I hadn’t planned to post on Transitionland after I realized the author of the blog was a ‘twentysomething.’ I have so much to do and so little time, I didn’t mind at all that she was hurling insults at us. Anytime anyone takes on a sacred cow, name-calling and demonizing is to be expected.
That said, I am posting now because a reader, Mark, and Transitionland had such a hearty discussion I thought it would be useful for our readers to see. The exchange serves as a window into the local resettlement process where you may (but not always as we have so often reported on these pages!) find people dedicated to making the resettlement of refugees as comfortable as they can.
Transitionland does in the end, just before closing the thread, admit that the program needs to be reformed.
And let’s be honest, few members of the public know anything about refugee resettlement, and fewer still care at all. Calls from people like Ann Corcoran and her toxic friend Judy to “increase accountability” are, in general, thinly veiled attempts to limit the numbers of refugees being admitted to the US.
Believe me, I KNOW the system is broken and needs to be reformed. Refugees aren’t being served as they should be. But demonizing the resettlement agencies and their already underpaid, overworked and poorly supported staff is NOT going to help anyone.
If anyone deserves your anger, it’s the neglectful head offices of struggling resettlement agencies and ORR, which is never quite grounded in the same reality field staff are.
Good for you Transitionland, you have taken the first step toward reform—speaking up! This program will never be reformed until people are willing to look at the truth and then speak the truth!