Maggie Liguori '17
On Friday, October 21, Siena students and community members had the opportunity to grab lunch and engage in a discussion titled, “Understanding Refugee and Immigrant Students” with Shana Pughe Dean, translation manager at Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees in Utica, New York.
Dean focused on providing an overview of Forced Migration, including who refugees are and why they come here, as well as why migration matters to the community. The over 60 million refugees worldwide have been forced from their homes, where they were treated poorly strictly based on who they are and where their beliefs stand. These experiences greatly impact the individual and their involvement in their new community. Being able to create a new life is “like winning the lottery,” explained Dean.
But as a community of college students, what can our Saints do? Dean introduced the audience to Books Not Bombs, an online campaign to stop the bombing of schools in Syria and support scholarships for Syrian students. But most importantly Dean advised the group to simply, “be welcoming to all people.”
The audience also heard from Lanetta, a guest speaker from Burma, who now lives in Utica. She spoke about her experience coming to the United States at the age of 6, with her siblings. Lanetta was ecstatic to finally be a citizen of the United States and is currently working towards her Masters in Social Work to help refugees just like herself.
“I almost gave up many times, but I look back at everything I’ve been through and I know I just have to keep going,” said Lanetta.
This cultural awareness presentation was co-sponsored by the First-Year Seminar and the Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees.
