Syrian refugee children at an outing – Courtesy photos of Syrian American Rescue Network.

DETROIT – 10,000 Syrian refugees were accepted into the country, as guaranteed by the White House earlier this year. A month ahead of schedule, the 10,000th refugee arrived Monday afternoon. 

Since the civil war began in 2012, more than 12,000 Syrians have been resettled nationwide, with the majority having arrived this year, according to State Department statistics. More than 2,300 Syrian refugees arrived this month. 

Many have been placed in Chicago, Huston and New York, but most now reside in more affordable cities like Dearborn. Michigan already receives the largest number of the 70,000 overall refugees accepted into the U.S. annually.

More refugees, more demand

Local charities and independent residents have stepped up their efforts, as more refugee neighbors increase the demand for services. Donors have raised money and awareness for refugees locally and in overseas camps in creative ways, including countless fundraisers.

Dr. Ayesha Fatima is the board vice president at the Syrian American Rescue Network (SARN), an organization born last year, following the Syrian crisis, that helps refugees in Michigan reach self-sufficiency.

At an iftar attended by hundreds of Syrian refugees, in which SARN sent the family home with boxes of cooking material and water, Fatima said the resettlement program provides humanitarian and economic support to refugees. It links them with employment services, housing, English education, furniture and household items, transportation, assistance with emergencies and acculturation advice and consultation.

Rasha Basha, president of SARN and chair of the housing and job placement committee, said as resettled families add up, SARN focuses on Syrian refugees, but is facing inventory shortages and high expectations from some families.

She said SARN survives on donations, mostly in the form of sofas and beds. But those are far from the only services it provides. 

So far, SARN’s ESL and job placement programs are the most active and popular ones. The organization also makes sure refugee children sign up for school on time, secures cars for those with an immediate need and prioritize finding hotels for families with ill members, because of a housing shortage.

Basha said SARN serves almost 170 families in the area, but that it’s easy to lose contact with them. They have assisted half with finding homes and furnished 90 percent of those. 

With an army of 400 volunteers, SARN works in concert with other foundations, like ACCESS, Zaman International and Life for Relief, churches and mosques and schools and universities to address the needs of refugees and keep records on what the families have already received.

The volunteers regularly make and distribute welcoming packets, hygiene packets and school supplies and set up Amazon wish lists.

She added that SARN divides responsibilities to different organizations by geographical areas, delivering hot meals or taking people to appointments.

Basha said the organization currently knows about the refugees as they arrive through other Syrian families and overseas social media groups; however, resettlement agencies previously shared lists of new arrivals.

In association with The Rotary Club of Dearborn, Jessica Haddad, an employee at a Dearborn LaFontaine dealership, said she organized a “Painting with a Twist” – with a purpose.

The event helped raise funds for displaced families in Syria. 

About 40 people met for art classes and to paint a brighter reality for Syrians abroad. Haddad said they raised about $1,000, including extra money raised from a raffle that will go toward providing families clean water and shelter and rebuilding homes.

She added that the event raised awareness about the severity of the refugee crisis, including a top-notch Dearborn Schools ESL program. She said the community is an example of positive efforts in assisting Syrian refugees.

“This is a media issue, not a community issue,” Haddad said about insufficient donations.

Another local resident and imam is currently collecting donations and preparing to ship a large container of new clothes, bed sheets and other supplies to Syria.

Aziza Askari, an organizer at Who is Hussain of Michigan, a Muslim charity foundation, said her organization continuously deliver food and groceries to Syrian families in the area.

Frustration and coordination

Some of the thousands of newcomers who live in the culturally responsive Metro Detroit say they are not receiving the basic needs and promised resources needed to become self-sufficient and productive community members.

Maria Kabbani, a Dearborn resident and founder of Syrian Orphans Org, a group that helps Syrian newcomers undergo a smooth resettlement and facilitates adoption of orphans, said although humanitarian groups like SARN and resettlement agencies strive to serve the refugee community, many of them fall short in understanding their actual needs and potentials.

“They are frustrated and seem to very disappointed in the American system and different organizations that helped bring them here,” Kabbani said of the refugees.

She said she has met with several Syrian refugee households who say humanitarian and resettlement agencies are lacking in the resources they provide and employ a bureaucratic system of favoritism when giving aid.

Kabbani explained that the “disgruntled” families who seek out support are often turned away and are told all furniture and supplies are reserved or their phone calls are never answered. 

A family she met last week has been in the U.S. for about three months, but feel they are on the bottom of SARN’s list.

As to the shortcomings, she pointed to poor management and a lack of cooperation between local groups and well-funded national organizations that want to help outside the Arab American community and could pool skills and resources to better aid refugees on a large scale.

Kabbani said as she met with a family last weekend and prepared to give them basic needs, like blankets, pillows and cooking supplies, that she was taken aback by what they really needed – jobs and devices with GPS capabilities to get around.

Now, the only advice she can give the families is to reach out for help outside the comfort of the local Middle Eastern community. 

“They come to America and think they won the lottery, but they didn’t,” Kabbani said. “They are very talented, educated people who don’t want to be a hindrance on society and economy.” 

What they need

SARN and Syrian Orphans, among others, say Syrian refugees require basic needs to support their families until they are self-sufficient. Here are samples of some things people can donate:

• Twin bed-in-a-bag sets

• Queen bed sheet sets and comforters

• Dinnerware sets

• Cooking pots

• Glassware sets

• Sofas/couches

• Dining table/chairs sets

• Coffee tables/end tables

• Dresser drawers

• Cribs

• Laptops

• GPS devices

• Smartphones

• Cars

Where to donate