Toledo welcomes 54 of the United State’s Syrian Refugees

Since the Syrian Civil War began in 2011, nearly 7 million Syrians have been displaced. Of those 7 million, only 4 million have achieved refugee status from an assisting country. Of those 4 million people, the United States has taken in just shy of 1,800 of them, with most placed in metropolitan cities that already include Syrian populations, like Los Angeles, the New York-New Jersey metro area, Chicago and Detroit.

Just 1,800 Syrian refugees were admitted by the United States. The United States has a 70,000 person limit, imposed by the President, in consultation with Congress, for the amount of refugees admitted each fiscal year, the Syrian influx is a very small number. The entire state of Ohio has received less than 80, and Toledo has become home and safe refuge for 54 of those people. How did Toledo become home to these refugees?

In part, Toledo’s Syrian and Arab-American population has made the Glass City a welcoming locale, which aids and encourages federal agencies to see Toledo as a point for relocation. Adding to the encouragement, Toledo also has two organizations which help facilitate re-settlement: Toledo’s Us Together and Water for Ishmael.

Safe from the start
Toledo’s Arabic community sprouted in 1881, when Michael H. Nassr moved to Toledo from Syria. Like many immigrants chasing the American Dream, Nassr began inviting friends, relatives, and others from his village to Toledo, assuring them welcoming homes and opportunities. Additional Syrians, and others from Arabic countries, also migrated to the Toledo area in around the time of World War I, settling what is considered the most integrated Syrian community in Ohio.

Toledoans may recall famous Arabs, like Mike Damas (Toledo Mayor from 1959-1962) and television actor Jamie Farr, both of whom grew up in the North End, the area from Cherry Street to Magnolia and Summit to Champlain Streets.

The Arabic population in the Little Syria neighborhood continued to grow until families began moving to suburban areas in the 1960s, widening the Arabic presence throughout our city. Toledo took its next step in establishing safe refuge, and revitalizing the title of Little Syria when Toledo’s Us Together office opened in 2013— two years after the Syrian Civil War began.

Deie, a refugee from Syria, with a helper from Saudi Arabia, and teacher, Ted Ronau, the head teacher at Water for Ishmael's Evening American School. (Photo Credit: Rebecca Trumbull Photography) 

Hope for all of Us
While all refugee applications and processing occurs on a federal level, states can be impactful through collaboration with state and local resettlement programs. Us Together, founded in 2003 to provide aid to refugees and immigrants in central Ohio. Since then, Us Together has established three branches in Ohio— one of them is in Toledo.

Toledo’s Us Together contracts with the State of Ohio to aid people establishing homes in Toledo. Us Together Executive Director, Corine Dehabey, explains that the group assists refugee families to succeed in their new home. The families are met at the airport by organization representatives, and are given help to secure housing, health assessments and cultural orientation. The organization also provides assistance with locating work, how to dress for interviews, budgeting, transportation, accessing routes to gaining social security benefits, education and English language lessons.

Toledo’s Us Together works directly with Water for Ishmael (WFI), a non-profit faith-based Christians groups with members from several area churches. Since early 2001, WFI has worked to raise awareness of the Toledo-area immigrant community. Director Janelle Metzger explains that her group’s current focus is educating families of refugees (and international students, visitors and long-term immigrants) about jobs, schools, doctors, transportation, and anything that helps the family become acclimated to their new hometown.

Since 2015, WFI has worked with the 54 Syrian refugees, 12 families, who have come to Toledo.

“I have personally met every refugee family that has come to [Toledo since 2010]. They are mostly young families with small children,” said Metzger. “These families are hopeful and grateful, and hard-working. Many of them already have jobs and are eagerly learning English. Recently, one of the instructors had them writing ‘Thank you’ sentences on the board. My favorite ‘Thank you’ was, “Thank you, America, for everything.’”

Children in Water for Ishmael's American School for Children. (Photo Credit: Rebecca Trumbull Photography) 

Statewide obstacles
Recently, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur voted for H.R. 4083, the American Security Against Foreign Enemies Act of 2015. The act is designed to strengthen refugee screening procedures by requiring the FBI to conduct its own background check in addition to the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) checks. H.R. 4083 would prohibit any refugee from entry until the FBI certifies that they pose no security threat, and admit only with the unanimous agreement of the FBI, DHS, and Director of National Intelligence. (govtrack.us) Kaptur’s vote has caused concern for many people involved with resettlement, saying that a new procedure would make an already-difficult process more difficult.

Ammar Alo, a local immigration attorney who has dealt with the lengthy legal process first hand, says that the US vetting procedure for Syrian refugees is long and arduous, calling it “the most rigorous screening in the world.” Additionally, it is unlikely that additional barriers would prevent terrorists from entering our country, instead, it seems only to complicate the process for refugees trying to flee the very people we want to fight.

“None of the migrants trying to get into Europe have been through any of the required screening processes that the refugees have to complete. We have had a good system in place for many years,” said Metzger. “To my knowledge, no refugees have been convicted of acts of terrorism in the U.S. If we really want to protect our borders [from terrorists], it seems we should focus on entry paths. For example, anyone with a European Union passport can enter the U.S. with no visa, no questions and no tracking.”

Alo encourages Americans to understand a simple truth about the state of the Nation, and the state of the struggle and impact of a refugee: “Our founding fathers were all refugees. We cannot further victimize these people who are already victims of their own governments.”

