While George Bush expresses "concern" for persecuted Iraqis, an estimated 14 million refugees, scattered across the globe, struggle to survive. Without the post-9/11 declaration of War on Terror, some 40,000 of them would have found refuge in the United States.

Despite our "melting pot" mythology, the US established an official refugee policy only in 1980, adopting the United Nations definition of a refugee as one who demonstrates "well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion". Cold War ideology guided the following decade of resettlement policy, which approved groups fleeing Communist regimes over those fleeing right-wing dictators. In the 1990s, African groups were increasingly approved. A network of voluntary agencies had evolved to help an annual 80-120,000 refugees integrate into American society.

A mere 27,000 refugees arrived in 2002. Increased security measures, including the Security Advisory Opinion required for males aged 15 to 50, have added months to the screening process. Anyone approved before 9/11 must be re-screened.

Refugees are accustomed to waiting. Many spend two to ten years in crowded camps before resettling permanently or returning, like recently repatriated Afghanis, to countries still facing economic and political instability. Though camps provide resources, they scarcely meet the needs of their inhabitants. David Bol, a young Sudanese man living in Seattle, described the difficulties of life in Kakuma, Kenya. Medical care was limited, and food rations, if not delayed, arrived every two weeks. "You had to wait, there was no way out", said Bol.

Resisting pressure from advocacy groups and legislators to admit more than 100,000 refugees in the coming year, President Bush approved a 2003 ceiling of 70,000, including an 'Unallocated Reserve' of 20,000 unlikely to be tapped. David does not expect to greet any friends from Kakuma this year. He thinks life there is tougher than when he left over a year ago, and one of his friends decided to return to Sudan, "maybe join the army", rather than endure purgatorial camp conditions.

"Beth," an aid worker in sub-Saharan Africa who did not wish to be identified, said that for many refugees, "The situation is desperate. Some live in danger, others are sick and without proper medical attention could die". Refugees, some approved for US resettlement before 9/11, were waiting for security checks to clear in northern Uganda when the Lord's Resistance Army attacked the camps. They have since fled to Kampala, where they continue to wait. In Kenya, 17,000 refugees await security clearance in hostile conditions. In Guinea, hundreds of Sierra Leonan refugees wait in insecurity.

According to Bob Johnson, director of the Seattle and Tukwila branches of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), "the biggest impact [of 911] is the relatives who were waiting for families to come". The IRC usually welcomes 500 refugees each year, but resettled only 182 people in 2002. The agency itself has survived by providing more social and immigration services, but Johnson said that "nationally, some agencies have laid off quite a few" employees. According to the Refugee Council USA, some agencies have reduced their resettlement staff by up to 60 percent. A study commissioned by the Office of Refugee Resettlement concludes that economic trouble in the hospitality industries has impacted refugee employment, but Johnson said entry-level jobs remain easier to find than others. "There's sort of a common myth that refugees displace Americans by taking jobs that Americans take, but that's not true," he said. In the months following 9/11, refugees in the US suffered more harassment than usual. David Bol recalled people asking him, "Why is it that you came here?" Bol remarked, "People were throwing stones at us, accusing us." Bob Johnson said fear among refugees dwindled after the prosecution of hate crimes, but many hesitate to visit the Immigration and Naturalization Services (soon to be swallowed by Homeland Security and reborn as the Bureau of Immigration Services and the Bureau of Border Security). Garrison Courtney of INS stressed that because refugees arrive with an immigrant visa, INS investigations do not generally target them.

When asked about the legitimacy of the terrorist threat, David Bol contrasted his experience of everyday war to this American generation's unfamiliarity with any war. He said, "People are afraid here but that's how the world goes. There are a lot of bad people around, not only in the United States but everywhere."

Will the War on Terrorism affect long-term US refugee policy? Beth declared "9/11 has virtually grounded the US refugee program and set it back many years." Bob Johnson, in the field since 1976, prefers optimism. The IRC expects to see the first of a new group, the Somali Bantus, in March. He remains hopeful that the new screening process will eventually become smoother than the old one. However, the possibility of war with Iraq, certain to affect resettlement, looms on the horizon.

The Washington Free Press
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