Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

MLK’s vision looms large as refugees struggle to find their place

Catholic Charities

Milan Devetak, Catholic Charities director of resettlement for migration and refugee services, gives welcome baskets to a family arriving from Iraq for their first day in country.

Nanda Sharifpour closes her eyes and can still smell the earth after it rains. She can see her friends’ faces and the snow on the mountains from her window.

Sharifpour and her husband, Ali Fathollahi, left flourishing careers as artists in the Iranian capital of Tehran in 2009, after she picked up the phone and a strange voice demanded that she answer some questions. Sharifpour had heard stories of women who answered that call and sometimes disappeared. So she packed up her memories of home with her tubes of oil paint, embarking on a journey that would lead to Las Vegas.

The couple first landed in Kayseri, Turkey, fought to prove they were in danger and, through vigorous vetting by UNHCR (the U.N.’s refugee agency) and screening by multiple branches of the U.S. government, were matched with Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada.

Each state federally funds a refugee resettlement program, said Carisa Lopez-Ramirez, vice president of immigration and migration services for Catholic Charities, which in 2015 was one of two resettlement agencies in the country that received the highest rating on federal evaluations.

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Refugee students receive a donation of books. For some, this was the first book they had ever received.

On the day honoring civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the nonprofit’s mission is especially resonant — to give hope and help to the most vulnerable, “regardless of race, religion or creed.”

“As a nation and community, we can never leave behind those silent sufferers — the refugee, the immigrant, the poor, the homebound senior. We lose our humanity if we forget to ensure those people are taken care of,” said Deacon Thomas Roberts, president and CEO of Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada.

As Dr. King famously remarked: “We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.”

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By the time refugees come to Las Vegas, they’ve been through several interviews with UNHCR, which collects identifying documents, biodata like name and address and biometric data like iris scans. Then U.S. security agencies screen the candidates, including the National Counterterrorism Center, the FBI and the departments of State and Homeland Security, according to Lopez-Ramirez. Fingerprints are run through various databases before the refugees go through a medical check.

Referencing UNHCR’s latest statistics, the U.S. Department of State puts the number of refugees worldwide at more than 21 million. Its Refugee Admissions page states: “The vast majority … will receive support in the country to which they fled until they can voluntarily and safely return to their home country. A small number of refugees will be allowed to become citizens in the country to which they fled, and an even smaller number — primarily those who are at the highest risk — will be resettled in a third country.” While fewer than 1 percent resettle in third countries, the U.S. welcomes nearly two-thirds of them.

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Children checking in for the World Refugee Day celebration.

Refugees can be resettled in states and cities where they have a support system like family or friends, said Lopez-Ramirez.

Sharifpour’s parents lived in California, having fled Iran due to conflicts over her father’s job as a philosophy professor. But she also had friends in Las Vegas who told her it was more affordable.

She and Fathollahi landed in the city on a hot July evening in 2012. Before they even exited the plane, a Catholic Charities case manager advised them on resources like temporary government assistance and food stamps and answered any questions. The agency also arranged for the couple’s first home, ESL classes, job training and cultural orientation services.

While many people have been welcoming, Sharifpour says, she has experienced bigotry, from nasty looks for speaking Farsi to being told to go back to her own country.

“There have been challenges before and after we arrived that are totally different in nature. You experience things before you get to the U.S. or any second country that you get to that are just survival,” Sharifpour said. “When you get here it’s a different kind of survival; you have to prove yourself as a useful member of society. Everyone had a life before. They were somebody in their country.

“We are all humans. We share the same things,” she added. “If you pull out all the borders, we all feel joy or sorrow.”

But the couple’s experience in Las Vegas has been mostly positive. Sharifpour appreciates the city’s hospitality and the melting pot of American culture.

“We have to remember that these people come here to make a better life. That’s the DNA of our country, and I don’t think there’s a reason to change it,” said Roberts, reflecting on the raging political debate around immigration. “I think that’s what makes our country so great, and I think Dr. King celebrated that in the way he lived his life.”

Roberts said the Catholic Charities team is nervous about the incoming presidential administration and potential hostility toward their refugee services, which provide for almost 3,000 people every year. But he said they will continue doing their work until the funding runs out.

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A window on Catholic Charities' English Language Program.

Catholic Charities celebrates the success stories of refugees who’ve come through its programs, from a Cuban dentist recertified in the U.S. and performing free dental work for other refugees in Las Vegas, to two Afghan boys who studied with volunteers to overcome their struggle to read English.

Language barriers affect many refugees, but Sharifpour uses her art to communicate.

Looking through paintings that traveled with her from Iran to Turkey to Las Vegas, she smiles when asked why goldfish pop up in so many of them. They are symbolic of protection and prosperity in her culture, and always on the table during spring celebrations of Iranian New Year. She never forgets her roots, even though she may ultimately apply for U.S. citizenship.

Pursuing her second MFA at UNLV, Sharifpour displays her art across the valley. Her studio is next door to her husband’s, and they often collaborate, telling a shared story in very different ways.

“I read somewhere that refugees and immigrants are like artists,” Sharifpour said. “They create something beautiful from nothing.”

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