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IINE’s offices close on Tuesday, December 24 at noon and reopen at 9 am on Thursday, January 2. We look forward to seeing you in the new year!

Author: Jeff Thielman

Our Mission Continues

President Trump’s executive order suspending the refugee resettlement program, placing an indefinite ban on Syrian refugees, and halting the issuance of visas to people from seven predominantly Muslim countries, is an affront to our nation’s values and our Constitution. It is also a direct attack on the mission of the International Institute of New England.

The President is playing on fear. Because we work with people who have overcome so much to get here, we do not give in to fear. No executive order will stop the Institute from serving refugees and immigrants.

We are the largest refugee resettlement program in Eastern Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire, and we know better than anyone that the people we serve from around the world come here seeking peace. Refugees and their families are our neighbors. They work hard, pay taxes, and contribute to the cultural, economic, and civic life of New England and beyond.

The President’s order does not make America safe or great. Rather, it signals that the United States is retreating from its responsibility to lead as the world wrestles with the largest refugee crisis since the end of World War II.

The International Institute will continue to provide critical services to the more than 625 refugees currently in our care, and with your help, we will be ready to receive new refugees when the program restarts. Our skills training, English language, and job placement programs for refugees and immigrants will continue to thrive and grow as well.

We urge our friends and neighbors to speak out against this action. We ask you to support us in any way you can.

We also ask you to learn more about us by reading about our work in The New York Times, CNN, public radio, The Boston Globe, and other outlets. To read full media stories, please visit the Institute’s Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn pages.

Thank you for your support of our clients and mission during this critical time.

Gratefully,

Jeff Thielman
President and CEO

An International Romance

On Valentine’s Day, people across the world celebrate their love for each other by exchanging cards, candy, flowers, and heart-shaped gifts. While it appears Cupid is particularly busy shooting his love-laced arrows this time of year, we often forget that love doesn’t usually find its way on a Hallmark-sponsored holiday. In fact, many people stumble upon love at a time and place where it’s least expected. Some call this happenstance, others call it fate. The story of Carol and Herbert’s meeting is just that – a story of happenstance that brought two people from different worlds together.

It was March 29, 1962 when Carol arrived at Boston Logan Airport from Scotland. The 21-year-old came to the U.S. for a year-long contract to nanny for a local family after a classmate, who was already working as a nanny in Boston, wrote a letter urging her to come. It wasn’t long after her arrival that her friend introduced Carol to the International Institute of Boston (now International Institute of New England). During their days off, they attended events at the Institute, which was a social hub for the local immigrant and refugee community. It hosted events for locals and immigrants alike such as dances, games nights, and bus trips around the city.

On the rainy evening of June 24, the girls found themselves back at the Institute for dancing after a trip to Thompson Island, one of the Boston Harbor Islands, was rained-out. The young women danced for a short time but decided to leave after receiving unwanted attention from several male guests. Making their way down the stairs from the third floor of the Institute, they found themselves among a group of party-goers on the next landing. Suddenly, a seemingly-confident young man strode over to the girls. “My name is Herbert Schuler,” he said, extending his hand to each, “my friends and I are having a party and would like you to join us.” After a whispered discussion, the girls decided to go with Herbert and his friends even though they were complete strangers. Later they discovered that the 33-year-old had emigrated from Germany six years prior to join his sister in the U.S., and despite his boisterous appearance, was actually quite shy.

After a low-key evening spent with their new German friends, the girls were escorted to the nearest T-station where everyone exchanged phone numbers. The young women agreed that Herbert resembled the young Lieutenant in the musical South Pacific and they both really liked him. A few days later, Carol was surprised to receive a call from Herbert who asked her out on a date. They had such a great time that their first date led to a second, and then a third. The chemistry between the two was undeniable, and when Herbert proposed marriage on their third date, Carol couldn’t refuse. The two became engaged in August of ‘62, and got married the following May.

Fifty-five years later, the couple has three children and four grandchildren whom they see often. Who knows if Cupid was flying around the Institute that night, but Carol told IINE staff that she believes not only are they fortunate to have found each other, but it was the best of luck to have met Herbert at the International Institute of New England all those years ago.

Ladies Who Bring Lunch

Around the International Institute of New England, Meg Glazer is known as the leader of the “Ladies Who Bring Lunch.” Since April, a group of eight to 10 women has volunteered their time once a month at Meg’s home to prepare and deliver culturally appropriate, packed lunches for 50 students attending English classes at IINE Boston.

