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Author: Danielle Gauthier

“Like a Dream Come True”: Farishta’s Journey from Afghan Refugee to U.S. Citizen

Written by Danielle Gauthier on . Posted in Afghan Refugees, Blog, Client Stories, Legal, Lowell.

“It is like a dream come true. It is the biggest day of my life. After all the problems and long journey, finally I achieved what I wished for. I am also so glad that I am working in such wonderful environments and supporting refugees to achieve the goals of their life.” 

On August 14, 2024, Farishta Shams, a former Afghan refugee and current IINE Resettlement Services Manager, was sworn in as a U.S. citizen along with her husband. Farishta was an IINE client when she first arrived in the U.S. in 2019. She became an IINE client once again this past February when she began working with the Immigration Legal Services team to apply for her citizenship. 

Helping Women Meant Life as a Target 

When asked about the “problems and long journey” she was thinking about on her day of celebration, Farishta smiles and says, “Oh, this will be a story.”   

Back in Kandahar, Afghanistan, Farishta worked for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).  

Farishta in Afghanistan
Farishta and her USAID colleagues in Afghanistan

“It was a bit of problem working with the U.S,” she says. “You had to hide your identity and home address and everything. While I was working for the USAID project, I had been attacked by the Taliban twice in the car while going to or from work.” 

The Taliban was not the only threat.  

“We were providing trainings for woman to know how to start up small businesses, and there were some husbands who didn’t like women to work, and so there were times when these husbands or their relations were also trying to create a problems for us.” 

In order to help fellow Afghan women, Farishta frequently felt like a fugitive and essentially had to live a double life. 

“During the whole journey, my nine-year experience, I changed my home multiple times. I even had to hide myself for months because they found everything. I spread the word to everyone that I had resigned my job, that I was just a teacher. I was leaving my house at 6:00 a.m. and coming home at 5:00 p.m., acting as a teacher, but really I was working for the government. It was not only my problem, it was entire family’s problem—the Taliban could target my entire family.” 

After Farishta was attacked in her car for the second time, she told the head of her project at USAID. He began the process of helping her apply for a Special Immigrant Visa so she could flee to safety. Farishta says it typically takes three to five years to get a Special Immigrant Visa approved to come the U.S., but because she had been attacked while working for them, USAID helped her get her visa within two.  

“A New Life” 

“The day I reached Kabul airport, and then arrived at Dubai, I felt like I found a new life,” Farishta remembers. “I never had felt that happy—that nobody is following me, nobody’s calling. I felt that I had caused problems but that now my family would no longer be at risk because I had left.”  

When she arrived in the U.S., IINE helped Farishta and her husband resettle in Lowell, Massachusetts. “They really helped me with housing, with applying for benefits, finding me a job and showing me how to complete my bachelor’s degree. I also took classes to improve my English.” 

Farishta was deeply impressed with IINE’s staff and the support she received, and recognized the work as similar to what she had been able to do with USAID. She felt that working at IINE would now be her dream job. She was thrilled when, in 2021, she was able to join the organization as an IINE Case Specialist. 

“The experience of helping people, it’s really another dream come true working here,” she says. After a year, she was promoted to her current role as a Resettlement Services Manager. 

“Now It’s My Own Country” 

Farishta at her naturalization ceremony

Last February, Farishta reached out to IINE’s Immigration Legal Services team about she and her husband applying for citizenship. Staff Attorney Pooja Salve was assigned to their case.  

“Pooja did a really good job!” Farishta says.” It was very smooth and easy process. She helped fill and check the paperwork. She had a mock interview with us that really helped us get an idea of what is expected of you. She updated us on every application status.” 

Farishta went into her citizenship interview prepared. “I was practicing for the questions every ten minutes, every night!” she remembers.  

“Every exam has some anxiety. I thought a huge officer with a big heavy voice would come in and take my interview—you know officers can be scary—but then when a lady came in and called me, she was so sweet! I was shocked! When she asked the questions, my anxiety went away, and the process ran smoothly.” 

As soon as she learned she had passed, Farishta pulled out her phone. “First of all I reached out to the team at IINE to tell them that I had passed!” Then she went on to her swearing-in ceremony.

“That was really exciting for me! I feel like now it’s like I’m originally from this country! We just registered to vote. It’s like our own country!”  

Farishta is also excited to finally have the freedom to travel. Because her father worked with the Canadian government, much of her family resettled there. She also has a sister in Germany whom she’s been longing to visit. Her new Green Card and passport will make many joyous reunions possible in her future.

“It really is a dream come true,” she says.  

•••

Refugees and immigrants make long, difficult journeys to escape violence and rebuild their lives in the U.S. You can give them the help they need to start fresh today. 

Suitcase Stories®: Ishtar, a Haitian Immigrant, Shares Why She Came and Why She Stays

Written by Danielle Gauthier on . Posted in Blog, Haitian Immigrants, Lowell, Our Team, Suitcase Stories.

Ishtar Pady, a recent immigrant from Haiti, works as a Case Specialist in IINE’s Lowell, Massachusetts office. Ishtar has shared her Suitcase Stories® performance with many audiences, chronicling her and her father’s journey to the U.S. in pursuit of medical care, and the evolution of her relationships both with him and with the country in which she now resides. This is the story in her own words.  

About two years ago, it occurred to me that I had to become the parent of my parent. I was in Haiti and my father was very sick. 

Ishtar with her father in Haiti
Ishtar with her father in Haiti

As a family (because one voice was not enough), we had to convince him to go to the hospital. He did not want to, and he was not seeing any doctor at the time. His “Primary Care Physician,” as you call it here, had been his younger brother, who had also been my doctor, but he had been killed the year before during a gruesome kidnapping attempt. Since then, my dad did not have a PCP, and he did not trust that many doctors. He was really stubborn; I hear it’s a family trait, but no worries, it skipped my generation (you can’t prove me wrong)! 

Anyway, after a couple of days, we convinced my father, and he agreed to go to the hospital. When we got there, they told me that before he could see a doctor, I must see the admissions office. The clerk asked me about my father’s insurance. Though my dad had worked for the government for about 50 years, he didn’t have great insurance, so he was on my mother’s plan – or so we thought. When I submitted her card, they checked with the insurance provider and then told me my father was no longer eligible for coverage because he was over seventy. That is when I realized that apparently, in Haiti, when you are over seventy and typically need it the most, well, I guess you are no longer qualified for care protection. So, I had to give my credit card on the spot just to secure basic medical care.  

Back then, I had been working for about six years, so not a lot of savings; you know what young people do with money! Not partying…shopping. I gave my card anyway as I had no choice. My dad needed urgent medical care. He spent about a week at the hospital and got a little better, but it became clear that we had to do more because nothing was solved.  

Ishtar's Uncle Ernest, sister Christina, father, and sister Arianne
Ishtar’s Uncle Ernest, sister Christina, father, and sister Arianne

The last time my dad had seen a doctor was about 6 months earlier. That doctor had diagnosed him with stage 4 cancer and had firmly stated that there was no treatment available in Haiti. His recommendation had been to travel to the Dominican Republic, Cuba, or the United States of America for a chance to survive. We investigated all the options. At that point, my father had a USA visa, but instead of seeking care elsewhere, he let it expire. Stubborn.  

Now, however, we could no longer resort to inaction and hope for the best as my father was suffering without recourse even for his extreme pain. So, I prompted my uncles and aunts to speak to him, and we were finally able to persuade my dad to move. He and I traveled to the U.S. and when we arrived, we went straight from the airport to Boston Medical Center. It was a long trip, and my father was tired and in a lot of pain.  

