Refugees

When my French teacher asked Jessica a question, she burst into tears.  She put her head on the desk and continued to cry softly.  Her sister Michele looked at us and shrugged her shoulders.

Monsieur Guy waited for a second, then suggested, "Why don't we come back to you later?"  He never did, because she cried for the rest of the class.

Before the lesson Jessica had given me a packet documenting her family's refugee story.  Her father and mother fled the Rwandan genocide with their four young children.  They resettled in Zambia.  Dad works as a doctor and mom as a nurse practitioner.  Their children have all graduated high school and plan to pursue university degrees.  Jessica wants to go to medical school.  Michele wants to be a pharmacist.  They are smart enough to excel in both of these fields.

Their dilemma is that the UNHCR and Zambian government are forcing them to repatriate back to Rwanda in December.   Zambia insists that Rwanda is stable.  The family wholeheartedly disagrees.  Their mother wrote:

Rwanda is in a silent war.  The Hutu and Tutsi are the same:  whoever has the power is oppressing the other group.  It is an ongoing cycle of violence.  The current leaders are now listing the people who are accused of committing the genocide with the intention of revenge.

For my family, it is especially dangerous:  we don’t belong to any ethnic group.  My husband is ½ Hutu and ½ Tutsi.  I am Tutsi.  We must find asylum for our four children, so they will not have to live again in that tragedy.

If they come to the United States they can apply for asylum, but there are no guarantees. 


While their case is processed, the family will be locked up in the Immigration Detention Center.   Men and women live separately and have little chance to communicate.  Detainees do not have the right to counsel, so they must build their own case.  If they can afford an attorney, it's critical that they hire a good person.  Many immigration lawyers will take their money and do nothing.   There is no downside to losing a case, because their clients are deported.

For this reason, I am researching some university options.  If anyone has an Alma mater that might be interested in some bright students, I'd love to talk with you!