A few days ago I posted a link to photos of volunteers helping out in the Fargo floods and wondered if immigrants there would join their neighbors in helping out. According to this AP article, the answer is yes, at least for some of the refugees. It begins:
For some transplants to this quiet Plains city, last week’s feverish rush to hold back a historic flood threat carried reminders of the chaos that forced them from their old lives.
The National Guard troops and the constant humming of military vehicles along the Red River made Amar Hussein a little nervous. He came to Fargo from Iraq after a bomb blew up his vehicle and left his arms and leg deeply scarred.
“We see the military trucks, I see people making sandbags to protect the town, I think something happened,” he said.
Although much of the story is about the refugees’ anxiety about the flood threat, we also learn this:
Immigrants also volunteered in the flood-fighting effort and formed their own support groups, sharing food and information and finding that pitching in to save the city is a sure way to put down roots.
And this:
The refugee resettlement agency gives all newcomers an introduction to the area — how to work with police, how to deal with inclement weather, the basics. They put on similar sessions during the flood.
What, an agency doing its job? Hallalujah! And this:
But to many newcomers, facing these hard times has also forged a connection to the place, and to the people with whom they shared work and worry.
A family of six who left the fighting in Mogadishu, Somalia, formed an assembly line at the Fargodome, filling sandbags and passing them, hand to hand, to a growing pile.
“This is my home now,” said Maliyun Santur, who arrived in Fargo two and a half years ago. “I’m here to save our city.”
I’m usually cynical about heartwarming refugee stories, knowing that there is much underneath that isn’t so great. But I must admit that I am cheered by the idea that at least some of these refugees have formed this kind of connection to their new home.