Here I was again in a hospital lobby, really stressed because I did not have a valid credit card in this new country and my father still did not have insurance. But surprise! They didn’t ask for that. He was admitted shortly after and spent about a week there. After that, we went home to my uncle’s house who had graciously welcomed us. I have many uncles and aunts in this state, which is the main reason we chose to come to Massachusetts, aside from the fact that I heard it is one of the best states when it comes to healthcare. I can attest to that; my dad did have a great team at BMC.  

Ishtar and her father at her sister's wedding
Ishtar and her father at her sister’s wedding

While I was my father’s main caretaker at home, I was still working for my employer in Haiti. They were really understanding and allowed me to work remotely. I was a Sponsorship Program Coordinator, supporting schools in remote communities and helping vulnerable children get access to quality education. I was working hard, and hardly working because I loved it! I was always traveling to new places, never too far from the beach, meeting new people, starting empowerment initiatives, and being empowered. I loved it, but shortly after I was laid off. The organization I worked with, a U.S.-based NGO, was cutting all operations in Haiti. They simply could no longer maintain their activities in the country because the worsening situation made it too dangerous.  

Fortunately, I had the opportunity to apply for a work permit, so I started the process. When I mentioned it to my father (because we talked about almost everything), he asked me to apply for him too. Well, I could not refuse based on the fact that he was terminally ill, so I said, “Dad, I think the retirement age here is 65 so you don’t need a work permit.” He replied, “Do you know how old Trump and Biden are?” I must admit he got me there and I had no argument, so I let him be. My dad was actually still hopeful he would fully recover and be able to work. He even kept arguing that he wanted to go back to Haiti. But my family and I knew that was unrealistic.  

Shortly after, he did pass, only two months after being here. We came too late for treatment; he was only provided palliative care. However, I was still happy because in Haiti, navigating my father’s care was complicated. It was a hassle between the three of us, a younger sister and a cousin. But here, my dad had nine siblings, and he spent his final months surrounded by family. My father’s relatives and his older children all came to spend time with him. They brought food daily at the hospital (because, of course, my father did not like the hospital food). I was also happy to be in a place where I was relieved of the burden and the daily stress that I would not be able to take care of my father because he received the needed support. I was grateful he could die as humanely as possible.  

From L to R: Ishtar’s sisters Christina and Arianne, Ishtar, her sister Noami, and her father, Price 

That was one of my main reasons for choosing to stay in the US and wanting to contribute to this society. I felt it was right that my taxes should be allocated to things that mattered like my father’s health. His 50 years of proudly working and taxpaying in Haiti served him very little in the end. I was frustrated and despite my love for my country, I did not want my fate to be like my uncle’s – murdered and left in the streets, or like my father’s – slowly dying because of lack of treatment. So even though I was grieving, I began focusing on employment. 

I was delighted when I soon got a position at the International Institute of New England. I feel satisfied that I get to support immigrants like my father and me. I am glad that I get to connect them to available resources. This job allows me to contribute with my labor power and my taxes.  

However, when I received my first paycheck, and I saw what those taxes translated to…I was so surprised! I complained to everyone. I remember discussing the issue with an older sister who had lived in the US all her life and she said, looking at me with pity in her eyes but a smile on her lips, “Oh girl, you didn’t know? They call it TAXACHUSSETTS!”  

It hurts to this day (less shopping), but I am thankful that I am here in this community, contributing, growing, and helping others grow as well. Leaving Haiti was about loving me and my family first, after having been put through the constant stress due to violence, threats, life-threatening sickness and so on. For me, coming to the United States was choosing to not only live with dignity, but also, for my father, choosing to die with dignity. That is something I desperately wish for the people in Haiti every day. 

Suitcase Stories® invites storytellers to develop and share meaningful personal experiences of migration and cross-cultural exchange with others—from large audiences to small groups—of all ages.  Learn more about Suitcase Stories®.

Q&A With New Board Member Richard Golob

Written by Danielle Gauthier on . Posted in Blog, Our Team.

Richard Golob brings broad experience at the international level, from global environmental issues to outsourcing in numerous countries, to his new role on the International Institute of New England’s Board of Directors. In addition to leading Quantori, Inc., one of the world’s leading data sciences and digital transformation services companies in the life sciences and healthcare sectors, Richard serves on the Leadership Board of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, is a Board Member of the United Nations Association of Greater Boston and the Anti-Defamation League – New England, and serves as President of the Puchovichi Memorial Park Project. Richard received his A.B. degree in Biochemical Sciences from Harvard College.  

We spoke with Richard to learn more about his career path, his personal connection to IINE’s mission, and what he’s looking forward to most in joining the board.  

Can you share a bit about yourself?

I am the grandson of immigrants who came through Ellis Island. Two of my grandparents emigrated from Russia, one from Belarus, and one from Austria. So, I was raised on the concept that America is a great nation – because it is multi-racial, multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, and multi-religious – and that it’s a place where people from around the world can come to find a new life and to prosper.  

Because of my upbringing, I have been involved with international activities for most of my life – whether it was raising humanitarian relief funds for the victims of the Nigerian Civil War as a high school student in New York, or communicating with scientific correspondents from around the world about major environmental events in one of my first jobs at the Smithsonian Institution’s Center for Short-Lived Phenomena.  

In 2001, my career shifted from the environment field to global outsourcing, and I co-founded a scientific informatics outsourcing company, GGA Software Systems. At GGA, we hired software engineers, mathematicians, and scientists almost exclusively in Russia, and they worked with clients in the United States and Europe. This international collaboration appealed to me because it was a chance to bring together thousands of people who were historically at odds with one another and have them work in partnership to develop effective, innovative solutions.  

Today, I oversee Quantori, a data science and digital services company for the life sciences and healthcare sectors. We founded the company five years ago, again hiring professionals primarily in Russia. When Russia invaded Ukraine, we had to work quickly to move our colleagues out of Russia and provide comprehensive support to find them and their families housing, healthcare, and education in Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and other countries. At Quantori, we were undertaking the type of work that the International Institute of New England does every day and were fortunate to be able to help our colleagues find safety in a new home.  

Speaking of, tell us about your journey to IINE.  

I have been involved with nonprofits, including organizations in the international arena, for a long time and have been on the board of the United Nations Association of Greater Boston since the early 2000s, during which I spent many years as the President. Through this work, I met Christina Bai, who was on IINE’s board. She introduced me to the organization’s work, and I attended a few events. I became very impressed with IINE’s impact. I knew I wanted to contribute to the mission of helping refugees, asylees, and unaccompanied children to build new lives and enrich our country.  

Is there someone you honor by supporting IINE?  

I honor my grandparents and the voyage they embarked on in the late 1890s/early 1900s to come to the Unites States. That was certainly a difficult voyage, and building a new life in the United States was difficult too. They persevered, while instilling in their children an excellent work ethic and moral code.  

I think of my Belarusian grandfather, in particular. Because of the Iron Curtain, our family never had a chance to visit his hometown of Puchovichi. When I began traveling to Russia for work after 2001, I decided to visit Puchovichi, and I became the first member of my family to return to my grandfather’s hometown. A local history teacher gave me a tour of the area, and then, because he knew of my Jewish heritage, he brought me to a remote area outside of the town. We walked across a large agricultural field and climbed up a hill covered in vines and bushes. At the top, my guide told me that, on September 22, 1941, the Nazis had gathered 1,260 Jews from the area, brought them to the top of the hill, murdered them, and buried them in two large pits there. I remember standing on the hilltop, deeply saddened by this tragedy that I had just learned about, and thinking how grateful I was that my grandfather had left Belarus when he did. If he had stayed in Puchovichi, he would have been one of the victims in the pits, and my family would never have survived to enjoy a new life in the United States.  

The refugees and immigrants that IINE serves – they, too, are escaping conflict zones to give themselves and their families a chance at a better life. Because of their bravery, their future generations will live here in the United States safely – just as I do because of my grandfather’s decision to leave Belarus. 

