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Tag: refugees

Meet Our Interns

Every spring, summer, and fall, we welcome a new slate of talented and passionate interns to our team! In this blog post, hear from three of our recent interns from across the organization.

Mika Margalit, Grants Intern, Boston Office | Second Year Student, Tufts University

What are you studying at Tufts and what drew you to those studies?
I am studying International Relations with a focus on Security and doing a minor in History with a focus on Migration. I’ve always been interested in how conflicts happened and peoples’ stories, and that grew into foreign policy, immigration, and history.

What led you to an internship at IINE?
I have done past work with resettlement organizations, and I know I want to be involved in providing tangible services to immigrants and refugees. At IINE, I can see people who are actively raising the money to house people, or driving to the airport to pick people up, or helping them with their legal cases. Being able to intern here is just really special because I’m able to connect with the populations being served.

What did you do as an IINE intern and how did it help prepare you for future work?
I worked on the Grants and Contracts team. I helped find perspective grant makers for the organization. That included looking at which of our programs are most in need of funding and researching which foundations have interest in those funding opportunities.

I also did research for the grant proposals themselves. We’d have to find a way to convey why our organization is important so I would gather information about immigrants in the workforce, for example. I loved this work.

I think it’s prepared me in a lot of different ways. Being able to be in a professional setting, learn about the behind-the-scenes of what it takes to fund a nonprofit, develop my research skills, and work in a collaborative environment—it was all really special.

What was the work environment like at IINE?
I had a really amazing time. I ended up being able to connect with so many staff, and not just on the Grants team, but also in Donations, ESOL, and more (and realized that a lot were only a couple years older than me!). Being able to learn about the different types of opportunities out there was a really valuable part of the internship experience. I’m really sad to be leaving, I’m going to miss it a lot.

Would you recommend this internship to other students?
I would recommend this internship to anyone who is passionate about refugee advocacy. Being able to see what the work looks like on the ground to integrate refugees into the New England area was so valuable in understanding both the impact an individual can have and challenges of the work.

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Aeden Kamadolli, Youth Intern, Lowell Office | First Year Student, Columbia University

Aeden Kamadolli
Aeden Kamadolli (center) on a field trip to the New England Quilt Museum with our refugee youth clients

What are you studying at Columbia and what drew you to those studies?
I am a Human Rights major. I was drawn to human rights as a field of study because I think that the world we’re living in currently is one where human rights are not actually human rights because they are tenuous/not guaranteed for far too many people. I think that learning about human rights in an academic setting will help inform my work in solidarity with communities who are currently being deprived of certain rights.

What led you to an internship at IINE?
I was interested in working with an organization that supported recently arrived people in the Greater Boston community (since I was back in Massachusetts over the summer), and my Googling led me to IINE’s internship program. I was particularly drawn to IINE because of the Youth program, as I had previous experience working with youth and it seemed like a great opportunity to learn new skills while doing work I was passionate about.

What did you do as an IINE intern and how did it help prepare you for future work?

I feel like I did so many different things over the summer. The Youth team is a small team, but they do so much to support youth clients, it’s actually incredible! I spent a lot of time doing text outreach to clients, and I also helped make and send out the weekly Youth program newsletter. I helped plan, set-up, clean-up, and generally facilitate different types of programming (workshops, field trips, tutoring, etc.). Over the summer, many of our youth clients were interested in finding jobs, so one of the other things that I did once I established rapport with some of them was help them make resumes. I also had the opportunity to shadow a few intakes that my supervisor was conducting. Finally, I spent a decent chunk of time documenting client interactions.

I learned how to write case notes and got a lot of practice navigating [a client database]. I also really deepened my familiarity with Canva because I had to do a lot of graphic design for flyers, the monthly event calendar, and the newsletter. I generally learned a lot about the city of Lowell and the different services and resources available to refugee and asylee families—and I even picked up a little bit of the Levantine dialect of Arabic.

What was the work environment like at IINE?
First and foremost, my supervisor was an incredible resource. I felt like I had the perfect amount of freedom— I felt very supported, but at the same time, I had a lot of agency when it came to the work that I was completing. I had the opportunity to work with some other Community Services staff, and in addition to making me feel very welcome, they were very approachable, and I felt comfortable asking them questions.

