Spokane Blog

Joel Arriaga, Director of Resettlement at World Relief Spokane, shares how first impressions make refugees feel happy, blessed and healed.

Nearly 120 million people have been forced to flee their homes around the world due to violence, persecution, economic collapse, natural disasters, famine and drought. (UNHCR Global Trends) It is the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time. What has that got to do with you?

It was a challenge from the beginning. Moving to a new country is never easy – much less so as a refugee family with only three bags of possessions and limited English. But the Villanueva family stayed open to the experience and embraced life in a new city.

Spokane is filled with people to learn about and be inspired by. Those chances are only heightened when interacting with people who come from different backgrounds.

Naomi’s family was separated from before she was aware of her own age, from before she could understand why there was war in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Susie Luby, who won the bronze medal in Alpine downhill skiing in 1972, started volunteering for World Relief Spokane in February of this year. Before that, she said the refugee situation wasn’t really on her radar. “Not at all.”

What does being a world-class athlete have to do with volunteering at World Relief? As it turns out, way more than we expected.

The United States has long been a beacon of hope for refugees and other immigrants. It is a land where one can leave behind famine, war, persecution and hardship – to start a new life full of opportunity and freedom.