What do you consider a board member’s most important responsibilities?

First and foremost, it’s to provide oversight – to ensure that the organization has sound financial footing and an effective program for the future.  

As a board member, I like to think creatively about an organization and its programs – not just where it is today, but where it might be in five or ten years, and not just the programs it has now, but the programs it might consider for the future or how to innovate the existing programs in a way that’s more effective and still in keeping with its mission.  

What excites you most about IINE’s future? 

We know the need for IINE’s services will only grow, and right now, IINE’s work is front and center. I look forward to helping ensure we are able to provide the same and enhanced services to current clients and to the many more refugees and immigrants that will come to IINE seeking support – no matter who wins the November election for President.  

IINE’s Board of Directors includes corporate and community leaders from across New England. View our members and leadership team here.

1975–1984: Redefining Refugee Resettlement

Written by Danielle Gauthier on . Posted in Blog, Boston, Boston Centennial.

Welcome to the seventh installment of our series “100 Years of Welcome: Commemorating IINE’s Boston Centennial.” The previous installment, “1965-1974: Welcoming the World,” described how hard-won reforms to the U.S. immigration system allowed the International Institute of Boston (IIB) to welcome a more diverse population of immigrants and refugees from throughout the world.

“Refugee” Redefined

1975 marked the official end to the Vietnam War, which had raged for thirty years. Its long aftermath would drive hundreds of thousands of refugees to flee Vietnam and its surrounding countries. This mass displacement caused by a war in which the U.S. had been centrally involved led to major changes in federal policies towards refugees—and in response, major changes to the scope and model of the International Institute of Boston.  

IIB welcomed refugees from Southeast Asia in the 1980s
IIB welcomed refugees from Southeast Asia in the 1980s

The United States welcomed almost one million refugees over the course of ten years after the Vietnam War, and the Boston area was a primary destination. IIB helped new Vietnamese arrivals resettle in Chinatown, Allston/Brighton, East Boston, the Fields Corner section of Dorchester, and later, in the suburbs of Quincy, Randolph, and Malden.

The first group of refugees were mainly officials from the defeated South Vietnamese government. A much larger wave began to arrive in Greater Boston between 1978 and the mid-1980s, after Vietnam invaded Kampuchea (Cambodia) in 1979 and the genocidal “killing fields” that followed. At the same time, a border war between China and Vietnam led to a mass exodus of Vietnam’s ethno-Chinese population, most of whom fled in small leaky boats in terrifying conditions.  

IIB Vietnamese Mutual Support Group
IIB supported gatherings of the Vietnamese Mutual Support Group

A series of new federal laws authorized increased refugee admissions, but the most transformative was the Refugee Act of 1980. This law adopted the United Nations definition of a refugee as any person who is outside their country of nationality or habitual residence and is unable or unwilling to return due to “a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.”  

The Refugee Act raised the annual ceiling for refugee admissions to 50,000 and gave the United States Executive Office the authority to admit additional refugees in response to emergencies. It also created a federally funded Office of Refugee Resettlement to work with states to fund and administer post-resettlement services through a network of local organizations, including the International Institutes. This relationship still drives much of IINE’s work today. 

Scaling Up Services

Youth in IIB’s Amerasian Program

With increased federal and state financial support, IIB programs for resettlement, education, employment, and other services expanded dramatically. IIB hired several Vietnamese staff and became a sponsoring agency for resettling refugees from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. It provided culturally appropriate services, including special English language programs for Asian American youth, and basic literacy classes for adults. Rooms at the IIB office at 287 Commonwealth Avenue were occupied all day and night and were partitioned off to accommodate still more classes. The number of staff and volunteers grew exponentially. IIB board members took on an active service support role, forming a Motor Corps to meet incoming planes of refugee arrivals, and provide new refugees with transportation to reach their new homes, shop for clothing and groceries, and attend job interviews. While education and direct services became the priority for IIB, a New England Indo-Chinese Refugees Association was formed to host Buddhist weddings and other ceremonies and events for IIB’s growing populations of Southeast Asian clients.   

Flexing New Legal Muscle

While IIB had always provided clients with guidance on navigating complicated and ever-changing immigration laws, in the mid-1970s, IIB began hiring staff attorneys to head its Legal Services department. One of the first of these was Deborah Anker, a second generation American whose parents had escaped the Holocaust. Anker would later go on to teach the first immigration law course at Harvard University, where she founded the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinical Program, and still teaches law today.

Daniel Yohannes

Anker began her tenure at a time when, in addition to its work with people displaced by the Vietnam War, IIB was working to welcome refugees from Ethiopia who were fleeing a violent and repressive regime whose rise ultimately led to a civil war that spread famine, poverty, and further persecution. One of the Ethiopian clients whom Anker helped to bring to Boston was Daniel Yohannes, a new American who would one day be appointed by President Barack Obama as a U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. 

Leveraging New Support 

In the 1980s, with more funding now available at the state level and more staff to both pursue grants and implement programs, IIB was able to launch a series of initiatives to help newly arrived refugees rebuild their lives in the mid- to long-term.  

When thousands fled Cuba in the “Mariel Boatlift” exodus, IIB secured a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Social Services to establish a new multiservice center for them in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston. In its first year, the center helped more than 200 Cuban refugees, securing jobs for 110.  

With other new federal and state funds, IIB created training programs and resources for teachers of English for Speakers of Languages throughout Greater Boston, started its first Adult Literacy class, created special programs to help Asian American children and their mothers, and initiated a new Social Services program emphasizing bilingual and bicultural counseling to help address the trauma experienced by refugees both as a result of and after their migration journeys.  

· · · 

Today, the International Institute continues to innovate and expand programming based on the needs of new arrivals. We work with the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement and with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to implement more than 80 federal and state contracted programs. A Staff Attorney heads our Immigration Legal Services department, which provides pro bono or low bono support to more than 1,000 refugees and immigrants each year. Program staff are trained to provide trauma-informed services, and we regularly convene peer support groups and engage with community partners to address the mental health needs of the refugees and immigrants we serve – ensuring they find safety, wellbeing, and strength as they face their new future.  

During our centennial year, we celebrate 100 years of life-changing support to refugees and immigrants in Greater Boston and prepare for our second century of service. Learn more here: IINE Boston Centennial.

Q&A With New Board Member Wade Rubinstein

Q&A With New Board Member Wade Rubinstein

Written by Danielle Gauthier on . Posted in Blog, Our Team.

A long-time volunteer, community partner, and Leadership Council member, Wade Rubinstein recently joined IINE’s Board of Directors. As Founder and President of The Bike Connector, Inc. in Lowell, Massachusetts, Wade spends his days making bikes accessible and safe for everyone, including many IINE clients who bike to work, school, shopping and appointments. The son of immigrants to the United States, Wade has devoted many hours to supporting refugees, including helping to find housing for a family who fled Afghanistan and settled in Eastern Massachusetts. He brings deep experience in information technology, education, and entrepreneurship to his new role.   

We spoke with Wade to learn more about his family’s history, how his involvement with IINE has grown over the years, and what gives him hope as he thinks about the organization’s future. 

Can you share a bit about yourself?

Wade RubinsteinI am the son of immigrants. My mother’s family came to Boston in the 1920s after fleeing pogroms in Russia. My father, who grew up in a town that’s now part of Ukraine, was a Holocaust survivor. During the war, he was in hiding for 3 years. The Soviets liberated him in the spring of 1944. An orphan after the war, my dad lived in Displaced Persons camps in Czechoslovakia and Germany. He was smuggled into Palestine in 1946 and came to the U.S. as a refugee in the early 1950s to join family members who were already here. 