In addition to providing meals, the women spend two hours during each visit in conversation with IINE beneficiaries, creating an opportunity for them to practice English. “Each meal, and each time we do this is different,” Meg said. “We never know how many people will show up, but we want to be there

All of the women are members of South Shore Action, a group of 250 individuals who came together following the 2016 election to focus on issues that mattered to them such as freedom of the press, healthcare, the environment, and civil rights. Meg serves as the Civil Rights Committee Chair. After the President issued the first travel ban, she helped shift the group’s focus to supporting immigrants and refugees.

Through social media and a conversation with another IINE volunteer, Meg found her way to the International Institute’s Boston site office to understand what role the group could take in aiding the global refugee crisis. Together, the International Institute and South Shore Action developed “Meals and Conversation: Building Bridges and Breaking down Walls One Meal at a Time.” Many recently arrived refugees rely on cash assistance benefits and sometimes do not have enough money for healthy meals. This is particularly true in their earl months in the U.S. before they learn English and find their first jobs.

The opportunity to practice English and share a meal builds a personal bond between supporters from South Shore Action and the new Americans in our programming. “We want the refugee and immigrant clients to know that there are many people who are invested in helping them integrate into their new communities,” Meg explained.

IINE Education Program Instructor Irina Lopukhina honored with Easterseals 2017 Communication Connection Award

IINE’s partnership with Easterseals New Hampshire prepares immigrants and refugees to be residential instructors

Easterseals New Hampshire recently honored IINE-Manchester Education Program Instructor Irina Lopukhina with the 2017 Communication Connection Award. Each year, Easterseals serves 1.4 million children and adults in the United States with disabilities.

Under Irina’s leadership, IINE worked with other providers to create a program that trained immigrants and refugees to be residential instructors at Easterseals. The Communication Connection Award honors someone who makes an exceptional commitment to Easterseals.

In collaboration with staff  from the Manchester Economic Development Office and the Diversity Workforce Coalition, Irina trained people for jobs assisting men and women with disabilities in Easterseals residential units. The staff of EasterSeals gave considerable input to the design of the program, which has the potential to be a model for other employers that want to recruit and promote diverse workforces in the Granite state.

“I’m honored to receive this award,” Irina said. “This project is extremely rewarding because I’m able to see first-hand how motivated these students are to succeed and lead sustainable lives.”
The seven-week course ran for two sessions in July 2016 and April 2017, and prepared 25 pre-selected adults for jobs at Easterseals.

The curriculum Irina developed included intensive English language instruction, cultural competency, and an orientation on the specific duties of a residential instructor. Easterseals hired every graduate, providing refugees and immigrants with a good paying job and a career path.

By preparing new Americans for these roles, IINE-Manchester and our partners were able to place multi -cultural and multi -lingual staff at an organization that provides critical services to people in New Hampshire.

Honoring Patricia Wrenn’s Legacy and Impact on the International Institute of New England

The International Institute of New England (IINE) takes this opportunity to remember one of its own – former Chair

person of the Board of Directors Patricia “Patsy” Wrenn – who passed away in Dedham, Massachusetts on August 21, 2017. “We’ve lost someone who was truly elegant and refined, but also a force to be reckoned with,” said Rosamond Allen, a close friend of Patsy’s and former IINE board member. “She treated everyone, citizen and refugee alike, as a dignified person. Everyone loved her.”

We remember Patsy as a friend and supporter of the International Institute, and our hearts go out to her family during this difficult time.

Throughout her life, Patsy had a positive impact on many New Americans, particularly those who used the Institute as a respite from the journey of ‘belonging.’ An immigrant herself from France, Patsy had a special understanding of being the newcomer, which shaped the way she influenced programs at the Institute.

From 1978-1983, during a particular tumultuous time in United States history, she served as the International Institute of Boston’s board president, then housed on Commonwealth Avenue. With the fall of Saigon and the rise of the Khmer Rouge, the flow of refugees from Southeast Asia was increasing daily in Boston and caused enormous growth in the Institute’s programs and social activities. Board and staff at the time reported seeing not only an increase in refugee activity, but also a rise in public prejudice that put a strain on the community.