Did you have a greatest success story as an intern?
I don’t know that I can isolate a single greatest success, but I’m really proud of my Arts Afternoons initiative. I came up with the idea to have an afternoon once a week in the Youth space that was entirely dedicated to a specific type of arts and craft, and together with my supervisor, we planned out a unique art activity for almost every Monday afternoon over the summer. I think my favorite Arts Afternoon was a two-part one, where youth clients painted small terracotta pots one week, and then planted herbs and spider plants in their pots the next week. Some of the youth clients brought their younger siblings to the activity, and we had really great turnout both weeks— and I had so much fun sharing my love of plants with everyone! Afterwards, some of the youth chose to keep their plants in the windows in the office and would come in regularly to check in on and water them. I think it really helped the space feel cozier.

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Innocent Ndagijimana, Community Services and School Impact Intern, Manchester, NH Office | Senior, University of New Hampshire

Innocent Ndagijimana
Innocent (right) at IINE Manchester’s annual World Refugee Day Celebration

When you interned at IINE, what were you studying at UNH and what drew you to those studies?
When I was interning, I was a senior at UNH, majoring in Business Administration. I chose to major in Business Administration because I am interested in becoming an entrepreneur. I plan on starting a nonprofit organization at some point in the future. The main goal will be to educate an underserved community such as immigrants.

What led you to an internship at IINE?
I knew about IINE because I was their client when I moved to the U.S. from Congo in 2014. I learned about an internship from my school’s career fair.

What did you do as an IINE intern and how did it help prepare you for future work?
My responsibilities included assisting the School Impact Coordinator with the process of registering kids (pre-K-12) in schools. I also helped adults by providing community services support. My internship helped me to prepare for my [current position] as an AmeriCorps volunteer [at IINE] because throughout my internship, I familiarized myself with the programs provided by IINE. I also built relationships with several clients whom I currently work with as a volunteer.

Did you have a favorite success story as intern?
My greatest success is that I improved my understanding of how to better serve immigrants. I learned about several programs that refugees need to succeed in their new country. I knew about these programs from a client perspective; it was very fulfilling to learn about the resettlement process from a server point of view.

Would you recommend this internship to other students?
I would definitely recommend this internship, especially for someone who is interested in helping people, and learning about different cultures around the world.

Love what you do. Every step of the way. Explore internship opportunities at IINE to gain hands-on experience supporting refugees and immigrants in New England. 

“I Never Felt Alone”: Maydelyn, a Refugee and Single Mom from Guatemala, Finds Community and a New Start in Massachusetts

Arriving full of hope

Maydelyn with her sons, 11-year-old Xavier and 9-year-old Pablo, who came to the U.S. as refugees from Guatemala

After making an impossible choice and a difficult journey, Maydelyn, a former schoolteacher, refugee from Guatemala, and single mother, arrived at Boston Logan International Airport with her 11-year-old son, Xavier, and her nine-year-old son, Pablo last August. All three were eager for a fresh start.  

Their new home would be in Quincy, Massachusetts. IINE’s Housing Coordinators had found and furnished an apartment for the family in the Boston suburb, in an area with a large Spanish-speaking community. Once Maydelyn and her sons moved in, IINE Case Managers quickly got to work on enrolling the boys in school, helping the family apply for public benefits, and scheduling medical appointments. By September, Xavier and Pablo told their Case Managers that they were enjoying their classes and had already made friends with other students with Guatemalan backgrounds. 

Pursuing her dream

Madelyn was extremely eager to learn English and join the workforce in her new community. She told her IINE Employment Specialist that her goals were to attain English fluency, become a Spanish language teacher, and to be a homeowner. Understanding the path would be long, she quickly took a job with a local housekeeping agency. Within months, and with IINE’s help, Maydelyn was hired as a housekeeper at the Charles Hotel in Harvard Square. While she had enrolled in ESOL classes, her work schedule and commute made it challenging to attend them. IINE connected her with a volunteer to tutor her one-on-one. Madelyn remembers feeling truly blessed to be on her way towards her goals. 
 
“Despite starting a life from scratch without knowing the language and without knowing where to start, I never felt alone. My Case Manager not only helped me resolve each and every one of the important procedures but also made me feel welcome because of the affection with which he always treated me. I felt supported at all times. Without IINE the adaptation would have been too difficult.”

