Name: Hudson Kassen

Social Justice Group: Refugees

Date of Fieldwork: January 29, 2018

Name of Organization: Catholic Charities

Person (people) with whom I met and their job titles: Siddika Degia

Type of Fieldwork: Direct Action

What I did:

We got a presentation about what the Refugee Resettlement Office at Catholic Charities did, and what the difference between an asylum seeker and a refugee is. Then we made toiletry packages for people who need them.

What I learned:

We learned that a refugee is someone who applies for refugee status, and is granted and then placed, whereas an asylum seeker is someone who just shows up at the border and asks for asylum. I also learned that the refugee quota the Trump administration set is the lowest ever and that there are seven main resettlers in the USA.

What I learned about Social Justice “work” and/or Civil and Human rights “work” from this fieldwork:

I learned that doing something small for someone like putting toiletries in a bag with a kind note can really make someone feel better. If you help somebody it feels good, it feels like you can really make a difference and not everything is so hopeless as it normally seems.