COMMENTARY | Inclusive policies and practices will ensure access and support to everyone
I remember fleeing the persecution of my home country and living in a refugee camp for decades. I watched people die without health care and access to vital resources. And yet, this pandemic goes beyond those tragedies I witnessed.
The effects of COVID-19 are like nothing I have ever experienced or seen before. I am fearful for refugee and immigrant communities. If we don’t take appropriate action immediately, recovery and a return to “normal” life will be significantly challenged.
The coronavirus has highlighted the systemic inequities in the U.S., pushing vulnerable and isolated refugee and immigrant communities to a greater level of distress. Many were already anxious and uncertain as they integrate into their new communities, and are now even deeper in panic mode.
During the past few weeks, I have been in constant contact with refugee and immigrant leaders who are volunteering their time to communicate about their needs. Here is what I learned so far:
Food access
Because of layoffs, reduced hours and children at home due to school closure, families are in need of food. Unfortunately, culturally appropriate food is not available. Partnering with ethnic stores and being mindful when planning and distributing donated food is critical.
Unemployment benefits
Many laid-off or furloughed employees in refugee and immigrant communities struggle to navigate the system to apply for benefits. Language barriers and lack of understanding and familiarity with the required procedures complicate the filing process. States with guidance from the federal government should mandate employers to offer support in filing for unemployment benefits and medical insurance.
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I have made posts on my Facebook page asking for resources and passed them along to the community. Each time, within days, I get calls saying either that a number didn’t work or that the office is no longer accepting requests for support. At this point, the hope and relief that stimulus benefits under the CARES act would offer can’t be delayed anymore.
Language access
There is a disconnect between mainstream providers and community recipients. Simply translating or creating multilingual materials is not enough. Translation itself is an important step, but it does not address inaccessibility and inequity of service delivery. There are community members who don’t read or write even in their own languages.
It is a huge assumption for providers to expect that emailing or posting on mainstream social media accounts will connect this important information to everyone who needs it. Providers must go above and beyond by connecting with community partners, refugee and immigrant organizations, and community leaders. This may require additional resources to increase organizations’ employment of refugee and immigrant members to go beyond translation to establishing relationships, deeper connections and future partnerships.
We must make current information available at ethnic grocery stores and on ethnic social media and radio stations. Biracial and bilingual employees play a critical role in mitigating the impact and ensuring critical messages aren’t just transmitted, but understood and applied. These employees look like community members and share their concerns. They have connections and know how best to connect and communicate. We need to go where the communities are.
Partnership
The local jurisdictions can create a Community Response Team that is focused on the most vulnerable in the African community, immigrant and refugee communities, by providing targeted resources and grants to organizations and stipends to community leaders during the crisis. The partnership must include developing culturally responsive engagement and outreach, interpretation, translation, coordination with the health community and businesses to brainstorm about how to serve the most vulnerable communities in the best way possible. This action will benefit the entire community.
On March 30, I created a free conference-call number and shared it with community members. The first two calls were 60 minutes each. By April 3, I used a total of 511 minutes. This is a small example that speaks to the volume of need the refugee and immigrant community has to be connected to and share valuable information with other members of their communities.
Newly arrived Hindus from the Nepali-speaking Bhutanese community have for generations practiced certain community-based solutions during a crisis. When it comes to social distancing and quarantine, in their religion, when a family member dies, members of the family usually are confined in a separate room for 13 days. No one can come close to or touch a mourner (almost 6 feet apart). My mom practiced this when my grandfather passed away in Arizona in 2012.
This is an example of how partnering with ethnic communities to connect how this current social distancing practice parallels aspects of their own culture can help them understand and can save lives.
To the decision-makers, please know one of the reasons refugees and immigrants have been successful at starting their new lives in America is their ability to push through all of these challenges. Yet, as always, they are resilient and ready to fight this with willing partners and the community as a whole.
COVID-19 is the biggest challenge in my lifetime, and the effects of this virus serves as an additional challenge for many refugee and immigrant communities. They know their own self-sufficiency and integration will be harder. They want to participate and to give back. Please be sure to include them.
Som Subedi is a community organizer and lives in East Portland. Subedi said he hopes every local jurisdiction in the United States will develop a plan to combat COVID-19. Early reports show that COVID-19 is disproportionately affecting underserved and disconnected communities, he said, and people of color and immigrant and refugee communities need empathy and compassion, now more than ever.
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