Prospective and returned Peace Corps volunteers crossed paths at a Peace Corps reception Tuesday, where a panel of speakers shared wisdom gained in their experiences serving communities in a globalized world.
Lori DiPrete Brown, University of Wisconsin-Madison Global Health Institute director for education and engagement, facilitated discussion between three panelists, including a former Iraqi refugee who now helps transition recently arrived refugees.
Mohammed Ezzat said he facilitates pre- and post-arrival services for refugees, including housing, public health and assistance, and connections to volunteer and church groups.
Members of the community can “adopt” refugee families and help them assimilate, according to Ezzat, which helps community members understand life outside the U.S.
“It might have them rethink the different aspect of their lives, it’s a rewarding thing to learn about other people’s cultures,” Ezzat said.
Leila Pine, human rights activist with No More Deaths, an organization that helps rescue immigrants from the deserts around the Mexico-Arizona border, discussed challenges people entering the U.S. face.
Pine said although immigrants struggle to enter the country, they also face “enormous abuse and exploitation” in the workforce, including in Dane County, where she said workers earn $3 per hour when all work hours are counted and receive empty promises of legal citizenship.
“They’re basically being treated like slaves,” Pine said, “and that’s right under our noses in liberal Madison.”
UW-Madison law student Christine Humma said she enjoyed hearing the panelists’ different perspectives on immigration in this country, noting immigrant workers’ rights are often overlooked.
“I think it’s something … that’s very much a hidden aspect of our society,” Humma said. “It’s something people don’t think about a lot, and a lot of people would prefer it that way.”
Brown said although people have positive and negative immigration experiences, a family’s or family member’s arrival in the U.S. is “a dream” for many people.
Addressing the prospective Peace Corps members, Brown said community volunteers can contribute to positive immigration experiences.
“We can make magic happen … by working at the personal level and the advocacy level to try to welcome people to this country and help them find their place here,” Brown said.