An incomparable friendship

Maydelyn and her sons got a special level of support from the mother-daughter team of Anna and Rosie Glastra. Anna had begun volunteering at IINE the April before Maydelyn arrived. An immigrant herself, Anna was eager to help other new arrivals find their way in a new country – and put her Spanish language skills to good use!  

Initially, Anna signed up to provide transportation support, driving IINE clients to appointments and classes and helping them to run errands. When Maydelyn and her boys arrived, Anna became one of IINE’s first “Community Mentors.”  

Xavier and Pablo in the Halloween spirit

Similar to IINE’s Resettle Together volunteer teams, Community Mentors get matched with refugee families or individuals in their early stage of resettlement and become their guides, supporters, and—as was certainly the case with Anna and Maydelyn— their first friends in the U.S. 

Anna and her daughter Rosie began working with Maydelyn when she arrived in August. It was Anna who let IINE know that she would need a workaround for ESOL instruction, leading to her getting a tutor. By the fall, Anna was helping Xavier and Pablo get ready for a very exciting first. She wrote to IINE’s Volunteer Coordinator, “Last Wednesday, Maydelyn and I spent a great afternoon with the boys, visiting and enjoying the Halloween store to get an outfit. They were so excited to be able to celebrate Halloween for the first time ever. Their school organizes a Halloween party tomorrow afternoon, and after that they will go trick-or-treating in the neighborhood with Maydelyn. The remaining part of the afternoon last week, we played mini golf and got a bite to eat. It was a lovely afternoon.” 

In November it was time for another exciting New England tradition. Anna shared, “I took them apple picking, which was a great success. The whole family enjoyed it so much. I believe the boys each ate at least 6 apples while picking :). They climbed on every ladder to get the highest available apple out of the tree and went home with two full bags of apples and a pumpkin.” 

Volunteers Anna (left) and Rosie (center) with Maydelyn and her sons, enjoying an afternoon outing to the local apple orchard

Maydelyn was proud to be able to return the favor later in the month, inviting Anna and Rosie to her apartment in Quincy for a birthday party. Anna wrote, “She cooked delicious Guatemalan dishes for us and baked a tres leches cake (her mom’s recipe). She was so happy to share her lovely apartment with guests for the first time in the US.” 

Of her friendship with Anna, Maydelyn says, “I am grateful for having the connection between Anna and us since she and her family have given my children and me unforgettable moments and most importantly, incomparable friendship and affection.” 

A promising future

Almost a year later, secure in her home and work, and progressing with her English skills, Maydelyn is self-sufficient. Anna checked in with her in the spring and reported, Xavier and Pablo are doing really well in school. They both have quite some friends and are both involved in sports: basketball and soccer. They made amazing progress with their English. Maydelyn mentioned to me that she recently had a parent-teacher conference in which the teacher said that both boys are excellent students, which made her very happy and proud. 
 
While there was nothing easy about leaving her country behind and journeying to a new land as a single mother, thanks to her bravery and drive, her family’s positivity, the support of IINE, and the friendship of Anna and Rosie, Maydelyn and her sons are building a better, hope-filled life in New England.

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Volunteers are essential to the work we do to welcome and resettle newcomers to Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Click to explore our volunteer opportunities.

College Students Learn Refugee Resettlement by Lending Helping Hands

Northeastern RT Group

Colleges and universities define New England’s culture, bringing innovation and meaningful cultural exchange as they draw educators, researchers, and students from all over the world. For IINE, colleges and universities are important partners; professors and administrators collaborate on our vocational skills training programs and help IINE clients set educational goals. Many local students serve as interns, learning about the work behind the scenes while providing much-needed support to IINE’s staff. 

Now IINE is forging a new type of partnership with local colleges and universities: collaborating directly with students in classes on migration, international affairs, and international business to provide them with hands-on service-learning opportunities. The benefits are threefold: 

  • Refugee families get the support of driven young volunteers who are exploring their new city alongside them.  
  • IINE gets to help shape the next generation of welcomers and supporters. 
  • Participating students get to move beyond research to gain experience and make a tangible difference in the lives of refugees who need support in this pivotal stage.  

