Name: Margaret MacGillivray
Social Justice Group: Refugees
Date of Fieldwork: December 1, 2017
Name of Organization: The Arab American Family Support Center
Person (people) with whom I met and their job titles: Hannah
Type of Fieldwork: Interview
What I did:
We spoke with many people at the center about what the center does to make Refugees feel safe and at home.
What I learned:
I learned a lot more about my topic throughout this interview. One thing I learned is that in order to help Refugees, you don’t always have to donate to organizations. The The Arab American Family Support Center helps Refugees by teaching them more about how to act in a job interview, and how to get them on their feet. Many Refugees have trouble when they get to the United States, because when they leave their countries, they must pay for the plain tickets. These plain tickets are extremely expensive, and if a family cannot pay for them, they have to take out a loan and pay it back very shortly. This is why it is so hard to be a Refugee coming to the United States. Not only might you be unfamiliar with the language and culture, but you don’t have a job and have to pay back your loan instantly. The The Arab American Family Support Center raises money to help Refugee families pay back their loans, and helps them get jobs and get on their feet. They also have kids programs. They have programs that help kids do their homework because it can be hard moving from your home, and sometimes it’s challenging to stay on top of all of your homework during all of the chaos of your parents finding a job and a place to live. Overall, the The Arab American Family Support Center does so many great things for Refugees and would be a great volunteer in the future.
What I learned about Social Justice “work” and/or Civil and Human rights “work” from this fieldwork:
Throughout this project, I learned how important a listening ear is. When many Refugees come to our country, there aren’t many people willing to listen about their struggles. That is one thing the The Arab American Family Support Center does – listens. Sometimes all people want is to be listened to, especially when they have gone through something hard. In Social Justice, it isn’t always about volunteering and being an advocate, but also being a friend and an ally. In a news article I read, it stated that something you can do to help Refugees is to welcome them into your home, and eat dinner with them. For any social justice work, you must keep that in mind.