“There were a lot of Vietnamese people who couldn’t speak English, who occupied the neighborhoods but did not supporting the local economy,” Rosamond explained, recalling the rising tensions in the city. “There wasn’t any federal funding for our programs at the time, so we did what we could, what we needed to do for these people,” said Rosamond.

She explained that in order to aid the influx of clients, a ‘motor corps’ of women, including the Institute’s board members, met planes at Boston Logan International Airport, took refugees to Stride Rite for new shoes and to the Salvation Army for clothes, and brought them to job interviews. Patsy came to know many of the refugees personally and worked endlessly to welcome and integrate them into their new communities.

During this time, the International Institute of Boston also invested heavily in fundraising activities within the organization, with Patsy spearheading the committees of several annual events. Patsy raised funds for and organized several events including the International Ball and the Golden Door Award, a cherished International Institute tradition for more than 40 years that honors a U.S. citizen of foreign birth who has made an outstanding contribution to American society. Patsy’s guidance of these events ensured the community came together as a group, with every attendee treated as a dignified guest. This was the sort of person Patsy was – always thinking of how others felt.

We are saddened by the death of a dear friend of the Institute, but moving forward we take with us a very important lesson from Patsy: Our initial responsibility to New Americans is to support their housing, employment, and education needs; but so equally important, is our ongoing obligation to fully welcome them as part of our diverse community.

Finding a New Home in New England

A Congolese family resettled by the International Institute of New England puts tragedy behind them to rebuild their lives in Lowell

Rose Mukundi Muswumba is a not just a fighter, she is a warrior. A widowed mother of ten, Rose struggled to raise and provide for her children on her own after her husband was killed in their native country, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Her husband had been investigating human rights violations, and after his death government officials came for Rose and her children, forcing the family to flee to Uganda in 2004.

Rose could not fathom a life free from fear and despair, but she was determined to give a safer life with better opportunities to her children. She endured numerous obstacles to get to the United States; she engineered her escape from the Congo by convincing a man to let her and her children hide among animals in the back of his truck as he drove across the border.

In Uganda, Rose and her children shared a small two-room apartment, but moved from place to place because militia from the Congo continued to pursue them. Her son Rodrigue recalls how there were days when the family had little to eat if they could afford a meal, they saved half the food because they did not know where the next meal would come from.

After many years of a hardscrabble existence, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees referred Rose and her family for resettlement in the United States.
After a lengthy process, the United States government approved their admission, and they arrived in Lowell, Massachusetts in August of 2016.

“I remember being at the airport when the family arrived,” recalled Jennifer Chesnulovitch, an employment specialist with IINE-Lowell. “Although everyone was exhausted from the long trip from Uganda, I watched Rose smile as her children pulled their luggage off the carousel. Like many of our beneficiaries, the smile signaled a combination of relief and hope.”

Shortly after her arrival in Lowell, Rose began attending IINE’s English classes while her children secured work – a role reversal for the natural caregiver.  Within months, however, Rose shared that she also wanted to enter the workforce and fulfill her dream of becoming a nurse. Chesnulovitch recognized her strength as a nurturer and in January 2017 helped enroll her in a Home Health Aid training at Middlesex Community College. Rose used her advanced English skills to speak at the training’s graduation, highlighting how her dream was becoming true.

Upon completion of the training, Rose worked part-time as a home health aide and enrolled in an advanced Certified Nursing Aide (CNA) training program. Soon she will complete the program and be eligible to work as a Certified Nurse.

“My life is much better in the United States,” Rose said. “I have many more opportunities – I can work, save money, attend trainings, and my children have education. I am free. I am happy again.”

IINE CEO Jeff Thielman’s response to U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the President’s Travel Ban

The Supreme Court’s decision on Monday means prolonged suffering for many refugees approved by the U.S. government to find haven in America. Sadly, people who have suffered trauma, lived in camps for years, and followed all the rules of the U.S. refugee processing system will either not be able to enter for at least another 120 days or have to restart the entire process.  Our staff at the International Institute of New England was preparing to welcome and resettle some of these refugees in Boston, Lowell, and Manchester, New Hampshire.

The Court’s Ruling

The Supreme Court narrowed but did not overturn lower court decisions stopping parts of President Trump’s Executive Order, which sought to ban visa holders from six predominantly Muslim countries from coming to the U.S. for 90 days and suspend the Refugee Resettlement Program for 120 days.  The Court did not rule yesterday as to whether the Executive Orders were constitutional or otherwise illegal.  Instead, the Supreme Court said the government may ban refugees and other visa holders with no ties to people or entities in the United States from coming to our country while it rules on the merits of the case.  The Court will hear the case in October and rule by the end of 2017.  By then, it is quite possible that many matters raised in the appeal will be moot because the bans will have taken place and a new fiscal year will be underway.