My parents’ journeys have shaped me in a foundational way. Because of their resilience and hard work, I had the chance to become a first-generation college graduate.

I studied computer science at Boston College (in the same class as IINE CEO and President Jeff Thielman!). After college, I worked at a Digital Equipment Corporation for 10 years, before going on to work at several telecommunications start-ups. In 2003, I left the field and pursued a degree in elementary education. I taught in West Newton for a couple of years. Then, I decided to open up an ice cream shop, Reasons to Be Cheerful, which I ran for eight years. I sold the shop in 2018 and founded The Bike Academy, which was an after-school bike riding program in Lowell and morphed into the nonprofit I run today – The Bike Connector.   

I’ve always felt life is too short to not pursue your interests; it keeps things interesting! And for me, it’s felt like my opportunity to live the American Dream – which I can only do because of the choices and sacrifices my parents made.  

Tell us about your journey to the International Institute of New England. 

From L to R: Lowell Education Manager Sherry Spaulding, Wade, Ungaye, and Lowell Managing Director Caroline Rowe at IINE’s World Refugee Day celebration, where Wade was inducted into the Lowell 100 in honor of his exceptional contributions to refugees and immigrants in the Lowell community

In 2017, I attended a Suitcase Stories® event in my community. Hearing the speakers share their migration stories piqued my interest, and I decided to get involved. I began volunteering with the ESOL team in Lowell. It was awesome. I met so many amazing people, including Ungaye – a refugee youth whom I remain close to today and who now works at The Bike Connector. I loved being in a classroom with immigrants from all over the world—a room filled with different languages and customs—as they learned English and about the U.S. The experience opened up my eyes and my heart.  

After establishing The Bike Connector, I noticed that many of IINE’s clients rode bikes. There was a clear need: bikes are an inexpensive means of transportation, don’t require a license, and are faster than walking. But often, the bikes the immigrants were riding were unsafe; they were broken, mis-sized, and at times, literally pulled out of the city’s canals.  

I began donating bikes to the ESOL students, and over time, the relationship between our organization and IINE grew. We’ve given bikes to Haitian and Central and South American immigrants, Ukrainian refugees, and Afghan refugees. IINE’s Case Managers bring their clients to us, and we get to be some of the first folks they meet in this country. In addition to providing bikes, we provide maintenance support so people can stay on their bikes. We also work closely with IINE’s refugee youth clients to teach them bike safety and the rules of the road.  

What motivates you to give to IINE? Is there someone you honor by doing so?  

Wade’s non-profit, The Bike Connector, provides refugees and immigrants with bikes and ongoing maintenance

My mother and father have passed, but at IINE, I see them in the eyes of the people we serve. These are people who have taken huge risks and are working really hard to provide their children with better lives, people who want to honor their cultures and traditions and also integrate and become American. I feel a real emotional connection to their stories.  

I also think about the help my father received when he first came to the U.S. HIAS, a Jewish American nonprofit, was instrumental in helping him navigate his new home, where everything felt complex and foreign, and find success. I see IINE providing that same life-changing support.   

I find it so upsetting how immigration has become such a divisive issue. I want to make sure immigrants feel welcome and supported here – that they find opportunity, just like my parents did. Their journeys aren’t easy, and they deserve our help.  

What do you consider a board member’s most important responsibilities?

The primary responsibility is the fiscal sustainability of the organization. The board has to ensure the organization can adapt to where the winds are blowing – and IINE has proven it can do this. I’ve been so impressed with IINE’s board, executive team, and all of the staff. I’ve watched in recent years as the organization has navigated changing political winds, the fall of Afghanistan, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the humanitarian crisis in Haiti. IINE was able to scale and respond to crisis after crisis, and to do it all with such dedication and a big heart. That tremendous adaptability is only possible with exceptional staff and strong leadership.  

I’m looking forward to building on this work as a board member so that the organization, its staff, and the clients can all thrive.  

What excites you most about IINE’s future? 

There are over 100 million people who have been forcibly displaced around the world and who need a safe haven. That IINE is able to provide that safe haven and touch as many lives as we do – that makes me very happy. By providing support to find housing and jobs, learn English, and access legal services, IINE makes the transition to a new country a little easier. I’m excited for IINE’s impact to continue to grow.  

I’m also excited to see how IINE’s clients will give back, as I know they will. Whenever I’m hiring for an open position at The Bike Connector, the first place I look for candidates is IINE’s clients. If you can negotiate fleeing your home and coming to the U.S.—which for many people can take years or decades—you are clearly resilient. Those are the people I want to work with. They are highly motivated and make a positive contribution to their new country.

Welcoming immigrants truly benefits us all – it’s our nation’s diversity that makes it so awesome. I see people every day, coming from all kinds of backgrounds, making connections. Where else in the world can you see that? It gives me a lot of hope.  

IINE’s Board of Directors includes corporate and community leaders from across New England. View our members and leadership team here.

Q&A With New Board Member Carolina San Martin

Q&A With New Board Member Carolina San Martin

Written by Danielle Gauthier on . Posted in Blog, Our Team.

Carolina San Martin joined the International Institute of New England’s Board of Directors in 2024, bringing over 20 years of experience in financial services, and significant expertise in audit, risk management, product and business management, and international development. A native Spanish speaker originally from Argentina, Carolina has a Master of Arts in International Finance and Economics from the Johns Hopkins University School for Advanced International Studies and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations with Honors, magna cum laude, from Brown University.  

We spoke with Carolina to learn more about how she became involved with IINE, what she considers the most important responsibilities of a Board member, and what excites her about the organization’s future.  

Can you share a bit about yourself?

Carolina San MartinI’m originally from Argentina. My mom and I came to the U.S. just before I turned five, and I grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. After attending college in New England, I decided to go abroad. I began my career in the international development field in Russia before pursuing my master’s in Italy. It was an amazing opportunity. Living in different countries both as a child and later as an adult really helped me develop a global perspective. Eventually, I decided to return to the U.S. and settle down in Massachusetts. I’ve been in Cambridge, where I live with my husband and our two kids, for over 20 years.  

Professionally, I have spent most of my career in financial services and asset management. For the last eight years, I focused on sustainable investing. I launched and led the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) research and stewardship practice at Wellington Management before moving on earlier this year.  

Tell us about your journey to the International Institute of New England. 

Growing up, I never felt like I had roots in one place. I’m Argentinian, but my family moved to Brazil a month before I was born, and then I spent my youth in Atlanta. New England is where I finally established roots; raising my family here has made it home.   

I reached a point in my career where I was ready to use my skills and experience to give back to my local community, and I wanted to help others find a home here, too. That led me to IINE. As an immigrant, the mission resonated with me. The more I learned about IINE’s work, the more impressed I became by its scale and longevity. IINE is celebrating 100 years of service in Boston this year; that speaks to the organization’s enduring impact.  

Is there someone you honor by supporting refugees and immigrants?

My mom and I had a lot of support in coming to the U.S., but it still wasn’t easy. My mom was in her mid-20s and a single parent. She had always dreamed of coming to the U.S., so she didn’t hesitate, but it took a lot of courage, too. It was the late 70s, a time before there was much immigration in the south, and no one around us spoke Spanish.  

Some of my earliest memories here are of starting kindergarten and not speaking any English. It made me a very shy kid, but with time and hindsight, I overcame my shyness and realized what a gift it was to have experienced this. It taught me how to be resilient and observant, to learn from and connect with others.  

Our experience was different from that of IINE’s clients today, but there are commonalities, too. In supporting them, I honor my mother’s bravery and strength.  

What do you consider the most important contributions of a board member?

One of my goals is to amplify the work. Before I became involved, I didn’t know about this amazing organization in my own backyard! I want to help make sure that others discover IINE, too. 

