rw newsletter24

In November 2007, when refugeesfrom Iraq began arriving by thehundreds, RefugeeWorks launcheda research project with the goal ofimproving employment services forthis new population.

Iraqis are actually not a “new”population in America, of course.People from the Fertile Crescenthave been immigrating to the U.S. for more than 100 years. Many have settled inMichigan, where the booming auto industry once attracted skilled workers andprofessionals from around the world. Today, an estimated 500,000 Arab andChaldean Americans reside in metro Detroit. It is expected that a majority of the12,000 Iraqi refugees slated for resettlement will enter into the U.S. workforce inDetroit and San Diego, Calif., where they can rely on the support of large Iraqi-American communities.

Surveys, media accounts and statistical data indicate that a significant portion ofIraqi refugees have skilled and professional backgrounds. Additionally, preliminaryresults from RefugeeWorks’ own employment survey (recently sent to refugee serviceproviders across the U.S.) show that a majority of the new arrivals are college-educated.

In December 2007, RefugeeWorks national coordinator Jonathan Lucus and staffconsultant Daniel Sturm organized a four-day field trip to Michigan to meet withthe Chaldean Federation of America (CFA), Lutheran Social Services of Michigan

A DIFFICULT ADJUSTMENT: IRAQIREFUGEES IN DETROITBy Daniel Sturm, RefugeeWorks

day, after meeting with prospectiveemployers, they returned to the training siteto discuss their experiences. Astoundingly,participants had spoken with 68 differentemployers and had found more than onehundred and twenty job possibilities.

Oh, did I mention that it was the coldestday of the year, with temperatures dippingto twenty degrees below freezing? And Ithought job development was hard undernormal conditions! It goes to show youthat (as job developers) determination isthe best skill set we can have in ourrepertoire.

Jonathan LucusSenior Consultant and National Coordinator

Hello everyone.RefugeeWorks recently

had the opportunity towork with the MinnesotaState RefugeeCoordinator on an excitingtwo-day training that

centered on the topic of finding “hidden jobs.”In the style of Donald Trump’s, “The

Apprentice,” after a full day of workshopsmore than 40 job developers worked inteams of three to find employers with jobopenings in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.Participants had the chance to use their jobdevelopment skills to create employmentopportunities for refugee clients.

On the morning of the second workshop

CONSULTANT’S CORNER: Jonathan Lucus

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NEWSLETTER 24IRAQI REFUGEESIN FOCUS

ISSUE 24 Jan/Feb/March 2008

FRONT PAGE 1

A Difficult Adjustment: Iraqi Refugeesin Detroit

Consultant’s Corner: Jonathan Lucus

IRAQI REFUGEES IN FOCUS 2-5

A Difficult Adjustment: Iraqi Refugeesin Detroit

• Language

• Financial Situation

• Transportation

• Recertification

• Peer Networks

• Establishing a Career CounselingPilot Project

Iraqi Refugee Employment Survey

FURTHER RESOURCES 6

• Iraqi Refugee Resources

• New Reports

• Research Question of the Month

• RefugeeWorks Launches ElectronicNewsletter

TRAINING CALENDAR 7

76595 Newsletter:RW_newsletter 2/19/2008 12:49 PM

2Iraqi Refugees in Focus

IRAQI REFUGEE EMPLOYMENT SURVEYShortly before the winter break, RefugeeWorks developed an online survey to explore employment options for Iraqirefugees. What occupational backgrounds do your Iraqi clients have? And how easily have they been able to find jobs?

Between October 2007 and January 2008, 1,324 Iraqirefugees have been resettled in the U.S. Based on feedbackfrom 12 resettlement agencies in 20 states, we were able toaggregate statistics that represent the employment situationof roughly 50 percent of newly resettled Iraqi refugees.Before the war, Iraqi higher education had had an excellentinternational reputation. It is therefore no surprise thatemployment counselors surveyed responded that 68 percentof their Iraqi clients spoke English “well” or “very well.”Quite significantly, also it was found that 63 percent ofrecent Iraqi refugees held a college degree.

You will find these and more survey results throughout ourcurrent issue. As more Iraqi refugees enter the country,within the next six months we are also planning a follow-upsurvey. Are Iraqi professionals able to find employment thatmatches their professional skills? In this newsletter we opena dialogue on skilled employment, a topic that affects allrefugee populations. This will also be a topic at ourupcoming trainings in California, Texas, Indiana andNew Hampshire (see details on page 7).