“The college students who come here to learn and the refugees who come here for a fresh start all renew and enrich our communities,” says IINE Volunteer and Community Sponsorship Coordinator Kate Waidler. “There’s much to be gained from bringing them together. It’s important for students who are really trying to understand international relations to meet some of the actual people they’re talking about when they’re discussing humanitarianism and victims of war, and it’s great for refugees to meet some people beyond case specialists— young people with different dreams and aspirations who are equally welcoming and want to learn how to help.”  

Kate recently developed partnerships with two universities in Boston while attending monthly meetings of the Supporting Higher Education in Refugee Resettlement project (SHERR), a service-learning-focused sub-group of a national network, and is proud that IINE is one of the first groups to move from theory to practice. “There was a sense from the group of ‘Wow! You’re already doing this!’ I realized that we’re pioneers.” 

Exchanging knowledge and skills with students at Northeastern

In the spring of 2024, IINE completed an inaugural partnership at Northeastern University (NU) working with students in its “Globalization and International Affairs” and “Cultural Aspects of International Business classes. The collaboration included NU classroom visits from IINE staff who trained students in aspects of refugee resettlement. Refugees and immigrants were also invited into the classrooms to participate in valuable discussions about their experiences finding work in a new country. Students engaged in multiple aspects of fieldwork, some traveling to IINE’s Boston office to tutor or teach while others provided hands-on assistance preparing to welcome new refugee arrivals.

Digital Literacy 

One group of NU students was tasked with giving refugees and immigrants with little technology experience a key to accessing IINE classes and services, navigating their communities, and succeeding in the workplace: basic digital literacy.  

Students designed and taught their own workshop to help IINE clients operate smartphones and Chromebooks to access and use needed programs and applications, including IINE’s online ESOL instruction platforms; and to write, edit, and search. Three sessions of the workshop were held for clients from Somalia, Cameroon, Haiti, Central African Republic, Guatemala, South Sudan, and Afghanistan, with interpretation provided in several languages. The project was designed and spearheaded by IINE AmeriCorps Volunteer Rosemary Barnett-Young. 

NU Student quote

“It was something I had both clients and staff express a need for,” says Rosemary, “so I was eager to get the classes up and running. In my own work with clients, I had some challenges with virtually helping explain how to join meetings online, etc. The Northeastern students were incredibly important in offering these classes in person. Clients said it was a great class, and it helped them learn many new things about computers. Many have reached out and expressed interest in follow-up computer classes.” 

Huskies Supporting Families: A Northeastern Student on Welcoming New Arrivals  

Two groups of Northeastern students took on the important task of preparing to welcome newly arriving refugees and making their first day in their new home a success, mirroring the work of IINE’s Resettle Together community sponsorship program. After completing initial training with IINE staff and online training with the Refugee Welcome Collective, a national organization supporting community sponsorship, each group was assigned to a family of incoming refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with a few weeks to prepare. Their main tasks were to make sure their families’ first apartment in the U.S. would be fully hospitable and stocked with groceries, greet their families at Logan International Airport, make sure they got safely to their new home, and provide them with a warm, culturally appropriate first meal. 

Thomas Brulay, a second-year Northeastern student studying International Affairs and International Business was one of the students assigned to the Koufoukikas, a group of five siblings and an adult son. His group’s first task was to raise enough money for the Koufoukikas to afford their first month’s rent and security deposit. 

“Our fundraiser was called “Huskies Supporting Families,” Thomas says, explaining that the Huskies is the name of Northeastern’s sports teams and a nickname for their students.  

While he didn’t know much about the family he would be welcoming, Thomas’s own experience as a transplant to Boston helped him empathize with them. For example, Northeastern RT GroupWe handed them out some jackets for the Boston weather. It kind of reminded me of growing up in Miami, [where it was] always like 75-80° out, and then coming to Boston, especially in the winter, it’s like 25° outside, so I think I definitely had that in mind.” 

Thomas further related to the experience of the Koufoukikas as a first-generation American. His mother was born in Brazil and his father in Mexico. 

“The immigrant perspective [I have] because of my family really drove me to help these people. I think being born in the US and being able to speak English and get around—it’s great to be able to use my skills and my familiarity [to help].” 

In addition to speaking English, Thomas speaks Portuguese, Spanish, and a little bit of French, which came in handy when he met the Koufoukikas at the airport.  

“The family only spoke French, and I did take two years of French in high school, but I kind of forgot a lot.” He says with a smile. “I made an effort though to speak with them. They seemed confused when we met, like, ‘Who are these people?’ But I introduced myself and then they understood a little bit better. 