One of the most important responsibilities we have as board members is providing oversight. With my role at Wellington, I spent years studying how boards operate, speaking with board directors, and seeing firsthand how the people and structures at the top can make or break an organization. Strong oversight builds trust – among employees, among clients, and among supporters.  

I’m looking forward to supporting the important work the board is already doing to help ensure IINE’s growth, to provide a local response to a global issue, and to set the organization up for success for the next 100 years.  

What excites you most about IINE’s future? 

Immigration has become such a politicized topic – that’s challenging, but it’s also such an opportunity. It’s a chance for us to communicate how much immigrants contribute to our communities. The bottom line, as so much of the data shows, is that more immigration leads to more economic growth. Immigrants fill labor gaps, and they are 80% more likely to start new businesses, which then creates more jobs. At IINE, we see proof every day that investing in immigrants is an investment in our country and our prosperity. That’s what I’m excited about – IINE is in a unique position to bring these positive impacts to life and address one of the big concerns in public discourse right now. 

IINE’s Board of Directors includes corporate and community leaders from across New England. View our members and leadership team here.

The International Institute of New England Elects Richard Golob, Wade Rubinstein, and Carolina San Martin to its Board of Directors

Written by Danielle Gauthier on . Posted in Blog, Our Team, Press Releases/Statements.

BOSTON – August 5, 2024 – The International Institute of New England (IINE), one of the region’s longest-established nonprofits serving refugees and immigrants, has announced the election of three new members to its Board of Directors: Richard Golob, Cofounder and CEO of Quantori, Wade Rubinstein, Founder and President of The Bike Connector, and Carolina San Martin, retired Director of Environmental, Social, and Governance Research of Wellington Management, to its Board of Directors.

“Carolina, Wade, and Richard’s deep experience and humanitarian commitment will be invaluable in helping us ensure that refugees and immigrants find safety and strong early support in our New England communities,” said Jeffrey Thielman, President and CEO of IINE. “As we embark on our second century of service, we remain committed to providing opportunities for newcomers to our nation to put down roots, succeed, and contribute to our region’s growth and prosperity.”

Richard Golob

Richard GolobRichard Golob has broad experience at the international level, from global environmental issues to outsourcing in numerous countries. He is Cofounder and CEO of Quantori, Inc., one of the world’s leading data sciences and digital transformation services companies for the life sciences and healthcare sectors. Previously, he served as Global Head of Life Sciences at EPAM Systems, a publicly traded firm with more than 60,000 professionals worldwide. Richard joined EPAM through its acquisition of GGA Software Systems, a scientific informatics outsourcing company that Richard cofounded and where he served as CEO.

Earlier in his career, Richard was actively involved in the environmental and energy fields, serving as an adviser to government agencies worldwide and to the United Nations Environment Programme, as well as a publisher of respected environmental newsletters. He also served as an environmental industry adviser to the venture capital firm Charles River Ventures and as Chairman of the Harvard Environmental Health Council at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Currently, in addition to his role as a member of the IINE Board of Directors, he serves on the Leadership Board of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and is a Board Member of the United Nations Association of Greater Boston and the Anti-Defamation League – New England, and the President of the Puchovichi Memorial Park Project. Richard received his A.B. degree in Biochemical Sciences from Harvard College.

“With deep experience serving on nonprofit boards, I am thrilled to join IINE in its effort to continuously rise to the challenge and meet the needs of an ever-growing population of forcibly displaced families and individuals,” said Golob. “With innovation and dedication, IINE will provide more than 18,000 refugees and immigrants from 70 countries with critical, life-changing services this year, and I look forward to being a part of this necessary work.”

Wade Rubinstein

Wade RubinsteinWade Rubinstein is the Founder and President of The Bike Connector, Inc. in Lowell, Massachusetts, which he launched to make bikes accessible and safe for all Lowell community members, including many IINE clients who bike to work and school. The son of immigrants to the United States, Wade has personally devoted many hours to supporting refugees, including directly supporting a family last year who fled Afghanistan and settled in Eastern Massachusetts.

Wade received his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Boston College and spent twenty years working in information technology. Specializing in data network design and optical technology, Wade helped architect multiple private and public telecommunications networks. In 2003, he left his career in high technology to pursue a Master’s in Education and teach in public schools. Since then, he has pursued several entrepreneurial projects, including a highly successful café in Concord, Massachusetts called “Reasons to be Cheerful” which specializes in homemade ice cream, crepes, and gourmet coffee. He now devotes most of his time to The Bike Connector, volunteering with IINE, and supporting other non-profit causes.

“I have had the pleasure of volunteering in IINE’s ESOL classroom, partnering to provide refugee youth with bikes and riding lessons as the President of my organization, The Bike Connector, and previously serving on the IINE Leadership Council,” said Rubinstein. “Through each of these engagements, I have seen IINE’s dedication to providing refugees and immigrants with a promising future in New England – and the great courage and resilience of our newest neighbors. I am honored to deepen my engagement and join the Board of Directors.”

Carolina San Martin

Carolina San MartinCarolina San Martin is a strategic leader with experience at the forefront of finance and sustainability. Her board expertise includes finance, sustainability, energy transition, talent management, DE&I, and governance. Carolina started out in the field of international development and took an unconventional route into a career in investment management. She joined Wellington Management in 2005 and retired in 2024 after serving as its first Director of Environmental, Social, and Governance Research, managing $1T in assets.

Carolina is a native Spanish speaker with experience living in Latin America and Europe. She is a CFA Charterholder, has a Master of Arts in International Finance and Economics and European Studies from the Johns Hopkins University School for Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and has a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations with Honors, magna cum laude, from Brown University.

“As an immigrant myself, it is an honor to join an organization dedicated to providing new arrivals with the support, educational resources, training, and legal services they need to thrive,” said San Martin. “As a Board Member, I look forward to drawing on my significant experience in governance, talent management, and DEI to help ensure IINE’s long-term sustainability and impact.”

ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NEW ENGLAND

The International Institute of New England (IINE) creates opportunities for refugees and immigrants to succeed through resettlement, education, career advancement and pathways to citizenship. With locations in Boston and Lowell, Massachusetts and Manchester, New Hampshire, IINE serves more than 18,000 individuals annually, including people displaced by political instability, violence, and climate crises, child and adult survivors of human trafficking, and unaccompanied children joining family members in New England. IINE offers a comprehensive range of programs and services to help newcomers feel welcome; achieve stability and security; access resources in their new communities; advance their education and employment goals; and integrate into their communities. IINE’s expertise builds on more than a century of service and accomplishes its mission in partnership with community groups, stakeholders, and supporters throughout New England.

Our Board of Directors include corporate and community leaders from across New England. Meet the Board.

1965–1974: Welcoming the World

Written by Danielle Gauthier on . Posted in Blog, Boston, Boston Centennial.

Welcome to the sixth installment of our series “100 Years of Welcome: Commemorating IINE’s Boston Centennial.” The previous installment, “1954–1964: Refugee Relief Over Quotas,” described how the International Institute of Boston (IIB) found ways to circumvent and lobby against the discriminatory federal “quota system” introduced in 1924, which set caps on the number of immigrants admitted to the US from designated countries. 

Hard-Won Reform Arrives at Last

The International Institute of Boston (IIB) had long opposed the quota system and had publicly lobbied against it since the 1950s when IIB Executive Director Pauline Gardescu testified before Congress to call for its abolition, and she and IIB Board President Robert Neiley continued to advocate for reform into the early sixties. By the middle of the decade, the stage was finally set. The aftermath of World War II had begun to move public opinion toward a renewed appreciation for foreign allies and affinity for people seeking freedom, greater awareness of refugee crises, and support for newcomers who arrived as wives of veterans. In addition, the advent of the civil rights era had increased sensitivity to racial discrimination. 

