A House with Two Rooms - The Advocates for Human Rights

plane tickets, which we would later slowly pay back to the Lutheran church
in small monthly payments.
We suffered very much during our first three months in the United States.
While we began the slow process of filing for relief funds, we lived in a
homeless shelter with very little food. Later we were able to become eligible
for the monthly refugee funds and move to Park Hill, Staten Island, where
we now reside. 345
While statement givers in the Buduburam refugee settlement overwhelmingly desired resettlement in
the United States or in another English-speaking country outside of Africa, life for resettled refugees
and other immigrants does not always match expectations, as described by the statement giver above. 346
“[W]hat I experienced in the United States is not what I had heard before I arrived, and expected
to experience.” 347 Some statement givers described the fact that Liberians in Africa saw the United
States as “paradise.” 348 Another noted that Liberians see the United States as the iconic “land of milk
and honey.” 349 Resettled Liberian refugees and other immigrants have “very high” expectations that
everything in their new country will be easy – it will be easy to find a job, easy to make money, easy
to find a place to live. 350 On the contrary, newly arrived refugees confront an array of issues including
trouble finding housing, 351 food insecurity, 352 and difficulty finding sufficient employment. 353 Even
for immigrants who have traveled extensively, have visited the United States on previous occasions,
or have heard from relatives and friends about the challenges of adaptation, high expectations often
persist. 354 “You can tell them, but they don’t believe you – they want to experience it for themselves.” 355
Liberians noted that high expectations, particularly for life in the United States, come in part from a
perception that there is a special relationship between the United States and Liberia, and accordingly,
Liberians will be well-treated when they come to the United States 356 When Liberians arrive and
discover that most Americans have never heard of Liberia, it is a shock:
There is no ‘special relationship’ between Liberia and the United States.
When living in Liberia your perception of America is completely different. It
was very easy for Americans to move around Liberia. This is not reciprocal.
This is something that Liberians learn only once they arrive in America. 357
Another interviewee in Rhode Island noted that the “U.S. views anyone from a third world country
with suspicion.” 358
Adaptation to Life in a New Land
After the initial shock of arrival, Liberians must find their way into the American system. Experiences
344