Riding sky-high

Girl I met in Harar, Ethiopia

Today was one of those days in the field that left me exhausted, but riding sky-high with satisfaction. With respect for our refugees' privacy and security, I can't share the details of my interviews. I can say (write rather :p) that today's applicants were genuinely GOOD, hard-working people who, had they been fortunate enough to have been born elsewhere in the world they would have been definitely been successful leaders of their communities, doctors, politicians, professors, you name it. But because of where they were born, the ethnicity they had been assigned at birth or the color of their skin, they were persecuted against, denied basic human rights, threatened with death and chased out of their countries. And this by groups of individuals who are just as human as you, me and the refugees I interview, but who by mere chance were born into a class, color or ethnicity that is deemed superior to the oppressed. 

At the end of one of my interviews today, the father on of my case broke into tears of gratitude. Through our interpreter he gave me a mini-tribute that I will not soon forget. "Thank you so much for today, madam. I was so nervous before the interview because I was afraid that somehow the interview would go wrong. But you were so patient with me, you were so kind. My past is such a hard thing for me to remember, let alone talk about. It breaks my heart to think that my infant son might grow up to live the hard life I have. Madam, you may not be the one to decide whether we get to go to America or not, but by listening to me, recording my story and by just being here, you are giving us a 2nd chance at life. I am forever grateful to you for that. Thank you, Madam, thank you. Today I felt closer to Hope than I ever have and for that I pray to God that He bless you in everything that you do." It's refugees like him who inspire me and make me believe that what I am doing here is worth while. I have a notebook that I carry around with me where ever I am conducting interviews. In the notebook, I have a list of case numbers of refugees that I "follow." Though a well-written and well-put together case file really does help a refugee's chance at getting approved by USCIS, I have no influence over his/her chances at acceptance beyond that. Regardless, I like to keep my list of "refugees-to-follow" just to see if they get accepted and where they end up. I can't tell you how amazing a feeling it is to interview a particularly heart breaking case and then find out down the line that that case has been approved!