Staff Photo by Allison Kwesell Thamir Muhsen Hadi, 39, and his son, Ahmed Thamir, 6, are refugees from Iraq. They came to the United States with Mr. Hadi's mother, wife and two other children on May 5, 2009.
Yuraisy Caldebila arrived in Chattanooga with her husband, Ernesto Gonzalez, almost four months ago from Cuba.
They left a hostile environment where her house often was ransacked and her husband interrogated because he had been a political prisoner, she said.
It took the couple five years to get refugee status and, on Feb. 26, they arrived in Chattanooga.
Today there are 42 million people uprooted around the world, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The United States admitted 60,108 refugees last year. Since the 1980s there have been more than 2,000 refugees, representing about 20 different countries, resettled in Chattanooga.
This weekend nations around the world are observing World Refugee Day, a tradition started in Africa, the country that hosts the most refugees, to call attention to the subject.
"I think it's important to acknowledge that this problem exists," said Marina Peshterianu, office manager of Bridge Refugee and Sponsorship Services, a local organization that helps refugees resettle in Chattanooga.
Bridge staff had an open house Friday at which refugees and volunteers gathered to get to know each other. Last year, the organization helped resettle about 70 people from countries including Burundi, Sudan and Iraq.
Ms. Peshterianu said World Refugee Day brings attention to the millions of displaced people in the world.
"Unfortunately a very small fraction of these people will have a long-term solution, either go back to their home, which is always their preference, or come to a country that will be able to give them peace, safety, a home, things everybody needs," she said.
Jillian Wills, a volunteer who teaches English to a group of six Burundi refugees, said they have helped her learn much.
"Refugees bring so much to our community, they bring a rich culture and they help, at least me, feel thankful for what we have," said Ms. Wills, an associate professor at Southern Adventist University.
"They help us understand more about other people and to realize we are not the only people in the world and that our customs and beliefs are not the only ones," she said.
Petro Sokotovych, arrived last year with his family from Ukraine, where he was a family physician.
"Now God has given me the opportunity to come to the U.S. and study ... and I'm going to be a physician here too," he said. "And (one day) I'm going to return to my country because there are a lot of needs for doctors there."
For Ms. Caldebila, arriving in Chattanooga means liberty.
"It was really hard to leave my family, my country," she said. "But now I'm here ... and not look back."
BY THE NUMBERS
* 42 million: number of people uprooted around the world
* 60,108: number of refugees admitted to the United States for fiscal year 2008.
*1,317: number of refugees resettled in Tennessee for fiscal year 2008.
* 70: number of refugees resettled in Chattanooga during fiscal year 2008.
* 2,000: approximate number of refugees resettled in Chattanooga since the 1980s.
* 20: estimated number of countries represented in Chattanooga's refugee population.
Source: United Nations, Department of Homeland Security, Bridge Refugee and Sponsorship Services and Catholic Charities.
WORLD REFUGEE DAY
* For years, many countries and regions have held their own refugee days and even weeks. One of the most widespread is Africa Refugee Day, which is celebrated on June 20 in several countries.
*As an expression of solidarity with Africa, which hosts the most refugees, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on December 4, 2000, in which it was decided that from 2001, June 20 would be celebrated as World Refugee Day.
Source: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
