THE WRITE STUFF. Afghan children attended school at Fort Mc Coy, Wisconsin, in 2021. Some of these refugees have gone on to settle around the state, including in Eau Claire. Now, the community is again preparing to welcome new refugees. (Photo by Spc. Rhianna Ballenger/public domain)

As it has numerous times in the past, the Eau Claire community stands ready to welcome a new wave of refugees in the coming year.

That was the message from a number of community organizations at a recent press conference to address the planned settlement of approximately 75 refugees in Eau Claire by next September.

The effort is being undertaken by World Relief, one of 10 nonprofit agencies that work with the U.S. State Department to help refugees settle in the United States. At the event, representatives of several groups said they stood ready to assist World Relief, including the Eau Claire Area Hmong Mutual Assistance Association; faith-based organization JONAH (Joining Our Neighbors Advancing Hope); and Welcoming New Neighbors, a volunteer group formed to help Afghan refugees in the Chippewa Valley.

The Dec. 5 gathering came on the heels of several public demonstrations by residents opposed to refugee resettlement as well as a letter to city officials from U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., who questioned the plan.

“We are here because JONAH has a history of bringing people together for difficult conversations and important issues and making sure that the voice of those who are impacted by those issues is lifted up,” said Lynn Buske, a community organizer for the group.

World Relief announced plans earlier this year to help settle as many as 75 refugees in the Eau Claire area. Refugees, the group explains, are a particular class of immigrants who have been determined to “have a well-founded fear of persecution on account of their race, religion, political opinion, national origin, or particular social group.” They are vetted overseas by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies, a process that may take years.

While World Relief doesn’t yet know where the refugees will come from, most refugees who settled in Wisconsin during fiscal year 2023 came from Burma and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“Getting to know those that are seeking refuge here has been an overwhelmingly positive experience,” the Rev. David Anderson said. “My experience with them is that they are eager to learn the language, eager to get jobs, eager to learn how to be a part of the community.”

Rev. David Anderson, a member of JONAH’S immigration task force and a retired Lutheran pastor, spoke about working with Afghan asylum-seekers who arrived in the Chippewa Valley in 2022, just months after fleeing their home country as U.S. forces withdrew.

“Getting to know those that are seeking refuge here has been an overwhelmingly positive experience,” Anderson said. “My experience with them is that they are eager to learn the language, eager to get jobs, eager to learn how to be a part of the community.”

Moreover, the Afghan refugees are overwhelmingly relieved to be safe from the oppression, torture, and killing they might face back home because of their association with the United States, he said.

As soon as word came that Afghan refugees might be coming to the Valley, 150 people signed up to help, 75 people were trained to work directly with refugees, and $75,000 as well as countless pieces of furniture and household items were donated, Anderson added.

Eau Claire, Anderson said, has been a very hospitable place for these newcomers. “To me, welcoming immigrants, welcoming refugees, is what it means to be American,” he said.

Donald Mowry, another JONAH member, said volunteers from Welcoming New Neighbors have helped provide wrap-around care for the Afghan refugees, helping them find housing, employment, legal assistance, and tutoring. Now, the organization is transitioning to help support the refugees that World Relief plans to bring to the area, Mowry said.

True Vue, executive director of the Eau Claire Area Hmong Mutual Assistance Association, spoke about the experiences of previous generations of refugees, including her own family, who were forced to leave Laos because relatives had aided U.S. forces during the war in Vietnam. Vue’s parents had fled across the Mekong River into Thailand, where she was born in a refugee camp. Ultimately, through the sponsorship of a relative and the support of local churches, they were able to find a new home in Eau Claire.

“We suffered and sacrificed so much during the war and after the war,” Vue said. “We came to a world who knew nothing about us.” Nevertheless, she said, her parents worked hard and instilled strong values in their children to ensure that they received an education and took care of their families.

Vue also shared the words of Dr. Kaying Xiong, who came to Eau Claire as a refugee and is now executive director of student services for the Eau Claire school district.

“I would not have a story to share today as a contributing member of our community had it not been for other people who cared enough to reach out and help me and my family acclimate into this country. I will be forever grateful to have had the opportunity to be living in the land of the free and the home of the brave. It was so very brave of other Eau Claire community members to take a chance with my family to allow us to be reborn again to this community.

“Given the opportunity, I ask that all of us pay it forward as we never know when our turn will come to need and help and support our fellow humans around us.”

Learn more about JONAH and its stance on refugees at jonahjustice.org/refugee.