(LSSM), the Arab Community Center for Economic andSocial Services (ACCESS) and the Refugee StateCoordinator’s office.1 What follows is a summary of ourselected interviews with 30 Iraqi refugees.

LanguageRoughly 70 percent of the refugees we interviewed hadcome to the United States within the last two months,which explains why very few had begun applying forjobs. Many were still struggling to navigate their waythrough Detroit, enroll their children in local schools,and adjust to the new living environment. Mostimportantly, many were still waiting to receive theirdriver’s licenses.

Case managers estimate that as many as 40 percent ofthe new arrivals suffer from post-traumatic stressdisorder as a result of persecution, the loss of jobs andhomes, the death of family members and the overallrefugee experience. Talking about these tragicexperiences was a touchy subject for many interviewees.

One couple we spoke with had been kidnapped, forexample. Some described their home country as a placethat no longer guaranteed access to basic health care,shelter and food. Prior to the invasion, these middle-class Iraqis had held positions as professors, teachers,physicians, pharmacists, network administrators,accountants, artisans, and civil engineers.

We weren’t surprised to learn that most refugees spokeEnglish fluently. RefugeeWorks’ survey data on the Iraqirefugee population showed that basic English languageability would not be a major obstacle. As a matter offact, we mostly encountered urban professionals from

What do you see as thebiggest challenge in helpingIraqi refugees secure jobs?Language 21%Attitude 16%Over-Qualification 16%Transportation 5%Health Problems 5%

What occupationalbackgrounds do your Iraqiclients have?Technical/Mechanical 38%Administrative 29%Health Sector 28%

IRAQI REFUGEEEMPLOYMENT SURVEYWhat level of education doyour clients have?College 63%High School 36%

1Special thanks to Joseph Kassab (CFA), Sonia Harb (ACCESS), Belmin Pinjic (LSSM),Al Horn (State Refugee Coordinator) and the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement formaking this study possible.

A Difficult Adjustment: << 1


Baghdad who had traveled to Europe and to the UnitedStates for conferences, business and exchange programsprior to the 2003 war. Some had held positions ininternational work environments before and after thewar, which explains their high level of Englishproficiency and comfort with a “western” work style.

Financial SituationWhen we interviewed refugees who had come to the U.S. fromJordan and Syria, we learned about the troubling loss ofpersonal financial assets. One Iraqi eye doctor had a son whoused to work as an interpreter. The son was severely injured ata checkpoint accident by U.S. troops and is now in vegetativestate. Although the U.S. government compensated the familyfor this accident, the parents still spent their entire life savings

to stabilize their son’s health.Many interviewees reported that access to health care waseither impossible or had become unaffordable following the2003 war. Families with sick relatives often left for Amman, inJordan, in search of treatment. Some spent a significantportion of their savings to cover for the medical care ofrelatives. Many had lost at least one close family member. Inthe mayhem of the Iraq invasion, interviewees’ families hadbeen torn apart and scattered around the globe.

Others had spent a significant portion of their savings to covercost-of-living expenses in Jordan, including air fare, housing,food and the horrendous exit-visa fee of $2 per day for everyday spent in the country (beyond a two-week grace period). Inthe case of one larger Iraqi family, the exit visa fee used up theirentire life’s savings.

We were frequently told that the Iraq of the 1970s and 1980s

had allowed men and women entering the workforce to pursueprofessional careers. Men and women climbed up the careerladder and were able to attend conferences overseas and spendtime visiting international friends and relatives. Despite theacknowledged loss of their homes, relatives and careers, whenreflecting on recent events people were still happy to haveescaped the “nightmare” that Iraq has become today. As theyentered this new phase of their lives, in the country of secondasylum, they wondered what would become of them. They wereuncertain about their ability to reclaim their careers, and to finda way to adjust economically to their new lives in Michigan.

When we interviewed Iraqi professionals who had come to thiscountry during the late 1990s, it struck us that age was animportant factor. The majority of the earlier arrivals who hadsuccessfully managed to enter professional careers in Americatended to now be in their 30s and 40s. People without familieshad less difficulty relocating and climbing up the career ladder.It seemed psychologically more daunting for older Iraqiprofessionals to start over.

A man who had worked as a jeweler in Iraq, and who was also apoet, said he’d begun to divide his life into 19-year cycles. “Thefirst 19 years I waited until Saddam was gone,” he said. “NowI’ve completed the second 19 years of my life. I don’t knowhow many more 19 years I have left.”

TransportationMost refugees identified transportation as the most burningissue. They had been waiting for weeks to receive their driver’slicenses, to no avail. The public transportation system inDetroit was so unreliable that many feared they might not beable to make the commute to the suburbs, where there weremore professional jobs.

