When reading both the Congolese Backgrounder from the CORC and the
Employer Guide to Hiring Refugees from the ACC, I was very surprised to see how
the refugees are treated almost as a completely alien people. The frequently
asked questions section of the ACC’s Employer Guide acts as though the
employers have never interacted with someone a little bit different than them.
While yes, I do know that this is technically necessary to have all of these
questions and answers to settle any sort of lingering questions from the
employer, but I do believe that the ACC could do a better job of depicting the
refugees as individuals instead of one nondescript group. I do enjoy that the
Congolese Backgrounder includes a short description of each part of the
Congolese culture, from language, to marriage, to differentiations between
Congo and United States cultures. One part of the ACC’s Employer Guide that I
did find very useful was the “Benefits to your Business” section. Although they
do advertise all refugees as the same kind of people, I feel as though they do
a wonderful job of giving the best light to the refugees based on the situation
some of them have come out of. In the article I read for an earlier blog post,
I read about many stories of Iraqi refugees having been doctors, attorneys, or
other high paying professions before that were re-located here in America. Now
they can barely get jobs working as dishwashers or janitors. With the help of
the ACC, these refugees, who may not be able to exactly show their true talents
to their employers, are able to get the best job possible for their previous
work experience in their home countries.
Jack,
ReplyDeleteI agree that it's important to depict refugees as individuals, and especially as the educated, competent, and qualified individuals they are. I appreciated the part in the employer guide that discussed the value refugees could add to a business, because it often seems like they are seen almost as burdens to a company. I like the direction these documents are headed in.