World Relief leader: Refugees are 'not terrorists'

Dozens of people squeezed inside Cafe K'Tizo in Wheaton last week to listen to a Syrian refugee tell the harrowing story of how he ended up in the United States.

Attendees shook their heads in sadness as he spoke of his "peaceful" life being turned into a nightmare filled with frequent bombings, shootings and the serious threat of being killed any time he left his house.

They smiled as he expressed the joy he felt for being granted permission to come to America after seeking asylum in Turkey, where he was interviewed numerous times and screened for about three years by various government agencies, including the FBI, the National Counterterrorism Center and the Department of Homeland Security.

They clapped when he shared his immense gratitude for World Relief DuPage/Aurora, a refugee resettlement organization that helped his family start a new life.

"When we came here we were really surprised with the extraordinary decency and kindness of the American people," he said through a translator. "We never imagined there would be people in any other culture that would embrace us as family."

Much has changed in a week.

Since the terrorist attacks on Paris last Friday, concerns over the refugee's safety resulted in a request from World Relief to not use his name or photograph.

Executive Director Emily Gray said Gov. Bruce Rauner's call for Illinois to stop accepting Syrian refugees has raised fears in many of those the organization serves.

"These are people who know all too well what it is like to be persecuted," she said. "To be in a place ... that you think is safe, and to have from the top leader of the state that you're in say 'We're not sure you're welcome here,' I can't imagine what that feels like. That breaks my heart that people who have been through so much have to hear those negative messages, again."

Gray said it still needs to be determined, legally, if states can ban refugees from coming in, but she believes politicians advocating for a freeze will not succeed.

"Most opinions say governors cannot discriminate against people legally authorized by the federal government to be in the country," she said.

The U.S. House approved a bill Thursday to raise barriers against Syrian and Iraqi refugees, but President Barack Obama has threatened to veto it.

Regardless, due to the length of the U.S. resettlement process - often between five and seven years, Gray said - the number of Syrian refugees coming to the suburbs isn't expected to go up dramatically in the next year.

"The folks that people are seeing in the news, they're not even in the pipeline," she said, adding that only one Syrian family is scheduled to be welcomed by World Relief DuPage/Aurora in the near future.

Last fiscal year, a total of 131 Syrian refugees were resettled in Illinois, according to the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. World Relief worked with 16 of them, providing not only resettlement services, but also help finding employment, mental health support and legal assistance.

As debates continue, Gray said she hopes people will take some time to better educate themselves on the issue. It's been difficult, she said, to watch incomplete and inaccurate information about refugees circulate on social media and other forums.

"It can't be done in sound bites," she said. "I think what we need is more people to be willing to invest the time to learn deeply. Things like social media are wonderful communication tools, but you cannot understand resettlement in 140 characters. That's a real challenge for us."

One point she especially wants to make clear is the distinction between people searching for a safe haven in Europe and refugees coming to the U.S. In Europe, she said, they are considered "asylum seekers" as they move into safer areas without going through screening processes.

"Refugees coming here are completely different because we are a third country resettlement location," she said. "We're not a country of first asylum. That, and the extent of the screening process, is what our politicians do not understand. You can't compare what you're seeing of people getting off a rubber raft on (the Greek island) Lesbos to the folks that get off the plane at O'Hare. There's no comparison."

People who go through the resettlement process have "had to prove their own victimization, and they've had to relieve it every single interview," she said.

"No one is more screened then refugees today. It's a proven process," she said. "They're the victims of terrorism. They are not terrorists."