“We are confined to our apartments,” one Iraqi man toldRefugeeWorks when asked whether he had already begun tosearch for a job. “We know that we need to be on time for ajob. But how can we be? We don’t have our driver’s licenses,

When we interviewedIraqi professionals whohad come to thiscountry during the late1990s, it struck us thatage was an importantfactor.


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and accessing public transportation is going to be a hugeproblem.”

Case managers told us that newly arrived refugees were havinga hard time getting their driver’s licenses issued at metroDetroit DMV offices, despite the fact that an official letter ofagreement existed between the secretary of state and theresettlement agency. The Michigan Attorney General’s recentruling preventing immigrants without legal permanent residentstatus from obtaining driver’s licenses didn’t make matterseasier for newly arrived refugees. Several organizations arecurrently working with the state legislator to make exceptionsfor refugees.

RecertificationThe majority of refugees with college degrees were afraid thatthe paperwork they brought might not be sufficient forrecertification.

An Iraqi physician who had successfully passed the first threesteps of the multi-year recertification process told us that hisapplication had stalled, because his Iraqi alma mater was notresponding to requests for a transcript evaluation. Without thislast step, he said, he had no chance of advancing to the final stageof recertification, which is needed to apply for and obtain aphysician’s residency.

An IT professional who had worked as a network administratorfor the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad said that he

might run into problems obtaining copies of the certificates hehad earned in Iraq. He was grateful to have found a job workingas an interpreter for LSSM, because of his ability to speakChaldean, Arabic and English.

Some Iraqi professionals doubted whether recredentializing theirprofessional degrees was worth the effort. An Iraqi civil engineersaid that he was discouraged about the job prospects inMichigan due to the economic crisis. A cousin fromDetroitwho worked in the construction industry told him that hisbusiness was in a deep economic crisis. He advised him to pursueother options.

In a related case, an Iraqi woman with a Ph.D. in educationalpsychology said that she wasn’t sure if she could ever teach in auniversity environment again. In Iraq, she had been an associateprofessor specializing in cognitive psychology. “All of mypublications are in Arabic,” she said. “And I am not sure if myEnglish is good enough to ever be able to teach at an AmericanUniversity.” She said that she’d gladly accept a job opportunity towork as a research assistant.

A refugee woman in her early 30s said that she had obtained aBachelor’s degree from Baghdad University. She had thenworked as an English interpreter and teacher in Argentina andEcuador, where she had picked up Spanish. In the United Statesshe was able to find a job as a substitute teacher at a suburbanDetroit high school. Although her principal supported herattempt to obtain a teacher’s license, she found it very difficult toenter into this field. Public schools weren’t hiring new full-timeteachers. And if they did, she felt that they certainly would nothire a teacher from the Middle East.

ACCESS’ Community Health and Research Center executivestaff members said that a large majority of physicians fromMiddle Eastern countries had been unable to reclaim theircareers in America. Rather than trying to find employment forthem as physicians in a very competitive market, theyrecommended helping refugee doctors to seek employment inrelated fields such as public health, research or in thepharmaceutical industry.

What types of jobs haveyour clients applied for?Entry-level jobs 66%Professional jobs 29%

Experts recommendhelping refugee doctors toseek employment inrelated fields such aspublic health, research orin the pharmaceuticalindustry.

A Difficult Adjustment: << 3



Peer NetworksRefugee program directors said that the timing of the mostrecent waive of Iraqi refugees wasn’t optimal. The Michiganeconomy was in a crisis. Only a few months before the firstIraqis arrived, the state’s refugee employment services budgethad been cut by 60 percent. As a result, LSSM job counselorsreported workloads of 70 cases and more. Many job developersacknowledged that it would be nearly impossible to provideadditional services, such as recredentializing Iraqi professionals.Matching refugees with American volunteers who have similarprofessional backgrounds, they say, would be a desirable goal.

One of the Iraqi men we interviewed at ACCESS had come tothe United States in 1993 with a law degree from theUniversity of Baghdad. Realizing that it might be too difficultto enter a career in a country with an entirely different legalsystem, he went back to college to pursue an IT managementdegree. Currently, he is finishing a Ph.D. in OrganizationalManagement. When asked how he succeeded in enrolling incollege and graduate school, he said that he had relied entirelyon the support of his four best friends, who had arrived withhim from refugee camp in Saudi Arabia. “We really supportedeach other during college,” he said. “Other than that, we didn’thave any support.”

