Syria to St. Louis

“We heard and saw the airplanes and the bombs all the time, we saw everything. One day Ali* was walking around his school, and suddenly the plane came and started bombing... Ali was nine, the beginning of her fourth grade,” Rima*, a mother who recently embarked alongside her family on an impeccably difficult journey of a lifetime, that of fleeing the civil war that tears up the Syrian landscape more...

“[The Syrian refugees] have been through hell, or they wouldn’t be here,” said Bob Stein, a volunteer for the International Institute in St. Louis, which aids and resettles refugees and immigrants. The Institute, funded by the state of Missouri, is the only resettlement center in St. Louis and the largest one in the entire state. When refugees -- of any country -- are placed in St. Louis, it ...

In addition to the impeccable trauma that the Syrian community carries, families also have to make the transition to a completely new schooling system. In the 2016-2017 school year alone, the Saint Louis Public Schools (SLPS) welcomed over 700 new ESOL students, over 130 of which were Syrians. As previously explained, the International Institute places refugee families in apartments, which are o...

Rima, Sameer*, and their teenage son Ali, have been living in St. Louis for a little more than a year. Before that, they spent three years in Egypt and the rest of their lives were spent in their homeland: Syria. For a while, the family lived a privileged life, filled with joyful family and friends. “We lived in an apartment, but it was ours. Everyone in the apartment was our family, so we lived...

“Learning the language is the key for [Syrian refugees] to obtain so many other things in our society, such as getting a job, being able to drive, and being able to advocate for yourself,” Julie Glossenger, English tutor and wife of CHS History teacher Daniel Glossenger, said. Enabling her students to partake in the various aspects of American society is one of the many rewards of teaching English...

From the moment we walked into her classroom, CHS History teacher Debra Wiens was beaming. When we asked for an interview about the Syrian family she had taken under her wing, she had been exceptionally excited. This was a story Mrs. Wiens had been aching to tell: a story impacting Syrian refugee families and Mrs. Wiens herself. The story began last spring, when Mrs. Wiens taught her Current Issues...

“My grandfather was a German refugee who begged to get out of Germany for five years and finally some distant, distant third-cousin signed for him to go and it was always traumatic when talked about,” CHS parent Serralesa Befeler said. Most Americans share a history of immigration to America. Befeler’s personal history motivated her to find a way to help refugees. It was President Trump’s...

One of the first outsiders to reach out to the Syrian refugees, Cyril Loum, through his organization Caring Ministries Inc. has done much for the Syrian community. “Caring Ministries was created in order to help refugees. We understood that the Bosnians came to St. Louis in the early 90’s and they received so much aid. Then the next group to come were the Africans and now the Syrians and they...

Charlie Brennan’s outlook on the refugee crisis was significantly transformed in October of 2016. “I was watching 60 Minutes, and I saw a segment chronicling the experiences of Syrian refugees in North Carolina -- and it was pretty good,” Brennan said. “So I wondered, how are they faring here in St. Louis? So, I went to Hodiamont and I met some of these refugees to see how they’re doing....

Communication is of vital importance in modern America. Being able to communicate with others not only ensures one’s survival, but also opens up a world of opportunities. People like CHS parent Carolyn Morris work towards providing Syrian refugees these same opportunities and helping them to communicate by teaching refugees the English language. With no prior teaching experience, Morris became...