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RESOURCES

​Global Friends Orientation Packet (click to download)

Global Friends Resource Guide for Refugees and Mentors (click to download)

Citizenship Study Materials (click to view materials)

Cultural Orientation Resource Center
The Cultural Orientation Resource Center provides technical assistance regarding new refugee groups and the orientation they receive either before their resettlement in the United States or after their arrival. 

Greater Grand Forks Convention and Visitor's Bureau (CVB)
Open seven days a week, the Visitor Center is a friendly stopping point for information on area and statewide attractions, shops, restaurants, and accommodations. The CVB's professional travel counselors are ready to help, whether you're planning a family vacation, a business meeting or a major convention. 
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The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was established on December 14, 1950 by the United Nations General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country. It also has a mandate to help stateless people. In more than six decades, the agency has helped tens of millions of people restart their lives. Today, a staff of some 7,685 people in more than 125 countries continues to help some 33.9 million persons. 

City of Grand Forks
Official website of the City of Grand Forks. Information on city attractions, services, voter information, and history. ​

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Who are refugees?
Refugees are people who have fled their country because it is no longer safe. A refugee is defined by the 1951 Refugee Convention as someone who "owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his/her nationality."
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How many refugees are in the world today?
According to Global Trends data published by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, by the end of 2020, 82.4 million individuals have been forcibly displaced worldwide as a result of persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations and events seriously disturbing public order. Every year, the number of people displaced increases.  Of the 82.4 million forcibly displaced, 48 million have been uprooted within their own countries, and 30.5 million are refugees and asylum seekers.
​https://www.unhcr.org/60b638e37/unhcr-global-trends-2020
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How many refugees were resettled in 2020?
Just 34,400 refugees were resettled in 2020, one-third of the previous year (107,800), according to government statistics.
https://www.unhcr.org/60b638e37/unhcr-global-trends-2020

How long do refugees live in refugee camps?
Stays can vary from 1 month to 20 years. Refugees stay in a camp until they are able to return safely to their homes (repatriation) or until the UNHCR decides to resettle them permanently in another country. This decision is sometimes reached only after a generation living in refugee camps. The number of displaced individuals living in urban settings rather than in camps is continuing to increase.

Do refugees come here speaking English?
Some refugees learned English in their home countries before they were displaced, and some had access to some English education in the refugee camps. While some arrivals are fluent English speakers, others have had few opportunities to learn it, although they may speak many other languages.
 
Do refugees come here with an education or job skills?
Some refugees were highly educated working professionals before they were displaced, while others have been essentially forced to live in refugee camps for most of their life and were unable to work. Some camps provide good educational opportunities for the children, and others do not.

Do refugees get to decide where they want to go?
No, refugees do not get to decide what country, state, or city they will be placed to live. They could be sent to any of the 27 countries which resettle refugees. They can turn down a resettlement placement, but would then have to wait again for another option elsewhere.
http://www.unhcr.org/en-us/information-on-unhcr-resettlement.html

What countries do refugees come from?
In the last two decades, Grand Forks has become home to refugees from Bosnia, Burundi, Bhutan, Ethiopia, Iraq, Liberia, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Refugee resettlement has almost come to a halt in 2021 with just one person resettled in both 2020 and 2021. Refugees may choose to move to the area after their initial resettlement.

What agency performs refugee resettlement in Grand Forks?
At this time, (July 2021) Lutheran Immigrant Refugee Services is working with the State of North Dakota to continue refugee resettlement services. Lutheran Social Services (LSS) New Americans was the agency in charge of resettling refugees in North Dakota. Opening in 1919, the nonprofit closed its doors in 2021. At the time of this closure, Grand Forks was a satellite site for LSS so the only refugees who could be resettled had to be related to a family member who was already here.

What kind of support do refugees get when they come to the U.S.?
Essential services include helping to locate initial housing, providing referrals to health programs and screenings, registering children in school, and assisting with the application process for social security cards. Refugees often receive limited financial support up to the first 8 months in the United States. Many refugees are able to gain employment in three to five months and then this financial support is ended.

What responsibilities do resettled refugees take on?
When a family is notified, they have been granted permanent placement in another country, it is definitely good news. However, it is not a simple happy ending to their story. Their arrival in the U.S. is the beginning of a new journey with new challenges for them. Former refugees work very hard to learn English, acclimate to the culture, and become economically self-sufficient within their first 8 months here. They need to pay back their travel loan.

What does Global Friends Coalition do for refugees?
Global Friends Coalition fosters refugee integration through work with New Americans and the Greater Grand Forks community. We educate, empower, and embrace New Americans through three main programs:  The Family Mentors and Adult Education Program, Resilient Youth Program, & the Outreach and Advocacy Program. Global Friends Coalition provides in-home and in-school volunteers to help New Americans with English language learning. Global Friends Coalition offers basic English and citizenship classes, as well as driving. Volunteers of Global Friends often work one-on-one with a family or individual to help that person(s) with whatever the refugee needs (completing paperwork, helping with the mail, getting people out into the community).
We assist refugees who have arrived recently or years ago. We might have helped someone with their initial resettlement, and then five years later we help them become citizens.
 
How do refugees benefit our community?
Refugees strengthen the local economy by supplying labor, renting apartments, purchasing goods, and paying taxes. They diversify our community and allow us to learn about a wide range of experiences and cultures. And as they spend more time in the area, they become citizens, community leaders, and business owners.