Establishing a CareerCounseling Pilot ProjectRefugee employment specialists have become frustrated with theincreasingly limited job opportunities for their highly skilledclients. In the current job climate, matching clients with jobs thatrequire “niche” specialization is difficult, they report. As a result,many skilled refugees are underemployed or working at jobs thatdo not utilize their skills. Refugees with engineering degrees endup delivering pizzas and foreign-trained nurses work in fast foodand janitorial services. The result is a tragic waste of humantalent and expertise.

A case in point is the situation of registered nurses and licensedpractical nurses in Michigan, a state that has a shortage of

roughly 2,500 nurses. If present trends continue the state will beshort 18,000 nurses by 2015. Roughly 40 percent of all nurses inMichigan say that they plan to retire within the next ten years.Governor Jennifer Granholm is considering the adoption of abill that would financially support a “fast track” for nursingstudents. Based on the fact that many Iraqi refugees have workedin healthcare related fields, incorporating Iraqi healthcareprofessionals into this program seems like a tremendousopportunity.

In addition to the lack of credential evaluation, refugeeunderemployment is triggered by language, transportation,vocational training and financial barriers. Employers are oftenunable to properly assess these factors when screeninginternationally trained applicants, and refugees have difficultiesmarketing their skills.

Job developers face the paradox of overeducation andunderemployment on a daily basis – not only in the case of Iraqirefugees. While recognizing the validity of newcomers’professional accomplishments in their home countries, careercounselors have to be realistic. Many job developers acknowledgethat it is nearly impossible to provide additional services such asrecredentializing programs, in light of the fact that they have toassist a high volume of clients on a limited budget. Rather thanhelping highly skilled refugees reclaim their careers, they oftenfocus on getting them their “first jobs.” In the unskilled servicesector, former professionals find themselves working in gasstations and hotels. Job developers reassure their clients that theymay be able to pursue better careers as soon as they reach self-sufficiency. “Don’t give up,” they say. “Get that first job, and gofrom there.” In many cases, this is a pragmatic approach.

We believe that recertification is one of the most critical hurdlesthat Iraqi refugees will face in the work world. To help refugeestransfer their degrees, we suggest the establishment of a careercounseling pilot project that helps with recertification.RefugeeWorks will work with its partner organizations toidentify appropriate resources to design such a program. As wegather research on the job prospects for refugee professionalsand talk to experts throughout the country, we would encourageyou to share success stories with the refugee employmentnetwork. Please e-mail us!

To help refugeestransfer their degrees,we suggest theestablishment of acareer counseling pilotproject that helps withrecertification.


Citizenship andImmigration Canada.(2007). Iraq – CulturalProfiles Project.http://www.cp-pc.ca/english/iraq/index.html

Refugee Studies Centre. (2007). “Iraq’s Displacement Crisis: The Search for Solutions.” Forced Migration Review.http://www.fmreview.org/iraq.htm

Robson, B. (1995). The Iraqis: Their History and Culturehttp://www.cal.org/co/iraqi/index.html

Shoeb, M., Weinstein, H.M., & Halpern, J. (2007). Living in Religious Time and Space: Iraqi Refugees in Dearborn,Michigan. Journal of Refugee Studies.http://jrs.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/20/3/441

Does your agency have a partnership with CVS stores? If so, we’d like to hear from you. Drop us a line to give yourfeedback on refugee service providers’ employer relations with this chain. Thanks!

Recertification Fact Sheets (Office for Refugee Resettlement, December 2007)Three new fact sheets on re-licensing of refugee professionals are now available.http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/resources

E-Verify: Case Resolution (USCIS, 12/2007)http://www.immigration.com/newsletter1/everifyuscis.pdf

E-Verify Fact Sheet, “Not a Magic Bullet” (National Immigration Law Center, 09/2007)National Immigration Law Centerhttp://tinyurl.com/3ys3lj

Raising Children in a New Country. An Illustrated Handbook (Bridging Refugee Youth and Children’s Services, 2007)http://www.brycs.org/documents/RaisingChildren-Handbook.pdf

RefugeeWorks is pleased to announce the publication of its first electronic newsletter. This occasional E-Newsletter(monthly or bi-monthly) is devised to bring refugee employment issues to your attention in a timely manner. Do you havenews items, or stories that relate to refugees in the workplace? If you’d like to submit them for publication in an upcomingE-Newsletter, contact Daniel at [email protected]

Unsubscribe or manage your RefugeeWorks E-Newsletter subscription at:http://lists.lirs.org/mailman/listinfo/refugeeworks

