‘Love to Love:’ Bushra and Ahmed’s message to the world

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By Rachel French Guest Writer and Gonzaga University Senior “What was life like in Iraq? Can you describe what your daily life looked like?” Bushra looked at her husband, Ahmed, as if to search for some sort of response. Maybe it was the language barrier that prevented them from understanding the question, or maybe it was…

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Local ministry creates home for refugees

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Five years ago, Don Comi was working with a refugee that sparked his interest in investing more in the refugee community. The man that he was working with was shocked when he found out that Don was helping him for free.  “No one has ever done anything like this for me before,” he said, “Why…

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For former refugees, hard work pays off

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Yesterday afternoon, “Pomp and Circumstance” played as students from Lewis and Clark High School walked out of Spokane Veterans Arena. The new alumni posed for photos with family and friends, smiled, and celebrated. Among those many students are a cadre of recent additions to the Spokane community: former refugees. Moses and Rebecca are two students…

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Spokane dance teacher discovers family photos in small-town Slovenia

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By Katherine BellCommunications Coordinator The stories of our forefathers can be powerful, identity-shaping narratives—especially as Americans. It’s the reason why more than 26 million people mail cotton swabs full of DNA to commercial databases, join heritage societies and pass down family recipes. For local dance teacher Judy Mandeville, a recent trip to Europe brought her lineage to life in an extraordinary…

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Love Your Neighbor

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I crossed the southern border into Mexico last month and I met Jesus. Here was the surprise: he wasn’t anything like I expected. He had brown skin, sad eyes, a lanky build, and he spoke softly a language I didn’t understand. He even pronounced his name differently than I’ve been saying it all my life: “Yesus.”

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Who is my neighbor? Reflections from the U.S.-Mexico border

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by Terry McGonigal This reflection was originally posted on ‘Third Way’ from the Whitworth Office of Church Engagement. The debate about federal immigration goes on endlessly. These discussions are laced with feverish passion and tend to focus on public policy and politics, as if the only options are an “open border” vs. “build the wall.” These…

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Faith leaders from Spokane speak with U.S. Border Patrol officers about the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Faith leaders from Spokane speak with U.S. Border Patrol officers about the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.
The group of faith leaders stands at the border, listening to the story of a mother and her two children who are trying to flee violence in Mexico. It became too dangerous for her to send her youngest son to school, so he has not been in class for almost a year.
The group of faith leaders stands at the border, listening to the story of a mother and her two children who are trying to flee violence in Mexico. It became too dangerous for her to send her youngest son to school, so he has not been in class for almost a year.
Hundreds of mattresses fill a church building in Tijuana, Mexico, that has been turned into a shelter for migrants. The churches houses migrants on site and also distributes mattresses and other supplies to those who seek asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Hundreds of mattresses fill a church building in Tijuana, Mexico, that has been turned into a shelter for migrants. The churches houses migrants on site and also distributes mattresses and other supplies to those who seek asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border.
A man sits in a decorated alleyway in Tijuana near the U.S.-Mexico border.
A man sits in a decorated alleyway in Tijuana near the U.S.-Mexico border.
Standing on a bridge in Tijuana, Mexico, near the US/ Mexico border crossing, World Relief Southern California's lead immigration law practitioner, Jose Serrano, educates a dozen faith leaders about the complexity of life as an immigrant and the current US immigration system.
Standing on a bridge in Tijuana, Mexico, near the US/ Mexico border crossing, World Relief Southern California’s lead immigration law practitioner, Jose Serrano, educates a dozen faith leaders about the complexity of life as an immigrant and the current US immigration system.
Many volunteers have invested time and money into emergency shelters to provide respite for asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border. This woman (second from right) purchased a storefront and has filled it with mattresses, toys for children, and other basic needs items for those waiting (sometimes for several months) for their opportunity to request asylum just a few blocks away at the US border.
Many volunteers have invested time and money into emergency shelters to provide respite for asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border. This woman (second from right) purchased a storefront and has filled it with mattresses, toys for children, and other basic needs items for those waiting (sometimes for several months) for their opportunity to request asylum just a few blocks away at the US border.
Recent US policy changes no longer allow immigrants to apply for asylum the day they arrive at the border crossing. Asylum-seekers created their own system, writing numbers in a common spiral-bound notebook, to record the order new asylum-seekers arrive and therefore who gets to approach the border to apply for the handful of interviews that US Customs agents allow each day. The "now serving" number each day is packing-taped to the fence near the border crossing. The man we talked with here waited 4 months for his number to be called. This metering system is temporarily in place while US federal courts review the legally questionable policies that have made it necessary.
Recent US policy changes no longer allow immigrants to apply for asylum the day they arrive at the border crossing. Asylum-seekers created their own system, writing numbers in a common spiral-bound notebook, to record the order new asylum-seekers arrive and therefore who gets to approach the border to apply for the handful of interviews that US Customs agents allow each day. The “now serving” number each day is packing-taped to the fence near the border crossing. The man we talked with here waited 4 months for his number to be called. This metering system is temporarily in place while US federal courts review the legally questionable policies that have made it necessary.

Snapshots from the Border

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Click on the photo caption to launch a full-screen gallery.

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Cedar Coffee owner, Ukrainian refugee celebrates 4th anniversary in U.S.

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How a Ukrainian refugee’s tenacious love for coffee carried him to small-business success

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Against All Odds: Hamsa’s Journey

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By Meghan Long Communications Fellow Hamsa redefines the meaning of hard work, perseverance, and independence. When she first arrived in Spokane in January of 2013, she was highly qualified in many areas; she possessed a degree in English from the University of Baghdad, had a thriving marriage, and had just had her first daughter, Lina.…

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Friendship knows no borders: Sarah and Samire

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By Meghan Long Communications Fellow Meeting Sarah and Samire, you would think they were sisters. Their contagious laughter and love for one another exudes true friendship. This unique and unbreakable bond would not have been formed if the girls hadn’t met in Spokane after resettling as refugees. Sarah is from Iraq and Samire is from…

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Threads of Hope: Shamsa’s Story

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By Meghan Long Communications Fellow The new sewing center started by World Relief has had a profound impact on 22-year-old Shamsa, who moved to Spokane three years ago. Not only has the center shown her how to practically care for her family, but through the six-week sewing class WEAVE (Women Empowered to Achieve Vocational Enrichment),…

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“Jesus Chose Us for Each Other”: Oliva and Arooj

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By Elyse Herrera Digital Communications Intern When Arooj stepped into Spokane a little over two years ago, her life was “a blank page, completely.” She had so many fears about entering this new “white world.” Shortly after arriving, there came an opportunity for friendship, something Arooj embraced head-on in her relationship with a World Relief…

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Raheem and Thomas: An Unexpected Brotherhood

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By Elyse Herrera Digital Communications Intern When Thomas Steiner and Raheem Abbas met two years ago, neither could have anticipated the profound impact they would have on each other’s lives today. Thomas was assigned to be Raheem’s volunteer by World Relief shortly after Raheem arrived from Iraq, and what started as a refugee/volunteer relationship quickly…

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