By Andrew Schmertz
Correspondent
The increased number of Syrian refugees arriving in New Jersey is welcome news to many here in Paterson, which boasts a large Middle Eastern population.
Norman Khawam, who co-owns the 50-year-old Fattal’s Syrian Bakery, says the stories he hears from Syrians sending money home are heartbreaking.
“Sometimes they come, send the money crying. Every one of them, they tell me about certain situations in there. You feel sorry for them. And emotion, you know, sometimes the tear is going to drop,” Khawam said.
The State Department reports that New Jersey has taken in 194 refugees since last fall, and 80 just in July. Still, that pales to the more than 7,700 Syrian refugees who have been resettled in the U.S. since the Syrian civil war began.
Most of the refugees are making their new home in immigrant-rich areas near Jersey City, Elizabeth and Paterson.
Sarah Ivory helps manage the New Jersey office for the nonprofit refugee group the Church World Service.
“We opened our Jersey City office just last year, about a year and a half ago and we have just been so encouraged by the outpouring of support. People calling, asking how they can help. Donating furniture and household supplies, volunteering their time,” she said.
And help them find jobs as well.
“Our goal for employment is within the first four to six months the vast majority of refugees are employed during that time,” Ivory said.
Monsour Ahmed, who came to Paterson from Bangladesh, owns a Paterson supermarket. Last year, he helped sign immigrants up for the Affordable Care Act. And says he and his family would welcome the refugees to the community.
Has Ahmed employed any Syrian refugees yet?
“No, but I have a lot of customers who are Syrian, Bangladesh, all ethnicity people,” he said.
President Obama has vowed to bring 10,000 refugees into the country this year — a target the administration is now on pace to make.
But that has angered Republican governors, including Gov. Chris Christie. In a statement today, his office said: “Gov. Christie has consistently stated that his opposition to the resettlement program is rooted in the inadequate security vetting, safeguards and assurances being offered by the federal government.”
And last spring, the governor sent a letter to the president, withdrawing the state from the resettlement program, arguing the risk of a refugee being a terrorist is too great.
But those who work with the refugees counter that argument. They say that security is tough, that once a Syrian refugee asks for relocation, it could take between 18 months and two years before they come here.
“The refugee resettlement process is a very rigorous and complicated one. Individuals go through numerous interviews, first with United Nations, then with the U.S. Department of State, then with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services,” said Betsy Fisher, policy director of the International Refugee Assistance Project for the Urban Justice Center.
As for Kawham, he hopes that he can visit the house he built in Syria years ago, but hasn’t visited in more than four years.
“I built a house over there, I go there every year. It’s beautiful over there, peaceful. I can’t say anything about what’s going on there now. It’s just a jungle there,” he said.