THIS ISSUE’S RESEARCH QUESTION

NEW REPORTS

REFUGEEWORKS LAUNCHES AN ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER

IRAQIREFUGEERESOURCES



Institute (Check One): LOS ANGELES FORT WORTH INDIANAPOLIS MANCHESTER

Mr Mrs Other

Name

Title

Organization

Address

City

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Would you prefer vegetarian meals? Yes No

Have you attended a RefugeeWorks Institute before? Yes No

How long have you worked in refugee employment? (Years)

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EMPLOYMENT TRAINING INSTITUTE2008 SCHEDULE

REGISTRATION FORM Please Fill Out One for Each Registrant

Registration Fee:$50/per person includes breakfast,lunch and training materials(does not cover travel and hotel)

Enclosed is my check for:

$,made payable to: RefugeeWorks/LIRS

Please charge:

$, to myVisa MasterCard Discover

Account Number:

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RefugeeWorks will send logistics andaccommodation information when wereceive your registration and payment.

Fax or mail this form to RefugeeWorks. 700 Light Street Baltimore MD 21230 p 410/230-2886 f 410/230-2859

PAYMENT INFORMATION

REGISTRATIONIS NOWOPEN FORALL FOUR SESSIONS!

Each of our two-day trainings will highlightone special topic and cover a range ofthemes, such as vocational training, newpopulations, financial literacy and careerupgrading.

Los Angeles, CaliforniaFocus: Transportation, Housing & JobsMarch 4-5, 2008Host: Refugee Forum of Los Angeles CountyThree quarters of low-income residents livein city centers despite the fact that 75percent of employment in the United Statestoday is located in the surrounding suburbs.To overcome this disparity, some refugeeresettlement organizations help their clientsto find housing that is closer to where theywork. Others focus on improvingtransportation options. Bringing theworkplace to the client is another potentialsolution. Attend this training and take backhome with you solutions and practical ideasthat will help bring your clients to theirworkplaces.

Fort Worth, TexasFocus: Engaging EmployersApril 15-16, 2008Host: Catholic Charities of Fort WorthSince the refugee program was created in1980, providers have amassed a wealth ofknowledge on how to entice employers to hirerefugees. Over the course of this two-dayworkshop, we will explore some of the tacticsthat have worked best, and will brainstormsolutions for the future. Come and participatein exciting expert panels and discuss best jobdevelopment practices with employers,refugees, employment specialists and scholars.

Indianapolis, IndianaFocus: Recertification & New PopulationsJune 17-18, 2008Host: Exodus Refugee and ImmigrationRecertification allows refugees withuniversity degrees and professional trainingto remain in their chosen career fields. Andjob upgrading can lift refugees out of entry-level employment and increase their income

level and self-sufficiency. In this training, youwill hear success stories from refugees whohave reclaimed their careers or built newones and meet recertification specialists. Youwill also learn more about new refugeepopulations and hear about RefugeeWorks’Iraqi Refugee Employment Survey findings.

Manchester, New HampshireFocus: Employment Strategies from A-ZAugust 19-20, 2008Host: International Institute of NHThis workshop is designed to bringexperienced refugee employmentprofessionals together with newcomers in thefield, enabling both sides to learn from eachanother. Attend this training and learn theessential skills of an effective workforcedevelopment specialist. Seasonedprofessionals will be encouraged to sharetheir secrets of success with new colleaguesfrom across the country. Topics will includemarketing, career upgrading, employmentobstacles and more.

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RefugeeWorks is published persuant to grant number90RB0017 from the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement(ORR). The views expressed are those of RefugeeWorksand may not reflect the views of ORR.

Articles in the newsletter may be reprinted with thefollowing note: “Reprinted with permission ofRefugeeWorks, a program of Lutheran Immigration andRefugee Service.”

700 Light Street. Baltimore, Maryland 21230

Daniel SturmNewsletter Managing Editorand [email protected]

Jonathan LucusSenior Consultantand National [email protected]

Rebecca [email protected]

NEWSLETTER 24IIRRAAQQII RREEFFUUGGEEEESS IINN FFOOCCUUSS

Ralston H Deffenbaugh, Jr.LIRS President

Joyce HoebingLIRS Vice President of Community Partnerships

NONPROFITORGANIZATIONU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDLANCASTER, PAPERMIT NO. 700

“ Are Iraqi professionals able tofind employment that matchestheir professional skills? This is atopic that affects all refugeepopulations.”

RefugeeWorks, Iraqi Refugee Employment Survey


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