The Court said that some people, including refugees, may come to the U.S. if they have a “bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States.”  The Court said this includes people with close family relationships in the U.S., students admitted to a U.S. university, workers who have accepted jobs here, and lecturers invited to speak to U.S. audiences.  The dissenters to the unsigned ruling said this compromise will create a lot of litigation because the courts will have to sort out what “bona fide relationships” means. They are probably right.

The Court stated that the U.S. may admit more than 50,000 refugees in FY17, the ceiling set by President Trump in his Executive Orders. The criteria for admission of refugees for the next 120 days, however, is that they must have a legitimate connection to persons or entities in the United States.

Resettlement Nationally and Locally at IINE

The United States has resettled nearly 49,000 refugees as of today, and because of the Court’s ruling, the country will resettle more than 50,000 refugees by September 30.

By the end of this week (June 30), the International Institute of New England expects to have resettled 402 refugees in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, with three months remaining in the fiscal year.  Our original target was 623 refugees (we budgeted for 590) by September 30. It is unlikely that we will reach that target.

Special Interest Visa holders (SIVs) and any refugee with family and personal connections to anyone living in the U.S. will be able to come to Boston, Lowell, or Manchester.  We expect to see primarily U.S. “tie” cases between now and September 30.

We are just three months away from a new fiscal year, and by law, President Trump must issue a determination letter on or before October 1, indicating how many refugees the country will admit in FY18.

Earlier this month I was in Washington, DC with leaders of resettlement agencies around the country lobbying members of Congress to urge the President to admit 75,000 refugees.  We will know in a few months how many refugees our agency will serve in the coming fiscal year.  The number of refugees we contract for impacts our budget, planning, and programs for FY18 (which begins for us on October 1, 2017).

Next Steps

Our work will continue, and our job remains to keep serving the people in our care.

We will help every refugee assigned to us and expand our efforts to serve a broad range of early status immigrants in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. We just received word that IINE-Manchester will receive a multi-year, multi-million dollar grant from the state of New Hampshire to expand English, Skills Training and Civics Training programs. We will look for other ways to expand programs for new Americans in our three sites.

While there is some sadness in yesterday’s ruling for us and for many of our clients, we are not discouraged. The International Institute has been serving new Americans since 1919; this is the not the first time we have confronted anti-refugee and anti-immigrant feelings. Our clients need IINE to continue to support them in all the ways we have promised; and we rely on the support of our volunteers, donors, and community partners to continue to do so.

There is a lot of work to do, and it is important that we do it well, especially now.

On World Refugee Day, We Stand #WithRefugees

What is World Refugee Day?

On June 20th, World Refugee Day was recognized in different ways across the globe. Initially established in 2000 by the United Nations, World Refugee Day aims to commemorate the strength, courage, and perseverance of millions of refugees worldwide. It also exists to raise the public awareness of one of the biggest humanitarian crises of our time – the global refugee crisis.

According to a recent report on global trends of forced displacement published by the UN Refugee Agency, there are currently more than 65 million individuals that have been forcibly displaced worldwide as a result of persecution, conflict, violence, or human rights violations. Just in the past year, 10.3 million people were displaced worldwide. To put this figure into perspective – the number of displacements is equivalent to 28,300 people forced to flee their homes per day, 20 people per minute.

World Refugee Activities at the International Institute   

In honor of World Refugee Day this past Tuesday, June 20th, the International Institute of New England (IINE) hosted activities at each of our three sites.  In Boston, we welcomed our partner TripAdvisor to our office where volunteers created murals with a group of our refugee and immigrant clients. The activity allowed our clients to paint canvases inspired by the flags that represent the countries they are from, and the finished product visually represents our clients coming together as one community in their new home. We also enjoyed a live musical performance by the talented Eureka Band.

Some members of the IINE community also traveled to celebrate World Refugee Day with employees and volunteers at the TripAdvisor headquarters in Needham, MA. During the day, TripAdvisor volunteers assembled and presented the IINE team with 50 children and adult bicycles for our clients. These bicycles are so valuable because they will create an effective means of transportation that will allow our clients to commute to work, school, and to the International Institute for English and workforce development classes.

