A House with Two Rooms - The Advocates for Human Rights

My bags were packed when I received a fax through the student union
stating that all Liberian students were to remain in the country because
it was not safe to return to Liberia. At this point, I thought the restriction
would only apply for a week or two. I waited with my suitcase packed but no
one would tell me what was going on and there was no information coming
out of Liberia. It was only when The Guardian newspaper started to report
the events in Liberia that I became fully aware of the situation. 339
During the civil wars, a majority of those arriving were refugees.
We had the post-1990 migration…except now the conditions in Liberia
were so terrible, people came fleeing the war. Some had already given up on
Liberia because [of] the trauma they faced, and some hope and want, [that]
one day they will be able to return to Liberia. 340
Post-conflict emigration has been driven in part by family reunification efforts. The demographics
of the diaspora community in the United States thus show a community that is not monolithic, but
rather includes members of different ethnic groups, 341 as well as persons who describe their tribe or
ethnicity as “multiple tribes.” 342 This dramatic change in population “represent[s] different challenges,
different opportunities, different demographics.” 343 One community leader described the situation in
this manner:
The group that came prior to the 1980s knew exactly what they were coming
for, were focused, tended to have an education. The group that came …
between 1980 and 1990, was sort of a mix…the post-1990 migration pattern
presents a different set of circumstances…We had families that relocated
simply because…there was a refugee program. But the issues of cultural
assimilation [were]…more difficult for those families and it’s been a
challenge for our community. 344
The assimilation process begins as soon as new immigrants arrive and often starts with attempting to
adjust expectations to the realities of life in a new land.
Arrival: Expectations vs. Realities in the United States
After a year [in Ivory Coast], we were interviewed by the Lutheran Church
Family Refugee Program for eligibility to leave West Africa for refuge in the
United States. I passed the interview and I and my wife soon boarded a plane
which took us to JFK airport in New York. We were lent the money for the
343
Chapter Thirteen