In 1965, IIB and its allies finally claimed victory when the Immigration and Nationality Act (also known as the Hart Celler Act) was signed into law. Echoing the policies IIB outlined in a 1961 letter to President Kennedy, the Act abandoned the old discriminatory country quotas, raised the number of immigrants admitted per year, and created preferences for family reunification, skilled workers, and refugees. The law would come to transform the country’s immigration patterns. In Boston and across the US more broadly, a predominantly European immigrant population gradually gave way to a more global one and increasing populations of newcomers from Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean.  

Operation Kindness

Following the trend of the Cold War years, the first new wave of immigrants were refugees from a nation suddenly besieged by Soviet tanks. When new reformist leader Alexander Dubek instituted freedom of speech, press, and travel in his communist country, Czechoslovakia was invaded by the Soviet Union and its allies seeking to quell the “Prague Spring” by massacring protestors. Tens of thousands of Czechoslovaks fled. In Boston, the effort to welcome and resettle refugees from the conflict, dubbed “Operation Kindness,” was led by the International Institute with support from the Boston Committee, American Fund for Czechoslovak Refugees, which was founded by an IIB board member and housed in its offices. As the Fund provided transportation support, IIB focused on working with its networks to find the new arrivals housing and employment. 

Welcoming the World

As more newcomers arrived, IIB’s staff grew from 10 in 1965 to 70 a decade later. To better welcome and serve this more diverse group of new arrivals, IIB introduced an array of globally oriented programs. Leading these efforts was Gaspar Jako, a Hungarian immigrant who was IIB’s first Executive Director born outside the US.  

The Whole World Celebration
Flyer for IIB’s Whole World Celebration, an international fair

In 1970, Jako launched the Whole World Celebration, an annual international fair featuring multicultural arts and crafts, food, and performances held at the Commonwealth Armory. Like the International Institute’s earlier cultural events, the Whole World Celebration showcased immigrant cultures of the broader community. European ethnic groups were now joined by those from India, Japan, China, Indonesia, Egypt, and Kenya. 

IIB founded Ambassadors for Friendship, an exchange program for high school students that sent 750 high school students and teachers abroad during their spring vacation, while bringing foreign students to the US. The Ambassadors program later expanded across the country, sending more than 9,000 American students abroad in 1973. 

Supporting First Nations

Notably, at the same time that IIB was working to better serve a more diverse population of new arrivals, they were also supportive of Americans from the native Micmac, Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Aroostook, Mohawk, Navajo, and Sioux tribes, who were increasingly migrating to Boston from Canada, New York, and the western US. IIB hosted several meetings of the Boston Indian Council as they sought to establish their own cultural center and provide scholarships for youth. 

Expanding Language Access

By 1973, as Boston’s population continued to become more diverse, IIB dramatically expanded its language instruction offerings. Spanish language classes were added to help local medical personnel, teachers, and social workers to serve a growing population from Puerto Rico and Latin America.

Additional foreign language classes were offered in French, Italian, and Portuguese. While IINE continued to host English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes at its offices on Commonwealth Avenue, new partnerships were also formed to bring ESOL classes on–site at local companies to help immigrant employees succeed in the workplace. 

The Golden Door Awards

Invite to the 1971 Golden Door Award Gala honoring Austrian conductor Arthur Fielder

The most enduring tradition that IIB began at this time was the launch of the Golden Door Awards. Taking its name from a line in Emma Lazarus’s poem on the Statue of Liberty— “I lift my lamp beside the Golden Door”—the award was first given in 1970 to honor the contributions of a notable US citizen who had immigrated to the country. Chinese architect I.M. Pei was the first recipient, followed by Boston Pops conductor Arthur Fiedler (Austrian), restaurateur Anthony Athanas (Albanian), and Star Market founder Stephen Mugar (Armenian). Recognizing past honorees from 25 different countries, the Golden Door Award continues today, honoring immigrants’ contributions to life in the US and providing an important source of funding for the International Institute’s work.  

Today, the International Institute is grateful to be able to welcome and support refugees and immigrants from more than 75 countries throughout the world. We continue to forge new partnerships between our ESOL programs and local businesses to help prepare today’s refugees and immigrants to work in industries that desperately need their skills and services. We also continue the tradition of the Golden Door Award to bring our community together to honor and uplift the stories of immigrants that strengthen and enrich our region.  

During our centennial year, we celebrate 100 years of life-changing support to refugees and immigrants in Greater Boston and prepare for our second century of service. Learn more here: IINE Boston Centennial.

The Reality at the U.S.-Mexico Border

From the Desk of the CEO: The Reality at the U.S.-Mexico Border

Written by Danielle Gauthier on . Posted in Blog, FEATURED, From the Desk of the CEO.

By Jeff Thielman, President and CEO at the International Institute of New England

In mid-July, I visited the border communities of El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. The visit was an opportunity to learn first-hand about the challenges that asylum seekers, including the many who become IINE clients, experience when they attempt to enter the U.S.  

I was joined by IINE SVP and Chief Advancement Officer Xan Weber (second from right), IINE Marketing Coordinator Christina Duran (far right), who herself grew up in a border community, and Aaron Nodjomian-Escajeda (far left), Senior Policy Analyst for the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), the national resettlement network of which IINE is a regional partner.  

In Mexico, we met asylum seekers from Central and South America who were completing immigration applications on the Customs and Border Protection One (CBP-1) mobile app, with the help of staff from a human and legal services agency. Like many of our clients, they were hoping to join their family and members of their community here.  

We saw for ourselves that the U.S.-Mexico border—the most frequently crossed in the world—is far from chaotic, as it is so often depicted in the U.S. media. With shelters in Ciudad Juárez now at half their capacity, multiple advocates explained that the decrease in people traveling to the border to seek asylum is not due to better conditions in their home countries, but rather because of U.S. Executive Orders restricting crossings, and efforts by cooperative Mexican authorities to keep migrants in southern Mexico.   

Ciudad Juárez and El Paso have vibrant and beautiful cultures. Many families have members in both cities, many work in one community and live in another, and we learned that there is an ethos of faith and community support on both sides for migrants making the journey north. Our group had a chance encounter with a woman from Mexico who was returning from a trip to see family in Denver. She shared that she and her husband had helped a Colombian family of eight to get to the border and eventually cross.  

In Ciudad Juárez, we met with the leadership of an agency run by the Mexican state of Chihuahua to support migrants. After our meeting, we were able to sit with three migrants completing a CBP-1 application with help from the staff of a local NGO. One of them told us he had been forced to flee his home country after a criminal syndicate targeted his business. All of them told us they were fleeing difficult situations, had friends and family in the U.S., and were hoping to find any job they could to make ends meet. 

We also met with the International Office of Migration, operated by the United Nations, and a field office of the International Rescue Committee. It was reassuring to see that, as with providers in New England, these groups talk with one another frequently, share ideas, and work collaboratively to help “people on the move,” who are seeking asylum. We also saw a tent city that houses migrants awaiting appointments to enter the U.S. and paused in silence when we walked to the site of a former Mexican detention facility where a deadly fire killed more than 40 migrants in 2023.   

In El Paso, we encountered a network of organizations that help people after they cross the border, including Annunciation House, a faith-based emergency housing and service provider where some of our colleagues volunteered prior to joining IINE. Border patrol officers bring asylum seekers—usually those with a notice to appear before an immigration court—to “A House” for safety.  

We learned about Border Servant Corps, a non-profit organization that works with CBP-1 applicants after they have been approved for admission to the U.S., and our group spoke with the Director of Advocacy and Legal Services of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, which serves hundreds of migrants each year. The staff we met were passionate and committed, just like our team at IINE. We also spent some time with the Director of the Center for Inter-American and Border Studies at the University of Texas at El Paso, who gave us an overview of the decades-long growth of a bureaucratic border protection system that has made it more dangerous and difficult for people to come to the U.S.  