In Manchester, due to the large presence of our refugee and client families, IINE partnered with the Richmond Middle School and the Church of Jesus Christ Dartmouth for a “day at the playground,” where close to seventy participants celebrated with face-painting, soccer games, drumming, bubbles, volleyball, and cultural dancing. These partners also held a school backpack drive, created home welcome kits, and donated Walmart gift-cards for our clients that will be used to aid them in their resettlement process. In addition, the staff in our Lowell office celebrated the day by hosting a lunch and brainstorming future activities to conduct with our clients.

Why EVERYDAY Is World Refugee Day

This day of commemoration helps remind both the IINE team and the public of the importance of supporting the world refugee crisis. While it is important to have one day a year for people to band together around the cause, the refugees need our help and support each and every day. We need your continued commitment to help provide immediate and long-term assistance to new Americans.

What Would You Risk?

Imagine being faced with a terrible choice – risk persecution, imprisonment, and torture, or leave behind everything you’ve ever known for a slim chance at safety? What would you do, if your survival was at stake?

Every day across the world, people like you and me are forced to flee their homelands because of violence and persecution. This is the reality of an unprecedented 21.3 million refugees worldwide, including the 623 refugee women, men, and children from 20 countries that the International Institute of New England (IINE) resettled in the past year in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. These clients had the courage to fight for new lives, and with our help are now reclaiming the future that was stolen from them.

Recently, I met Hanna Petros Solomon, a refugee from Eritrea who risked her life twice to come to the United States. Orphaned at a young age, Hanna and her siblings had little chance of surviving one of the most repressive regimes in the world. Together, they made the decision to escape – and were caught. For three years, Hanna was transferred from prison to prison, places known to be rife with torture and other human rights abuses.

Eventually, Hanna convinced a prison guard to let her go. This time, she successfully escaped from Eritrea with her siblings and fled to Ethiopia, before resettling to the U.S. as a refugee in 2012 and reuniting with her grandmother and sister in Boston. Yet the safety of family and a new life could not erase the trauma she experienced in her homeland. To acclimate to her new surroundings and transition to American life, Hanna needed the diligent assistance of IINE staff.

Hanna’s caseworker placed her in our English and Cultural Orientation classes at our Boston site, where she learned how to navigate her new city and its cultural expectations. Hanna then enrolled in and graduated from our Hospitality Training Program, and with the help of her training specialist found work as a server at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf Hotel.

Today, Hanna is looking ahead to her next graduation ceremony. As a junior at Tufts University studying clinical psychology, she is determined to help others like her heal from mental and emotional trauma. One day, Hanna would like to return to Eritrea and be a part of fixing its broken mental healthcare system. But first, we are pleased to welcome her as an intern at IINE in Boston this summer.

“I chose to intern at IINE,” explains Hanna, “because I want to show clients and my refugee peers that they can make it in life. They have the chance to change their lives.

In 2016, the Institute served 1,737 new Americans like Hanna. As our nation wrestles with questions about how open our borders and society should be, IINE continues to provide education, job training, and other critical programming to people seeking safety and the chance of prosperity. Our services are needed now more than ever, and we are grateful for the support and dedication of our community. Thank you for your generous support, and for helping us give newcomers like Hanna a chance to change their lives.

Refugees Waiting and Hoping in Jordan

By Cheryl Hamilton

In the language of refugee resettlement, there are two kinds of cases: free cases and tie cases. In free cases, refugee individuals or families do not have any immediate relatives in the United States. Alternatively, tie cases are often when new Americans reunite with loved ones.

As a practitioner, I often sympathize with people associated with free cases. The reality is that as much as any resettlement agency strives to provide refugees with a warm welcome and orientation to the United States, the value of having unique connections in a new country is unmistaken. At least this is how I feel arriving in Amman, Jordan for the first time.

For the past year, the International Institute of New England (IINE) has been expanding our partnerships with universities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire to advance the study of refugee resettlement and immigrant integration. One of our strategies is to strengthen relationships between academics, policy makers, and practitioners because while one might imagine that people from these disciplines connect often, the fields are often quite siloed.

