July 12 1999

ARTICLE TOOLS

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Fifteen years ago, CT featured a cover story titled "Refugees: Off Sinking Boats into American Churches." The article focused primarily, though not exclusively, on "boat people," refugees from Southeast Asia. Today, refugees are more likely to come from Bosnia, Sudan, or Kosovo than from Vietnam, Laos, or Cambodia, and the number of refugees worldwide has increased significantly. Nevertheless, the challenges and po ten tial rewards of resettling refugees remain unchanged. For Christians, this is an unmistakable opportunity to practice cross-cultural ministry.

When Bosnian Rasid Jusufi stepped into Chicago's O'Hare International Airport after five years of war, refugee camps, and wondering if he would ever talk to his family again, he wished he could turn around and go back. He was like a baby, he says, completely dependent, unable to speak or go anywhere: "If a baby knew what to expect, he might not want to be born."

Mulwal Alwdak, a refugee from Sudan and Liberia, recalls feelings of amazement and excitement: coming to the United States was his dream. He went through customs at JFK Airport and expected to be met at the gate when his connecting flight landed in Chicago. During the two hours he waited for his caseworker to arrive, Alwdak stayed calm, although he had been taught that Americans were punctual. He tried calling the Ethiopian Community Association, but the office was closed, and the foreign sound of an answering machine baffled him. Alwdak had no money and couldn't read. "I was planning to sleep at the airport," he said.

Alwdak and Jusufi are two of the more than 15 million refugees and asylum seekers worldwide. The United States admits 70,000 to 120,000 refugees each year. Exact numbers are determined annually ...