Buffalo's Growing Population of Refugees. How You Can Help Them

By Ryan S Kozey, Phd

Throughout the year 2010, it is estimated that roughly 2,000 refugees will find a place to live in the city of Buffalo¹. A predominant picture of this can be seen on the lower west side where a significant Burmese population is budding. What’s ironic about this trend is that most of the people of Western New York simply aren’t aware. The city of Buffalo is undergoing a demographic shift, the likes of what is happening in many dying cities throughout the United States (Cleveland, Toledo, & Detroit to name a few).

Recently, I examined what services existed in the city to help with the burgeoning refugee population. There are a handful of organizations that have thrown their hat into the ring to help serve this particular community of newcomers, most notably, the International Institute, Jericho Road Ministries, Peace of the City, Journey’s End, Catholic Charities, and Jewish Family Services. When inquiring as to key ways to serve newcomer refugees to the city, Molly Short, Executive Director of Journey’s End noted that language training, practical education, job development, employment servicing, Medicaid and hospital awareness, and overall orientation to a drastically new environment were desperately needed. This reality speaks to the need to address the very basics of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs², which start with the need to accommodate for basic physiological as well as safety and security needs.

Short points out that many in WNY simply don’t understand what the term refugee means. Specifically, she points out that refugees aren’t here illegally, they strive to be independent, they work here in the US legally, and they are not here to convert people. Essentially, they are pursuing a life in which they could sustain their existence. People can abuse the system, but that is not simply an issue among refugees.

The makeup of refugees is diverse. Short pointed out a number of cultural groups that she is actively working with at Journey’s End—Burmese, Iraqi, Iranian, Eritrean, Ethiopian, Somali, Sudanese, Bhutanese, and Congolese. The list goes on, but the mosaic mentioned here should suffice.

Given Short’s mention of misperception of refugees among people within WNY, there is pause for some to propose the question, in somewhat annoyed tone, “Why are these people here?” That very question was asked recently of Short as she was involved in helping a refugee seek treatment for a mental breakdown. After biting her tongue, Short stayed the course in providing the correct help for the person. Regardless, the comment spoke profoundly of a lack of understanding.

Perhaps greater than the question of why they are here to me as a person of Christian faith is, “What is our responsibility as followers of Christ?”

The landscape of the city is changing. The responsibility of the people is not. Short had a very interesting take of members of the Christian faith. To her, it’s more than simply throwing money at a problem. People in faith communities should not simply be about proselytizing and financial solves. She cited Hamburg Wesleyan’s impact in the city as being one above and beyond both simply throwing money at problems and proselytizing. This is at the heart of my perspective as to the solve of helping to love and serve the refugee population, and to a greater extent, all people in our geographic context (be it rural, suburban, or urban).

If we are to truly make a noticeable impact and be intentional about our geography, we need an honest self-examination in the Christian community. First, what is our level of willingness to inherit the problems of the context that we find ourselves in? In this particular context, are we willing to embrace the reality of the influx of refugees (and their needs) into the city? Further, are we willing to own that the responsibility, as followers of Christ, is above and beyond simply giving someone a Gospel tract, a few dollars, and washing our hands of the outcome? My sense is that the solve here is more profound than that. At some point, people need to inherit the city—not just the art, the culture, and the food; rather, the underbelly of it as well. Ultimately, I think it is appropriate to ask followers of Christ if their heart truly does break for the brokenness of the city—be it spiritual, infrastructure, or physiological need. If the genesis of the journey is forged within that question, I’m hopeful of the outcome.

Perhaps an appropriate second question is this: “What does God want?”³ I can personally remember being enthralled in the reality that the God of the cosmos, this intimately constructed universe, desired a personal relationship with me. Perplexed—yet enthralled. Out of such complexity, though mind-bending at times, a dose of simplicity arose. From Adam and Eve, to the death and resurrection of Christ, and up through to today, God has pursued a relationship with us. In essence, I see God in desire of offering every man, woman, and child, the repeated opportunity to hear, to see, and to experience (rub up against) the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. The methodology of informing someone of that can become a divisive point of commentary. Short mentioned that if people of faith want to come and volunteer at Journey’s End, it’s her hope that they are there for more than simply their experience and the opportunity to proselytize. I can see her line of reasoning.  The entry point of dialogue about the Gospel in today’s culture espouses different methodologies. I see the love and service of Christians speaking volumes, offering people a sense of presence. That presence to love and serve does, I believe, beg the question, “What is different about you?”  It is in that presence that one can proclaim the difference. My hope is that our proclamation is in the doctrine of changed lives through Jesus Christ.

A final question for the Church at Buffalo to consider is this: “What would it look like if every man, woman, and child had that repeated opportunity?”⁴ Profound as the question may be, it really is something to build our directional compass around. Understanding the differences in various churches and denominations, the infrastructure of lay people into a community ultimately will display the willingness (or lack thereof) of the local church to do something about the physiological and spiritual need in the city of Buffalo. The challenge for the church however, is if they can rise above their distinctives and instead rally around their points of common ground. This is not a radical call to throw the proverbial baby (doctrine) out with the bathwater. Rather, it is an opportunity for the church to examine the value of key non-negotiable points of agreement with peripheral points of doctrinal contention and disagreement. If considered too complex, my rebuttal is that no one said that this was going to be easy.

In sum, the people at Buffalo need to come into contact with the Gospel on repeated occasions, seeing, hearing, and experiencing it. We must not forget that the mosaic of people here is all the more diverse and beautiful with refugee settlement. The influence of Burmese, Iraqi, Iranian, Eritrean, Ethiopian, Somali, Congolese, Sudanese, and Bhutanese culture (to name a few) are a part of the DNA of the city that could be loved and served in such a manner that begs the question of brothers and sisters in Christ, “What is different about you?” The greater question for the church is will we rise up to meet such needs?

Footnotes:

1-   Personal communication with Molly Short, Executive Director of Journey’s End Refugee Services

2-   Maslow, A. H. (1943). A Theory of Human Motivation. Psychological Review, 50, pp. 370.

3-   Question derived from Renovation video and workbook series through Dr. Dwight Smith. For more information, see: http://www.theinfinityalliance.com

4-   Question derived from Renovation video and workbook series through Dr. Dwight Smith. For more information, see: http://www.theinfinityalliance.com