I guess forums like this one fill in the gaps refugees are experiencing in their supposed orientation programs offered by US State Department-funded outfits.
This McClatchy article made me laugh:
Forum regulars offer do’s and don’ts for airport screenings and remind new arrivals to report any changes of address “so you don’t become a national security concern.” They get into the nitty-gritty of an Iraqi household in America: Long skirts for Muslim women? Bring them, because U.S. shops are filled with miniskirts and shorts. Electrical appliances? Leave them in Baghdad because of the voltage difference. Hookah pipes? Don’t worry, the tobacco and coals are available. Need cheap furniture and household goods? Try a site called Craigslist, “where you can buy and sell anything!”
Wal-mart exploits old people?
An Iraqi refugee whose online handle is “Arizona” is a particularly astute observer of his new world. One of his most recent posts describes how he walked into a Wal-Mart and was shocked to be welcomed by “a person who’s over 85 years old and works as a tracker of shopping carts.” Apparently unfamiliar with Wal-Mart greeters, who are often senior citizens, Arizona made a phone call to make sure that the chain wasn’t exploiting the elderly, and later he published relevant labor laws for other Iraqis to see.
Do we have a budding social justice activist here? Arizona needs to find the nearest ACORN office!
Another time, Arizona wrote of a stroll through a park and his first encounter with homeless street performers. He struck up a conversation and learned about their tenuous lives. He wrote with admiration that the U.S. government provides them with food assistance and medical care.
“God bless you, my brother,” an Iraqi named Basel commented on Arizona’s post about the street musicians. “I always see you trying to shed light on American society and to show us the corners we’ve never heard of.”