Finally, in El Paso, we met with the leadership of a shelter facility for Unaccompanied Children. We learned about the service social workers and educators do to support the children before they reunite with family and transition to IINE’s Home Study and Post Release Services program.   

It was inspiring and humbling to see so many people stepping up to provide these different types of support—and how much need there is for their services.   

The border is a place where deadlines and rules change frequently. Asylum seekers told us that they face more danger in Mexico, including kidnappings and the need to pay bribes, than they did crossing the Darien Gap—the infamously treacherous border territory between Colombia and Panama. Beyond danger and extortion, the U.S. CBP-1 mobile app is on its 26th version and continues to have technical glitches that can disrupt and delay an already complicated process.  

It is jarring and confusing to see fences and walls between the U.S. and Mexico, especially after hearing advocates on both sides explain that the border security system has led to an increase in exploitation of migrants by bad actors in Mexico and a sometimes-deadly journey for legitimate asylum seekers hoping to receive protection in the U.S. What gives us hope, however small, is that asylum seekers and unaccompanied children are supported by a passionate network of NGOs, faith communities, and community groups.   

Our field visit to the southern border reinforces our understanding of the critical role IINE plays in offering a warm, kind, and humane welcome to people who have fled terrible conditions and are fighting for their right to safety and basic derechos humanos—human rights.  

This was IINE’s first of several planned field visits to better understand the experiences of our clients. Our findings will be captured in a publication to be released this fall, co-sponsored with USCRI, entitled, “Las Mariposas de la Frontera: Uplifting the Stories of Asylum Seekers at the U.S.-Mexico Border.” 

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Why They Give: An Interview with IINE Donor Katie Bruno 

Written by Danielle Gauthier on . Posted in Blog, Donor Profile.

Our donors play a critical role in ensuring that every refugee and immigrant who comes to our doors finds the safety and support they need to start fresh in our communities. In our Why They Give series, we talk with our donors to learn more about their connection to our mission and commitment to philanthropy.

For our first installment, we spoke with Katie Bruno. Katie and her husband Mike have been donating to IINE monthly since 2017 as part of our Sustainer program. Katie shares what compelled her to get involved and how donating helps her make an impact on a cause about which she cares deeply.

Mike and Katie Bruno
Mike and Katie Bruno

Tell us a bit about you.

I live in Andover, Massachusetts with my husband, Mike, and our two young kids—a 6-year-old and a 3-year-old. Mike grew up in Providence, Rhode Island, and I grew up west of Boston, so we have spent all our lives in New England.  

I’m an elementary school teacher, and a big part of my job is teaching my students the importance of helping others, having empathy, and being mindful of how we impact each other. It’s something I think about a lot in the classroom and at home.  

Why is philanthropy important to you?

Mike and I have been incredibly fortunate to have our parents support us through major financial milestones. Because of them, we don’t have any college loans, and they helped us purchase our house. We have been lucky financially, and we know that’s not the case for everyone. It’s important to us to give back to others who don’t have as much, simply because of how the world works. We feel we have more than we need, and so we have to help.  

Also, this might sound cheesy, but I grew up as a big fan of Mr. Rogers, and his philosophy always stuck with me: in any disaster, look for the helpers. I want to have helpers if I’m ever in a scary situation, and I want to be a helper for others.  

How did you first learn about the International Institute of New England?

After the 2016 presidential election, I lost a lot of faith. I wanted to figure out how I could help people whose safety would be impacted by the new president.  

Mike and I had recently moved to Andover, and I started looking for organizations supporting vulnerable communities. One of my close friends told me about IINE. Mike and I immediately knew it was a cause we wanted to support.  

What connection do you feel to IINE’s mission of creating opportunities for refugees and immigrants?

My maternal grandfather escaped France during World War II and immigrated to New York. So, with my family history, and as someone who is half-Jewish, I’ve always had an awareness of the horrible circumstances that might cause people to flee their homes.  

I also think that, as I’ve become more aware of humanitarian crises across the world, my desire to help has grown, too. There are so many people in dangerous situations who are seeking to leave to find opportunity and safety elsewhere, and they need support.  

At this moment in my life, I spend all my time either with my students or at home with my family, so my time is limited. I am grateful that I can make a difference by donating. That’s how I can be a helper.  

IINE can only provide much-needed services to refugees and immigrants thanks to the support of our generous donors. There are many different ways to give. Learn more here: Donate funds.

“Always believe!”: Rohingya Refugee Finds Purpose in Helping Fellow Newcomers to Lowell

Written by Danielle Gauthier on . Posted in Blog, Client Stories, Lowell, Refugee Resettlement.

For centuries, Rohingya Muslims have lived in the country currently known as Myanmar, where they are an ethnic and religious minority. They have frequently been victims of state-sanctioned violence. Denied citizenship and basic human rights by Myanmar’s current military government, they have been described by the United Nations as “the world’s largest stateless population” and “the most persecuted minority in the world.” Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya now live in refugee camps in Bangladesh. 

At the end of 2023 and beginning of 2024, IINE was among the first agencies to begin resettling Rohingya refugees in the U.S. in more than a decade. Among those resettled was Mohammed Yasin. After spending 14 years in a refugee camp, Mohammed now lives in Lowell with his wife and children. He recently spoke at our World Refugee Day celebration in Lowell, where he took the opportunity to describe the challenges currently facing the Rohingya, honor his fellow refugees, and thank those who welcome and support them. Listen below.

Hello. Salam Alaykum.  

First, let me introduce myself. My name is Mohammed Yasin. I am 33 years old. My father was a hard-working farmer. His name was Nabi Hussein. He unfortunately passed in 2019. I miss him so much. I would like to think he looks down on me and guides me to the right path, no matter how severe my situation is. 

Mohammed with his wife and daughter
Mohammed with his wife and daughter

I live in the USA with my family right now. We are Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh and my country of origin is Myanmar. Today I am so happy to celebrate with everybody because I have got a good opportunity to deliver a special speech in front of you about Rohingya refugees of Myanmar. 

I would like to express how much I am grateful for Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar. 

In 1942, 1978, 1992, and 2016-2017, many innocent Rohingya Muslims were kidnapped, oppressed, tortured, killed, executed, some of them even got their entire village burned by the Rakhine community and government of genocidal Myanmar. To this day, the situation of Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar—many innocent Rohingya Muslims are still being massacred in Buthidaung  and Maungdaw Township inside the Rakhine state of Myanmar by the Rakhine government. 

There’s no social or economic rights, no religious rights, no cultural rights, and no educational rights for the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, only discrimination and human rights violation[s] are going on in the state of Myanmar, by the genocidal military government and Rakhine community in 2024. 

To this day, over 1,000,000 Rohingya refugees are leaving the refugee camp of Cox Bazaar district of Bangladesh. The refugees have been facing suffering from inside these camps. 

I would love to thank every single refugee and immigrant in the United States. A special thanks to the International Institute of New England in Lowell for resettling and reuniting my family. 

I would like to thank Rouben, Caroline, Farishta, Michelle, Haseena, Sarah, Kyslanie and many other parts of IINE. Let’s celebrate us. And remember, always believe! 

•••

According to IINE Case Specialist Rouben Burke, this gratitude and optimism are characteristic of Mohammed, a widely appreciated presence in IINE’s Lowell office. Mohammed was one of Rouben’s first clients and is now a close friend.  

Mohammed (left) with IINE Case Specialist Rouben Burke

The friendship took some time to develop, though. When Mohammed first arrived, he was full of uncertainty and eager for support. At times, he could be direct and persistent. Rouben had a hunch that if Mohammed could see the workload Rouben was juggling, he would be more understanding of the process and time it took.   