Thomas introduced the Koufoukikas to a driver hired by IINE. While the driver didn’t speak French, he held up his phone to show them a screen displaying the family’s name. Thomas says “their eyes lit up” when they saw it.  

“It definitely made me realize how hard it can be,” he reflects. You can be approached by anyone—it’s not always someone that’s trying to help you out. Their journey was so long, They were at Dulles [Airport] for like 8 hours, being  interrogated by American immigration officials, and they finally made it to Boston and were super tired—it was just great to be able to assist them, moving them into a comfortable place to sleep in Boston so they could start their new life—[it makes me] realize just how fortunate I am.” 

After the driver took the Koufoukikas to a motel where they would stay while their apartment was being prepared, Thomas went back to Northeastern with his team members. They used the dormitory kitchen to prepare the family a Congolese-style chicken dish for which he had found a recipe online, and then delivered it to them—his last duty as a resettlement volunteer.  

Thomas left his experience inspired and plans to volunteer more in the future. He offers this advice to other students who may be interested: 

“I’d say go for it! Maybe it can be a little bit scary at first, but try to put yourself in their shoes. You know, it’s so hard for, especially refugees, who, they’re just, looking for a better life and a better future.” 

University of Massachusetts Boston: Data Dictionary, Housing Handbook, and ESOL for Equality 

Over at the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Boston, students in a class called, The Complex Landscape of Refugee Resettlement: Transnational Migration and Concurrent Realities,engaged in some other very practical projects with lasting impact 

Assessing Progress with a Data Dictionary   

After learning about the need from IINE staff, one group of UMass students developed what they called a “Data Dictionary,” a survey-based assessment tool to measure the effectiveness of IINE programs in helping refugees integrate into their new communities. Informed by their academic research, the diagnostic tool included questions for clients on how they were progressing in meeting their goals of achieving language skills, accessing public benefits, integrating into their new communities, achieving self-sufficiency, and progressing toward citizenship. The final tool was translated into two additional languages before being handed off to IINE case workers who now plan to pilot it with a family of refugee clients.  

A Housing-Search Handbook    

UMass Boston Resettlement volunteers worked on one of the first stages of the process—and one of the most challenging: finding affordable housing that’s walkable to key resources such as public transportation, grocery stores, and community centers, in a notoriously scarce housing market. After learning about the process and pitfalls of the housing search from IINE, the group of seven students set out to directly contact landlords to make their pitch about IINE clients as tenants, check availability and interest, and then pass on leads to IINE staff. They used information gleaned from the experience to help document and streamline the housing search, creating a spreadsheet that automates key listing information and a brochure full of useful tips and step-by-step instructions. 

Read IINE’s post on finding housing for refugees. 

“These resources are incredible!” says Kate, who supervised the project. “These students took the initiative, pushing through the intimidation factor of having informed, sensitive conversations, and handed us tools that make our work easier, and of course, greatly improve the lives of refugees making a fresh start here.” 

At the end of the project, students reflected on their learning and success. One student wrote,  

“This project really made me hone my research skills and learn how to be resourceful, and also gave me the opportunity to reflect on my position where housing isn’t an issue I have but is one I can help others with.”  

ESOL for Equality    

UMass Boston students in an English for Speakers of Other Languages cohort had the opportunity to step into the shoes of an instructor for some eager adult learners. Naming their project “ESOL for Equality,” each UMass Student was paired with one client currently on IINE’s ESOL waiting list. With training and guidance from IINE, they each designed and implemented an individualized course of study for their students and taught it over a semester.  

“These designs were really thoughtful and well executed!” says Kate. “Our ‘ESOL for Equality”’ instructors took the time to get to know their students’ goals and language levels and then helped teach the specific vocabulary they needed.”  

“One instructor wanted to meet her student at a local library, so she formed a relationship with the librarian, and as part of a class, helped her student get a library card. She also helped her open a bank account. Other instructors developed videos for the clients to help them drill lessons, worked with them over Zoom and coached them on digital literacy, played word games with them, and even took them on field trips to local museums! This went beyond English instruction, facilitating some great opportunities for social connections and cultural exchange.” 

