By Jane Leu, Founder and Executive Director of Upwardly Global
Today on June 20, the world is commemorating World Refugee Day. This year's theme is Protecting Refugees: Rebuilding Lives in Safety and Dignity and the celebration will focus on four major refugee situations in the world: Iraq, Afghanistan, Darfur and Myanmar. I would like to point out that stable employment is critical to realizing the promise of a safe and secure new life.
Last March, Ahmed, an Iraqi refugee, started his new job in the U.S. In the land of opportunity, he only found an opportunity cleaning floors on the night shift at a hospital.
A college-educated civil engineer, Ahmed worked closely with the U.S. Army in Iraq as a translator and cultural interpreter, and because of his work, he and his family were repeatedly threatened and had to flee for their lives. He never imagined that saving his life would destroy his career and leave him powerless to support his family.
The tragedy is that Ahmed is one of hundreds, and soon thousands, of college-educated Iraqis who will be greeted in the US with the opportunity to sweep floors, sit at security desks, and stock shelves. To date, about 500 special visas to settle in the U.S. have been granted for Iraqis who worked for the U.S. government in Iraq and 5,000 more have been mandated.
Americans in Iraq sought out these talented professionals for their skills, college educations and professional experience. It's no wonder that Ahmed and our other Iraqi allies are confused that those same backgrounds only qualify them for the lowest paying jobs, if any jobs, in America.
Is it the job of the U.S. Government to help the Iraqis who risked their lives for the U.S. government? It should be. Our government could do more to help these Iraqi allies who are being resettled to the U.S.
In reality it is not impossible or expensive to help the Iraqis and other refugee professionals to continue their careers at a salary that allows them to support their families and rebuild their lives. There are models in the private and nonprofit sector that spend considerably less to place people at considerably higher salaries. The key is to harness the support and partnership of private companies, existing professional networks and even the work of hundreds of American volunteers.
Lat week Upwardly Global teamed up with The List Project, an international staffing agency, a top university and a respected law firm to host the first two-day Career Summit for Iraqi refugees. The successful event brought 44 Iraqi professionals and more than 100 American volunteers together in Washington, D.C. to help these Iraqis learn the skills needed to successfully navigate the U.S. job search and to network with 30 employer partners.
I urge forward-thinking employers to hire these talented immigrants, refugees and asylees because their international experience and foreign language abilities are a tremendous asset to the American workforce.
About Upwardly Global
Upwardly Global is a national nonprofit organization with offices in San Francisco and New York. Jane Leu founded Upwardly Global in 2000 to equip immigrant professionals with necessary skills to rebuild their career in the U.S. and help U.S. employers benefit from the hidden pool of immigrant professionals. To date, the organization has served more than 1,000 professionals from over 94 different developing countries. For further information about the organization, please visit www.upwardlyglobal.org.
Contact Jane Leu at jane@upwardlyglobal.org