Erol Kekic
The face of refugee resettlement is changing, according to Erol Kekic, the director of Church World Service Immigration and Refugee Program.
"The days of large homogenous groups (of immigrants) is largely over," Kekic said.
Kekic, who was himself a refugee from Bosnia, will be the featured speaker at Church World Service's fourth annual refugee resettlement banquet. The banquet will be held at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 17 at Calvary Church, 1051 Landis Valley Road.
Church World Service is a global humanitarian agency that provides sustainable self-help and development, disaster relief and refugee assistance around the world.
The new type of refugee immigrants are "smaller, diverse groups with specialized needs," Kekic said.
There also is more of a mixture of reasons people are immigrating. They are not only refugees from political persecution, but also from countries which have had large-scale natural disasters, he said.
Because of the many languages these new groups of refugees speak, it will be an ongoing challenge to get interpreters for all of them while they are resettling here.
The United States takes on more refugees than any other country, by a factor of 10, Kekic said.
All other countries across the globe combine to take in 84,000 refugees, whereas the United States takes more than 75,000 each year, he said.
"We're very grateful that (the U.S.) continues to go on that road," Kekic said.
The United States also is different from other countries, Kekic said, because it "takes in people in need as a durable solution. It bases (acceptance into the country) not on their integration potential, like in Canada, Australia and the U.K. That's an important distinguishing fact that we celebrate over and over."
Once the refugees are in the country, resettlement is the "lifesaving rescue operation that brings to the local level the importance of the ability of local groups to accept immigrants into their midst," Kekic said.
Church World Service is one model of resettlement that brings it to the local level.
Church participation is the portion of the equation that distinguishes CWS from other resettlement agencies, he said. Resettlement is "owned" by the local community, and CWS is just the "middle man" who connects the dots, Kekic said.
Kekic earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering at the University of Sarajevo in Bosnia. He also has done postgraduate study at the University of Detroit-Michigan and at Oxford University's Refugee Studies Centre in England.
In addition to Kekic, the CWS banquet will have Burmese Karen refugee speakers, including a family who resettled in Lancaster in April, and a Burmese Karen pastor.
There also will be a variety of entertainment by refugees who have resettled in Lancaster. They include a Nepal dancer and an Iraqi keyboardist.
A silent auction will begin at 5:30 p.m. The silent auction will include artwork, baskets of all types, goods and services.
"It's a wonderful way to support refugee resettlement in Lancaster," said the Rev. Roy Johnsen, president of CWS' advisory board.
During the banquet, there also will be an opportunity for an offering to further the work of resettlement, Johnsen said.
Banquet tickets, which cost $30, must be purchased by Sept. 10. No tickets will be available at the door. Tickets may be purchased at CWS office (Tabor building), 308 E. King St., or by contacting Johnsen at 394-1071.