Gianna Speaks, a UMass Boston Biochemistry major who served as an “ESOL for Equality” instructor and decided to continue as an IINE ESOL teacher when the project concluded, reflected, “Volunteering for ESOL was an eye-opening experience. It really allowed me to get a glimpse at the lives of refugees, and the similarities and differences in cultures and ways of life. It also gave me a peek into the struggles that come with having to adapt to a new language on top of everything else. It was very rewarding seeing how each lesson brought my client closer to their goals (getting a job/going to school).” 

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IINE is continuing to develop new forms of partnerships with higher education institutions. In April, IINE launched a pilot program at the Boston University Center for Forced Displacement. Instructors in the program are providing workshops for IINE case workers in refugee resettlement policy and practice, on the global and national levels, to broaden and contextualize their understanding of the field. The long-term goals of the initiative are to create a model that can be replicated by other universities and resettlement agencies and to create a credential for participants to help advance their careers.

With these first successes now in the books, IINE is excited to forge more partnerships with colleges and universities going forward, bringing together practitioners and researchers, and connecting the next wave of youth who have made their way to Boston to study with refugees who have come here seeking safety and a new start—all preparing for a bright future.

Nazia’s Story: An Afghan Refugee’s Relentless Commitment to Education and Hope

Nazia Blog Banner

The hardest and most important job

Growing up in Afghanistan, Nazia developed a true passion for teaching at a young age. She became an English instructor when she was in 10th grade, and for years, continued teaching for little or no money, eager to gain experience.  

“Teaching has been my dream job. In our country, people don’t have a good perspective about teaching – they think it’s a simple job, but it’s the hardest and most important job. A doctor once had a teacher. A president once had a teacher.”   

With time, Nazia became successful and well-known in her profession. While completing her university degree in education, she taught English to both children and university students, and then after graduating, accepted a role teaching adult learners online. With hard work and sacrifice, she had built a life for herself doing what she loved. 

 

A dark cloud 

Then, the Taliban came and took it all away. It was 2021, and Kabul had fallen in what felt like an instant.  

“[Women] lost the right to get an education and have a job. We couldn’t travel alone, we had to have a guardian. It felt like a really big, dark cloud had come over our country and it was not going to move away. It made everything dark. You felt like thunder was going to hit you; the thunder was the Taliban.” 

As a woman, it was now illegal for Nazia to teach. It took her a full year to find an opportunity to do so anywaya decision which came with real peril.

“Taliban were living in our neighborhood, so when I taught, I would close all the windows and doors. I felt afraid they would hear my voice talking in English, and I would cause danger for my family.” 

The Taliban did their best to fan the flames of her fear. 

“Two separate times, I received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number with a profile picture of the Taliban, asking me ‘Have you started teaching again?’ I deleted the message and blocked the account. It was terrifying, but I didn’t stop because there were a lot of women who needed education, they needed a light in the darkness. My class was not only for teaching English, it was to give students motivation to be brave, to never lose hope.” 

Nazia did not give up. In fact, she wanted to do more. She decided to start a social support and education group for fellow women living under the Taliban, which she named “Lifesaver Girls.” It took her many tries to find an education center brave enough to host this illegal gathering, but with perseverance, she was able to convene one meeting. She felt she had to. 

“After the Taliban took over, most of the girls got disappointed and depressed. This group motivated them. When they first came to the meeting, you could feel the hopelessness and [see] deep sorrow in their faces. We talked about some successful women who did their best in the hardest situations, and we introduced them to online ways to get an education. At the end of the session, you could see the brightness of hope in their eyes.”  

A really hard night 

Nazia had been living in Ghazni, a city about two hours from Kabul. In December of 2023, she received a call from the organization that was helping to evacuate her from Afghanistan. They told her to be in Kabul the next morning. Women were not allowed to travel alone, so she set off with her father. They waited 14 days before being evacuated to Pakistan. Then they had to walk an hour in the middle of the night to meet the driver who would take them to Pakistan and then to Qatar.  

“It was a really hard night. It was so stressful. At the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, the Taliban checked all of the stuff we had and asked ‘Where are you going? Are you going to a foreign country?’ I told them ‘No, I’m sick.’ My father was pushing me in a wheelchair so they would believe me.” 