Since the Syrian Civil War began in 2011, nearly 7 million Syrians have been displaced. Of those 7 million, only 4 million have achieved refugee status from an assisting country. Of those 4 million people, the United States has taken in just shy of 1,800 of them, with most placed in metropolitan cities that already include Syrian populations, like Los Angeles, the New York-New Jersey metro area, Chicago and Detroit.

Just 1,800 Syrian refugees were admitted by the United States. The United States has a 70,000 person limit, imposed by the President, in consultation with Congress, for the amount of refugees admitted each fiscal year, the Syrian influx is a very small number. The entire state of Ohio has received less than 80, and Toledo has become home and safe refuge for 54 of those people. How did Toledo become home to these refugees?

In part, Toledo’s Syrian and Arab-American population has made the Glass City a welcoming locale, which aids and encourages federal agencies to see Toledo as a point for relocation. Adding to the encouragement, Toledo also has two organizations which help facilitate re-settlement: Toledo’s Us Together and Water for Ishmael.

Safe from the start
Toledo’s Arabic community sprouted in 1881, when Michael H. Nassr moved to Toledo from Syria. Like many immigrants chasing the American Dream, Nassr began inviting friends, relatives, and others from his village to Toledo, assuring them welcoming homes and opportunities. Additional Syrians, and others from Arabic countries, also migrated to the Toledo area in around the time of World War I, settling what is considered the most integrated Syrian community in Ohio.

Toledoans may recall famous Arabs, like Mike Damas (Toledo Mayor from 1959-1962) and television actor Jamie Farr, both of whom grew up in the North End, the area from Cherry Street to Magnolia and Summit to Champlain Streets.

The Arabic population in the Little Syria neighborhood continued to grow until families began moving to suburban areas in the 1960s, widening the Arabic presence throughout our city. Toledo took its next step in establishing safe refuge, and revitalizing the title of Little Syria when Toledo’s Us Together office opened in 2013— two years after the Syrian Civil War began.

Deie, a refugee from Syria, with a helper from Saudi Arabia, and teacher, Ted Ronau, the head teacher at Water for Ishmael's Evening American School. (Photo Credit: Rebecca Trumbull Photography) 

Hope for all of Us
While all refugee applications and processing occurs on a federal level, states can be impactful through collaboration with state and local resettlement programs. Us Together, founded in 2003 to provide aid to refugees and immigrants in central Ohio. Since then, Us Together has established three branches in Ohio— one of them is in Toledo.

Toledo’s Us Together contracts with the State of Ohio to aid people establishing homes in Toledo. Us Together Executive Director, Corine Dehabey, explains that the group assists refugee families to succeed in their new home. The families are met at the airport by organization representatives, and are given help to secure housing, health assessments and cultural orientation. The organization also provides assistance with locating work, how to dress for interviews, budgeting, transportation, accessing routes to gaining social security benefits, education and English language lessons.

Toledo’s Us Together works directly with Water for Ishmael (WFI), a non-profit faith-based Christians groups with members from several area churches. Since early 2001, WFI has worked to raise awareness of the Toledo-area immigrant community. Director Janelle Metzger explains that her group’s current focus is educating families of refugees (and international students, visitors and long-term immigrants) about jobs, schools, doctors, transportation, and anything that helps the family become acclimated to their new hometown.

Since 2015, WFI has worked with the 54 Syrian refugees, 12 families, who have come to Toledo.

“I have personally met every refugee family that has come to [Toledo since 2010]. They are mostly young families with small children,” said Metzger. “These families are hopeful and grateful, and hard-working. Many of them already have jobs and are eagerly learning English. Recently, one of the instructors had them writing ‘Thank you’ sentences on the board. My favorite ‘Thank you’ was, “Thank you, America, for everything.’”

Children in Water for Ishmael's American School for Children. (Photo Credit: Rebecca Trumbull Photography) 

Statewide obstacles
Recently, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur voted for H.R. 4083, the American Security Against Foreign Enemies Act of 2015. The act is designed to strengthen refugee screening procedures by requiring the FBI to conduct its own background check in addition to the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) checks. H.R. 4083 would prohibit any refugee from entry until the FBI certifies that they pose no security threat, and admit only with the unanimous agreement of the FBI, DHS, and Director of National Intelligence. (govtrack.us) Kaptur’s vote has caused concern for many people involved with resettlement, saying that a new procedure would make an already-difficult process more difficult.

Ammar Alo, a local immigration attorney who has dealt with the lengthy legal process first hand, says that the US vetting procedure for Syrian refugees is long and arduous, calling it “the most rigorous screening in the world.” Additionally, it is unlikely that additional barriers would prevent terrorists from entering our country, instead, it seems only to complicate the process for refugees trying to flee the very people we want to fight.

“None of the migrants trying to get into Europe have been through any of the required screening processes that the refugees have to complete. We have had a good system in place for many years,” said Metzger. “To my knowledge, no refugees have been convicted of acts of terrorism in the U.S. If we really want to protect our borders [from terrorists], it seems we should focus on entry paths. For example, anyone with a European Union passport can enter the U.S. with no visa, no questions and no tracking.”

Alo encourages Americans to understand a simple truth about the state of the Nation, and the state of the struggle and impact of a refugee: “Our founding fathers were all refugees. We cannot further victimize these people who are already victims of their own governments.”