 “One day, I was like, OK, I gotta do something. So I told him, ‘Tomorrow, 7:30 AM, I’m picking you up, and you’re going to follow me everywhere I go, so you’ll see why I’m not responding [right away]. You’re going to follow me. If I don’t eat, you don’t eat. If I don’t go home, you don’t go home.“ 

Mohammed agreed.

“It was to be a very, very long day,” Rouben says. “I worked with him watching, and some of the families we met with were Afghan and spoke Hindi or Urdu, so he was translating.”  

“At the end of the day, it was very late. I took him back to his house, and he said to me, I don’t know how you stand up! You’re doing so much for these families…I want to help too. I want to give back. And ever since, he’s been a volunteer.” 

Mohammed was no stranger to volunteering. Back when he was living in a refugee camp, he had volunteered for UNHCR, the UN refugee agency. As a volunteer at IINE, he helps out in many ways, including providing interpretation and cultural orientation, and helping clients access their public benefits, but Mohammed’s most unique role is as a counselor of sorts for newly arrived clients who have a difficult time adjusting, just as he did at first. For these clients, he has become an ambassador for IINE’s work.

In Lowell, with the support of IINE staff and volunteers, Mohammed and his family finally feel at home

“When new clients come here and are a little bit depressed because of the culture shock, he makes them feel better,” Rouben explains. “Because he knows the inside of what we do, he has everybody’s back at the agency. He says all of these just beautiful, true things about everybody that works at IINE from the Legal department, to front desk reception, caseworkers, everybody. One day he said [to a client], ‘It’s so difficult to need case workers, but please give them a break, because if they do that job, they do it from their heart.’” 

During their first 90 days in Lowell, Mohammed, his wife, and their daughter, who was born in the camp in Bangladesh, enrolled in IINE’s ESOL classes and were provided with what Rouben describes as “intensive” cultural orientation. Rouben helped the family to access health care and food assistance. IINE’s Employment team provided Mohammed with orientation to the U.S. workforce and helped him find a job as a cleaner in a local factory. When not working or with his family, Mohammed is at IINE volunteering, and he often spends free time after hours with his friend Rouben. 

“Now he walks around Lowell like he owns the place,” Rouben jokes. “I’m so proud of him.” 

•••

IINE has served as a beacon of hope for those fleeing persecution and war in their native lands for more than 100 years. Click to learn more about our refugee resettlement program. 

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IINE Celebrates World Refugee Day 2024

Written by Danielle Gauthier on . Posted in Blog, Boston, Events, Lowell, Manchester.

Marked each year on June 20, World Refugee Day (WRD) is an international observance honoring the strength, courage, and cultural contributions of those who have been forced to flee their home countries to escape conflict and persecution. It was officially launched as a global celebration by the United Nations in 2001 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. 

For IINE, World Refugee Day is an opportunity to recognize the achievements of the refugees we serve and thank those who support them. This year we celebrated all week long with multiple events across our three offices in Boston and Lowell, Massachusetts and Manchester, New Hampshire.  

Manchester marks client achievements with a ceremony, food, and prizes

Blog Collage - WRD Manchester

Outside of our offices at Brookside Church, 94 students in our English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program were presented with certificates recognizing their total learning hours for the year, and our instructors recognized their students with special awards for perseverance, engagement, mentorship, and other distinctions. Certificates were also presented to participants in the Connections literacy and book distribution program by our partner, NH Humanities; to our community volunteers for their tutoring support; and to the recent graduates of our LNA (Licensed Nursing Assistant) for Success program by a representative from Manchester Community College. Meanwhile, our clients’ children got some quality play time in an inflatable “bouncy castle.” Families got to spin a prize wheel put together by our AmeriCorps volunteers to win transportation passes and gift cards, and a raffle resulted in two children of clients leaving with their own bicycles! 

Lowell community gathers for a bike ride, picnic, and special honoree induction 

34 youth clients and accompanying staff marked the occasion with a WRD bike ride from Bruce Freeman Trail to Heart Pond, where they stopped to enjoy a picnic and take pictures. Bicycles were provided for those who needed them by our community partner, The Bike Connector, a non-profit community bike shop operated by new IINE Board Member Wade Rubenstein, which has provided free bikes, cycling instruction, and recently, employment, to our current and former clients. 

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More than 50 clients and 20 staff gathered for a festive art project: coloring in the flags of their home countries. They also played games, and enjoyed pizza, fruit, and drinks. Staff shared the official theme of this year’s World Refugee Day in multiple languages: “Our Home”—from the places we gather to share meals to our collective home, planet earth: everyone is invited to celebrate what Our Home means to them. Home can be a place of refuge, a feeling, or a state of mind.  

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Community members gathered at Middlesex Community College’s Cowan Center to celebrate our clients and honor those who have made tremendous efforts to welcome them to Greater Lowell. We inducted five new members into the Lowell 100, a group of leaders who have made significant contributions to the city’s immigrant communities: 

  • Majid Abdulhussien and Suad Mansour (top left), former IINE clients who serve as drivers and interpreters to newly arriving refugees. Abudulhussien and Mansour are famous in our Lowell office for answering the call at a moment’s notice to meet refugees at the airport, welcome them to the U.S., and bring them to the furnished apartments secured by our housing coordinators—their first homes in the U.S. “I want people to help me, so now it’s my turn to help the people that need it,” said Mansour. “For me, I enjoy it … You have to see it on their faces when you tell them you are coming to help and that everybody knows they are coming.”
  • Sidney L. Liang (top right), Senior Director of Metta Health Center, Lowell Community Health Center with whom IINE shares an office building and collaborates closely. Liang is a former refugee who fled the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. Praising the many other former refugees who now provide services to new arrivals at both Metta and IINE, Liang said, “They lived through similar experiences, but they have bandaged these wounds. They have wrapped their wounds and now they are ready to give back.”
  • Wade Rubenstein (bottom left), President and Founder of the Bike Connector, new member of IINE’s Board of Directors, and the son of former refugees from Ukraine. Wade was inducted by Ungaye Izaki, a former IINE client whose story of retrieving a bicycle from a canal in order to get to his new job inspired Wade to found the Bike Connector where Izaki now also works. “Ungaye was the first bike I awarded to someone here in Lowell,” Rubinstein said. “Last week we just gave away our 5,000th bike.” 
  • Kelle Doyle, Area Manager of the WeStaff employment agency that has connected thousands of IINE clients with their first employment opportunities in the U.S. Doyle has said of her experience with IINE clients, “they end up being the best employees…The nice thing is, we’re a steppingstone for them to grow their language skills, make some money, establish themselves, get licenses, and just start a life here.” 

Following the moving induction ceremony, eventgoers enjoyed food from around the world as well as a coffee tasting courtesy of Starbucks, who generously sponsored the event and our Manchester celebration. Thank you, Starbucks, for your ongoing support!

City representatives join Boston ESOL graduation to speak with immigrants and IINE staff

On June 20 in Boston, the Mayor’s Office for Immigrant Advancement Director Monique Nguyen joined a celebration of our ESOL graduates to read a proclamation from Mayor Wu declaring June 20th World Refugee Day in Boston. Boston City Council President Ruthzee Louijeune and City Council members Benjamin Weber and Edward Flynn attended to share their support for immigrant learners. Louijeune addressed students in English and Haitian Creole, underscoring the importance of education and playing an active role in supporting their children’s learning. More than 200 students, family members, and staff attended the celebration. 

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Throughout the week and across our sites, IINE’s community came together with joy and pride, and left feeling truly inspired by the stories and achievements of the people we serve and work alongside, who have persevered through incredible hardships, and are now equally driven to succeed and give back.