A nonprofit in Dallas hosted more than 250 refugees from 20 countries for a Thanksgiving celebration Thursday. Gateway of Grace helps refugees adjust to life in America.
"As an American, it's just difficult to comprehend how different America is from the country they left," Gateway of Grace Chief Operating Officer Dennis Page said. "We're such a fast-paced, high energy, culturally relevant country in the world, so when people first arrive, it's a little intimidating."
Gateway of Grace offers English lessons, financial literacy classes, and help finding a job. The organization also offers counseling since so many refugees have gone through trauma.
"They are probably still, to some degree, traumatized by what they experienced," Page said.
Thursday, refugees could eat a meal that combined traditional items served at Thanksgiving in America with items refugees might eat at home.
"What we enjoy about doing this is bringing people together and introducing them to a uniquely American holiday," Page said.
"I love it," a refugee from Iran said. "We can talk together and learn about other cultures."
"Thanks for the U.S. and the U.S. people because you love us," her husband said. "God bless you all."
Texas and California received the most refugees in 2020 and 2021. The U.S. Department of State Refugee Processing Center said the two states each received more than 50,000 refugees.
Gateway of Grace said the world's largest refugee crisis is currently in Syria where more than 14 million refugees have been resettled since 2011. The organization says 64% of refugees resettled between 2010 and 2020 were kids under 14 and women.
"We really are intentional about helping people get comfortable with interacting cross-culturally," Page said. "One of the misunderstandings about refugees is they just wake up one day and decide they want to live in America. Nothing could be further from the truth. In most cases, they don't get to choose the country of resettlement. International organizations are deciding that for them."
More information about Gateway of Grace is available at https://www.gatewayofgrace.org/.
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