In the past year, 16 refugees resettled by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Dallas started working at the Hilton Anatole. Thanks to people like Justin Gandy and Omar Hashish, employment specialists at the IRC, who help prepare refugees for work in the United States, from helping them fill out job applications to practicing for interviews.
The human resources team at the Hilton Anatole is among area employers working closely with the IRC employment team to help meet staffing needs. “I appreciate the journey that somebody makes coming to a new country and a new culture,” says Michael Abela, director of human resources at the Hilton Anatole. When describing the hotel’s relationship with the IRC he says, “It’s a win-win situation.”
“Omar and Justin are very approachable and we’re quite satisfied with the way they assist refugees by attending orientation with them and assisting with interpretation when it’s needed,” says Abela. “We make sure the employer is completely satisfied with our client and that our client is comfortable and contributing as an employee,” says Gandy.
“The IRC is a very special organization,” says Rosalinda Quiroga, assistant director of human resources at the Hilton Anatole. Helping refugees find employment is among the services the IRC provides for refugees, welcoming them to Texas and supporting them as they begin their new lives in the United States. “The IRC makes individuals feel welcomed from the get go; the IRC team is willing to go pick them up from the airport at 2 o’clock in the morning, go with them to where they will be living, and give them basics that we take for granted.”
Thanks to employers who are committed to helping newcomers thrive in an unfamiliar country and workplace, many refugees, like Thakur Pokhrel, are self-sufficient today. Thakur, originally from Bhutan, lived in a refugee camp in Thailand before he was resettled by the IRC in Dallas in July 2010. With the help of the IRC, Thakur found his first job in the United States as a steward at the Hilton Anatole.
“Thakur is a very good man. Everybody likes him, he’s doing great,” says Abela. “He’s in a very high-paced and stressful job and he does very well. We’re very proud of him.”
To inquire about hiring refugees at your workplace, email the IRC in Dallas at Dallas@Rescue.org or the IRC in Abilene at Abilene@Rescue.org
