Georgians celebrate 40 years of welcoming refugees

On the evening of May 16, more than 200 community members gathered at the IRC in Atlanta for an Open House event to celebrate 40 years of welcoming refugees to rebuild their lives in Georgia. Since opening our doors in 1979—together with Georgians from all walks of life—we have welcomed more than 26,500 refugees from 67 countries into communities across the state.

Each of the IRC in Atlanta’s core programs—Logistics, Resettlement, Adult Education, Economic Empowerment, Health and Wellness, Youth and Immigration—were highlighted through interactive stations, where guests could meet and speak with IRC staff, and learn more about each program and how to help. Stations featured activities including labelling refugee countries of origin on the map, a cooking demonstration, and trying to pass the U.S. citizenship test! Open House attendees were given ‘Global Citizen’ IRC passports and collected stamps from each station as they toured the exhibit.

Guests explored the IRC in Atlanta’s history through a giant '40 Years of Welcome' timeline, and showed their continued support for refugees by writing postcards to Georgia’s members of Congress at our Advocacy station. Delicious Syrian catering and desserts were provided by IRC Microenterprise clients, Abeer and Mouaz, and the bar offered generously donated beers from Eventide Brewing.

During the program, the IRC in Atlanta’s deputy director, Justin Howell, spoke to the audience, expressing deep thanks for their unwavering support over the past four decades and presented the ‘Spirit of the IRC’ awards to generous friend, volunteer and advocate, Cindi Scott, and to The Merancas Foundation for their continued support of our adult education and youth programming.

Guests also heard from recent Clarkston High School graduates and IRC Youth Futures students, Hala and Hawa, who shared their personal stories of being welcomed to Georgia and their plans for the future—both students have been accepted to Georgia State University and will start in the Fall. To close the event, current Youth Futures student, Rukaiya, serenaded guests with her beautiful voice as we cut an incredible 40 Years of Welcome cake from Cuban cake artist, Custom Cakes by Liud.

Before guests departed, deputy director, Justin Howell, urged supporters to continue to speak out—loudly and often—about the need for refugee resettlement: “While we gather this evening to celebrate our 40th anniversary, we should pause to acknowledge that 80 years ago this month, 900 Jews from Germany embarked on a trans-Atlantic journey aboard the St. Louis to escape persecution from Nazi terror, only to be turned away from the shores of the United States—after being close enough to see the city lights of Miami,” he reminded the crowd. “At the time, this country claimed full immigration quotas amid a time of rampant xenophobia as justification to block these refugees from seeking safety. Ultimately this country was complicit in returning these 900 human beings back into the grip of their oppressors—and their murderers, as 254 of those souls would perish in the horrors of the Holocaust. Each of us are called to ensure that this nation lives up to its founding ideals and is willing to speak truth to power when we lose our way.”

We are so grateful to all of our Open House attendees and for the tens of thousands of community members who have supported our work over the past four decades. In these uncertain times, it seems harder than ever to predict and plan for what’s ahead, but one thing we at the IRC in Atlanta do know is that together we will rise to meet the needs of refugees and immigrants arriving in Georgia, and continue to support our community for the next 40 years and beyond. 

View more incredible photos from the event, captured by Cory Hancock—@cmhancock9 on Instagram—by visiting our Facebook album.

To learn more about the work of the IRC in Atlanta and for information on how you can get involved with the IRC as a donor or volunteer, please contact Senior Development Manager, Kalie Lasiter, at Kalie.Lasiter [at] Rescue.org or 678-636-8941.

Stay connected to the IRC in Atlanta! Like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram for announcements and upcoming events!