Nazia told the Taliban that another male relative was waiting for her at the border, so that her father was able to leave her. Then she was alone. She was checked by the Taliban four separate times. When she got to Pakistan, she stayed three nights before being evacuated to a camp in Qatar. It was a difficult period.  

“It was like you are in a big jail. You are not allowed to go out of the camp. I was stressed that my case wouldn’t be accepted, and I would think about how I would live in Afghanistan. I would be arrested for leaving the country alone.”  

After 28 days, Nazia’s case was approved. She arrived in Boston in January 2024.  

Learning how to walk 

Nazia with IINE Career Navigator Emma Pond

Within one week of her arrival in Boston, Nazia enrolled in services at the International Institute of New England (IINE). Case Workers quickly helped her get her social security card, enroll in food benefits and health care, and acquire her work permit. IINE’s Education and Employment teams helped her to write a resume, begin searching for jobs, and explore opportunities to pursue a master’s degree. She was also invited to a monthly support group for fellow Afghan women to meet, socialize, share advice, and explore their new city together.  

IINE’s Afghan Women’s Group in Boston

Nazia says that the people she meets at IINE are “really kind and helpful. I’m really thankful.” She is adjusting to life in Boston and learning how to navigate new challenges with IINE’s help.  

“It has some hardships. I’m getting used to a new environment—living without my family, traveling alone—but it is an interesting experience. Nowadays, I’m like a baby trying to walk, standing and falling down, but still not losing hope. The baby is sure they will learn how to walk even though it is hard. Here in the U.S., I’m learning how to walk. IINE is helping me to learn.”  

Finding the light 

Even before she came to the U.S., Nazia had dreamed of pursuing a master’s degree and then a PhD at Harvard University. Now this dream feels closer. 

I came to Boston by chance— it’s a really beautiful coincidence. I want to get my master’s and PhD in [Teaching English for Speakers of Other Languages], and one day, become a professor. Everyone says being a Harvard student would be hard; I agree it’s hard, but it is not impossible.” 

Nazia is also a writer. She has already had some success—a short story published on the website of a university in Iowa. She’s writing more short stories and hopes to write a romance novel one day. One thing’s for sure: nothing will stop her from striving for her dreams. It’s not easy, but she knows she now has support—and freedom.  

“In our country, we couldn’t go out after 5 p.m. Here, I can. I feel safe. There is no Taliban here, no one that will restrict me from following my dreams. When I have a hard time and miss my country, I walk around, and I see beautiful smiles. I feel ‘this might be hard, but I’m in a good environment… ‘I believe that when something is hard, it makes you the real version of you. There might be moments you feel down, like nothing is going to get right, but still in that moment, we can find the light.”  

We are proud to have welcomed, resettled, and supported refugees in the New England region for over 100 years. Learn more about our refugee resettlement work here.

Volunteer Spotlight: Meet the Traegers

Disillusioned by the national debate on refugee policy during last year’s election, Mark and Heidi Traeger decided it was time to learn more about refugee resettlement in their own backyard. Last winter they attended IINE-Manchester’s A Home for All event at the Millyard Museum and were moved by the personal stories shared by the refugee panelists.

Inspired by their experience at the event, the couple decided to demonstrate their support for immigrants by raising awareness of the challenges refugees face.

The Traegers hosted a house party for their friends and neighbors at which IINE staff and newly arrived refugees spoke. The event raised money to support IINE’s services, introduced the community to several refugee families, and helped people learn more about the U.S. refugee resettlement program.

But Mark and Heidi didn’t stop there. They also worked with IINE staff to plan a Nature Walk on their own property. IINE brought nearly 200 refugee children and parents to the Traegers’ home in the country to hike, fish, and learn more about New Hampshire’s great outdoors.

They did it again a few months later when they hosted another busload of children who arrived for a fall adventure of fishing and Halloween fun.

The Traegers’ refugee and immigrant guests at the three events delighted in the bucolic scene and the warm welcome they received from Heidi, Mark, and their neighbors.

The Traegers are unassuming and don’t think that what they’ve done for the refugee community in Manchester is all that extraordinary.

But their generosity and kindness go beyond financial support. The value they place on relationships, on understanding where people come from and what they have endured, helps empower refugees to know a wider community of people.

During a year of uncertainty and insecurity for refugees and immigrants, it is heartening to see the Traegers and families like them offer a warm New Hampshire welcome to new Americans.

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.

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.