bought his first house in November, a three-bedroom ranch on the city's Northwestside.
"When I first came here, I was very scared," said Saw, who speaks to his four brothers and sister, who remain in Burma, only twice a year. "I think the United States is the land of opportunity, for the people who understand and know the opportunity."

Hussein, who attended the English class last week at the Stratford Apartments, also sees the opportunity. Her priority is to "be an educated person" -- something unattainable in Mogadishu, where the government is in chaos.
"It's very humbling to work with survivors . . . who have lost their homes and their homeland," said Gabrielle Campo, director of Catholic Charities' refugee program. "They're so willing and wanting to learn and become self-sufficient, which is the main goal of our program."
Hussein is well on her way. She's hoping -- after she learns English -- to become a doctor.
"I'm expecting an opportunistic country," Hussein said. "The best thing I've found is the peace, to stay where there is no feuding, no war."


http://www.indystar.com/article/2010031 ... dianapolis