As a step forward, IINE launched a new four-part learning series in 2017 called Intersections: Syncing Policy, Practice, and Personal Experience. The first lecture focused on the Syrian refugee crisis and featured, among others, Denis Sullivan, a political science professor at Northeastern University and Director of the Boston Consortium of Arab Regional Studies (BCARS). Six months later, what began as a conversation is developing into a more formal collaboration between IINE and BCARS, including comparing the integration of Syrian refugees in Jordan with New England’s newest refugee population.

This is how I come to be in Amman in advance of World Refugee Day on June 20th, an annual event that honors the challenges and contributions of refugees worldwide. Traveling with staff from BCARS, one of our shared goals is to identify related experiences and transferable lessons in refugee protection. For example, Jordan wrestles with the same paradox as the United States whereby many residents want refugees to work and be self-sufficient, but at the same time accuse newcomers of “taking their jobs.”

It’s one thing to understand peripherally that the economy in Jordan is challenged, but it’s another to arrive and learn that while officially unemployment hovers at 30%, the unofficial data suggests that as many as 60% of the population is underemployed. Compounding this challenge is that Jordan currently hosts nearly 1.2 million Syrian refugees in a country of an estimated nine million residents and growing. This is compared to the approximately 20,000 refugees that the United States has welcomed since 2015. Often pundits will extol that the Arab nations are not doing enough to respond to the Syrian crisis, but this is simply not true. Currently, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey host more than five million Syrian refugees, with more arriving each day.

It’s also important to note that Jordan does not just host Syrians; there is also a large Iraqi refugee population, some of whom have been displaced for more than a decade. I discovered this first-hand when I had the opportunity in Amman to visit the relatives of my colleague Farouq Ali, a refugee IINE resettled to Lowell in 2011. Farouq works as an Arabic interpreter for the International Institute, and he and his family have been instrumental in welcoming and supporting hundreds of refugees from the Middle East in Lowell – a mission motivated in part by his family’s experience as a free case.

Sitting in an apartment surrounded by three Iraqi refugee families, one mother touches my arm and says that there must be something I can do. She is worried for her children’s future. She and her husband registered with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in 2007 but ten years and two children later, their future is still uncertain. The family applied for resettlement to the United States years ago, but the waiting list is very long. With the anticipated reduction in refugee resettlement in the United States, combined with the competition with applicants worldwide, I tell her honestly that I wouldn’t get my hopes up, a statement I painfully repeat to the additional two families. The mother responds, “There is always a little hope.”

Meanwhile, their lives in Amman are stunted by their inability to secure work legally and funds are depleting. Despite their personal risk, a few of the fathers return to Baghdad to work as contractors where their paychecks are not always guaranteed. When I casually and perhaps inappropriately ask two teenage sisters what they do other than study, they reply, “nothing, we have no money.”

As BCARS highlighted in a policy report, the Jordanian government recently extended a new work permit program for refugees, but it only applies to Syrians. The program offers up to 200,000 refugees the opportunity to work in certain sectors that many Jordanians often refuse. This reminds me of our clients in Lowell, Massachusetts who fill positions at manufacturing and textile companies that many Americans find unattractive. To date, a little over 50,000 Syrians have registered for the permits, but even then, employers will often pay them less than their Jordanian counterparts.

Leaving the Iraqis’ homes, I feel somber and concerned for the mother and her young sons, one of whom reminds me of my nephew with his boundless energy. Unable to work legally in Jordan or return safely to their country as a family, their immediate solutions are bleak. It’s hard not to compare their lives with those of Farouq’s children who have flourished in the United States since their resettlement. Two talented college students, they have seized their opportunity to make the most of their move to Massachusetts. However, only one percent of refugees are afforded the same opportunity; the remaining 99% like Faroqu’s relatives must merely wait and hope for a better future.

Remembering Henri Termeer, a friend of the International Institute

A pioneer, a giant, the founding father and dean of the biotech industry –  these are just a few ways others describe the late Henri Termeer, former Chairman, President, and CEO of Genzyme Corporation. Born in the Netherlands, Henri was a leader in the local and global biotechnology revolution. He lived his life according to one mission: to advance science and to change the lives of patients around the world by discovering breakthrough treatment for those suffering with rare diseases.

We remember Henri as a friend and supporter of the International Institute of New England, and our hearts go out to his family at this difficult time. Four members of Board of Directors – Mike Wyzga, Zoltan Csimma, Georges Gemayel, and Jean Franchi – worked with Henri at different stages in his career.

