Former refugees now living in Rochester are featured in a public service campaign intended to combat fear of and prejudice against immigrants.
The Catholic Family Center (CFC) created videos in which seven individuals share their stories of fleeing persecution, imprisonment, and genocide in their home countries.
"What we hope comes out of it is to have more people's eyes opened that there truly is much more to gain than there is to lose by opening up our borders, opening up Rochester, for additional refugees to resettle here," said CFC president and CEO Marlene Bessette.
By linking faces and personal details to the immigrant and refugee population, Bessette hopes the "See Their Stories" campaign eliminates or eases the fears of some, “any fear or trepidation they have from some of the rhetoric that goes around involving terrorism or some of the other fears built up in people."
Refugees from Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Bhutan, Somalia, and Burma took part in the public service campaign. They talked about their fears when they were coming to the U.S. and what they accomplished after resettling in Rochester.
Samir, who worked as a translator with U.S. forces during the Iraq War in 2004, recalled arriving at JFK Airport in New York with his wife and two children. They were separated when he was handling their baggage. When Samir returned, he noticed two senior citizens talking to his wife.
“I was scared to death,” he said. “I didn’t know what they were saying to her.”
But when he approached, Samir heard the couple ask what his wife’s head wrap was called and what it was made of. The woman told Samir’s wife her children were lovely. “That just put me at ease,” Samir said. “I told my wife, ‘We’re going to be fine here.’ “
Today, Samir is a businessman and homeowner and his wife is earning her teaching degree.
"We do some volunteer stuff,” he said. “We try our best, because those people who helped us when we got here, most of them were volunteers, and I believe now it's on us to continue that."
Qbaida said she found happiness in the U.S. after fleeing Afghanistan as a girl with her mother and siblings. It took them three weeks to dodge bombings and cross the border before spending 12 years in a refugee camp in Pakistan.
Qbaida went to college and is now a social worker, wife, and mother. But she said the U.S. is not what it once was. “There are fears. As a Muslim woman, the way I dress, I fear every day.”
“I hope peace comes,” Qbaida said. “We’re all human. We all need to help each other. We need to stand by each other. If you had a salad with only lettuce, it would be boring to eat that, right? I feel like diversity is beautiful. It enriches the community, the country.”
In 2017, the Catholic Family Center helped to resettle 446 refugees in the Rochester area. That is a sharp decline from the 1,176 who were resettled in 2016.
"These are wonderful people,” said CFC president Marlene Bessette. “If people would just be able to see that, maybe that will help to change attitudes."
All of the former refugees featured in the campaign now live in Rochester, but organizers hope their stories are shared far and wide. The Vatican has posted a link to the campaign on its website.