In 1999, the International Institute recognized Henri’s achievements by awarding him the Golden Door Award, which honors a foreign-born American who has made an extraordinary impact on the lives of others. We honored Henri because of his commitment to his patients, his leadership in promoting educational opportunities for minorities, and his strong dedication to making life-saving drug treatments available to all people in need, regardless of their race, gender, or economic status. The 1999 Golden Door Gala was a particularly emotional and special day for Henri because his naturalization ceremony as a U.S. citizen took place during the dinner.  Becoming a U.S. citizen was the fulfillment of a promise he made to his late father.

In receiving the Golden Door Award, Henri joined a distinguished list of recipients including the 2001 award recipient, Gururaj “Desh” Deshpande, and 2002 recipient Orit Gadiesh, both of whom were good friends of Henri.  As an immigrant, Henri knew that the dynamic biotech industry in New England depended on talented people born outside of the U.S. who could bring energy and innovation to the field.

Henri joined Genzyme in the early 1980s and oversaw its growth into one of the most iconic biotechnology companies in the world. Under his leadership, Genzyme grew from 20 employees to 12,500 worldwide, won regulatory approval for a range of drugs to treat rare diseases (known as ‘orphan diseases’), and provided treatment to thousands of patients globally whose lives were saved and enhanced by Genzyme’s products.  He pioneered a patient-centric corporate culture and fought to create a business model that made medicine more accessible and affordable. After nearly three decades at Genzyme, Henri stepped down as CEO in 2011 when the French pharmaceutical maker Sanofi bought the company.  After leaving Genzyme, Henri stayed active in the biotech community, serving on the boards of directors for several organizations, including Massachusetts General Hospital, Partners HealthCare, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) and the Life Sciences Foundation (LSF).  He mentored dozens of people who went on to start and lead other biotech firms in New England.

With Henri’s passing, the world has lost a true visionary and leader. We remember Henri’s words as he prepared to leave Genzyme in 2011:  “It’s not the end of an era. It’s the end of a chapter. It’s a new beginning.”  Inspired by Henri’s optimism, we redouble our efforts to create new beginnings for newcomers who, like Henri Termeer, arrive in New England every day with a desire to work hard, contribute, and be active citizens in their communities.

Fostering Friendships over Food

IINE-Lowell and local community groups unite residents and newcomers at shared dinners.

On Jan. 24, 2017, Lowell community members and three newly- arrived Congolese families gathered for a meal at IINE-Lowell’s site office. The potluck meal was hosted by the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Khalil Abdo’s smile disguises the difficult journey that brought his family from Syria to Lowell, Massachusetts. In 2013, war and violence forced them to leave their homeland, and in 2016 they became some of the few Syrians granted resettlement in the U.S. When the family of seven arrived, Khalil knew little English and relied on interpreters to navigate his new surroundings. In Lowell he faced challenges as he adjusted to a new community, addressed urgent medical issues, and searched for employment. The first months for any refugee in the United States are challenging, yet can be eased by a warm welcome from new neighbors. Last summer, IINE-Lowell staff worked with community and faith groups to organize a series of welcome dinners for newly arrived refugees. Since the launch, 12 refugee families have participated in a welcome dinner, including the Abdo family who attended one hosted by IINE supporters in Andover, Mass.

Held in a local hall, the space was brightly decorated and an array of ethnic and traditional American foods was available for all to enjoy. The dynamic at each welcome dinner is slightly different. When a group of professors hosted Congolese families recently, the hosts and their guests spontaneously broke out in African dancing. At another dinner, the group discussed shared interests and cultural traditions. In Andover, Khalil and his wife and children practiced English and Arabic words with their new friends over chocolate cake.

Welcome dinners are easy to organize, and their impact is enduring. Through the relationships formed, refugees secure play dates for their children, learn about job opportunities, and get insights on the American healthcare system and culture. At the same time, families such as Khalil’s share the experience of their journey with their hosts. This gives American families an intimate perspective on the global refugee crisis. At the end of dinner in Andover, Khalil surprised the organizers by sharing that the evening was his sixth-month anniversary in the U.S. Smiling, he told the group, “This is the first night in the country where I only feel joy, only joy. Thank you.”

Many of these welcome dinners are hosted by Resettle Together volunteers, a growing network of community partners who help refugee families rebuild their lives in New England.  They also provide immediate and long-term support to refugees and immigrants on the road to self-sufficiency.