How Dallas Became One Of America’s Most Refugee-Friendly Cities

May 31, 2017 3:59 AM

This is a Dallas that received 4,000 refugees last year — more than any other metro area. But this is nothing new. Texas’s robust economy and cheap housing make it an ideal location for refugee resettlement: for Vietnamese and Cambodians in the ’70s; for those fleeing the USSR in the ’80s; for Bosnians in the ’90s. Today, it’s become home for thousands of Iranians, Iraqis, Burmese, Congolese, Afghans, Bhutanese, Moroccans, and Syrians fleeing persecution for their religious beliefs, their past work with the American military, or their ethnic identity. [Buzzfeed - Anne Helen Petersen]
posted by ellieBOA (16 comments total)

Really good read.

My retired mother still lives in Dallas, and she has been teaching ESL courses to a number of Afghan and Iraqi refugees. The impact on her has been remarkable. I'm glad to see it reflected in the community at large.
posted by Thistledown at 4:39 AM on May 31, 2017

Dallas is very accepting. They put up with Richard Rawlings.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 6:19 AM on May 31, 2017

WTG Dallas! How can this state elect Ted Cruz to Senate though....perhaps demographics will change outcomes here.
posted by skepticallypleased at 7:56 AM on May 31, 2017

“But look at Genesis to Revelation: The one thing that goes through the scripture is the theme of being a refugee, and God being a savior, and God welcoming us. That’s the main thing! It’s the entire narrative of the Bible. It’s what the whole of Christianity is all about.”

I'm no fancy biblical scholar, but I don't think that this is what the Southern Baptist Convention is about, and I don't think that's what Muscular Christianity is about. That whole "read the whole book from start to end" suggestion is a massive red flag.

Noone cares but: I was brought up by Anglicans and atheists, who'd largely express 'the main thing'. Baptists and their ilk scare the fuck out of me. More than Salafists.
posted by pompomtom at 8:10 AM on May 31, 2017

(more generally: YAY for multicultural communities. How hard does this need to be? I mean the word is 'refugee'; how is it that anyone who read the Bible refuses refuge to a refugee?)
posted by pompomtom at 8:45 AM on May 31, 2017

I was pleasantly surprised with the SBC stance on Trump during the election. I don't agree with them on - well - anything - but their position that he didn't represent Christian values as they define it was internally consistent.

I can't wait to read this. Longtime Dallas resident and I can confirm that the Metroplex is very diverse. But, honestly, I have to say it is very "self-segregated" so I'm not sure the population as a whole can be defined as accepting or progressive.
posted by double bubble at 9:27 AM on May 31, 2017

I like this story, and DFW was my home metroplex for over 20 years and it makes me proud when they do things well, but we know from many studies that living in a big city makes most people's baseline tolerance better, because it is impossible to fully segregate except at the highest levels. Your children will go to school with at least a few kids who don't look like them, and you will see their parents at the pick-up line and school events. Your grocery store cashiers and medical professionals and coworkers are not all going to be white. Your church is probably rigidly segregated, but your church probably also does some kind of Good Works in the community and you will be exposed to nonwhite and not-your-socioeconomic-class white people by those means.

What seems to shock people is that DFW and Houston are big cities and so they work like big cities in this way. I don't know that I would characterize those cities as overwhelmingly compassionate*, but there's lots of work (which is probably a major factor in hostility in smaller places) and the population is large enough to contain deep pockets of empathy, and overall both cities are - comparative to small-town Texas - pretty liberal, because it is actually very hard to keep a large urban area functioning with "got mine!" principles.

(*On the other hand, in 6 years in SoCal I have had strangers turn to me in public and cheerfully be racist as fuck in full expectation that I will share their sentiment dozens of times in a way that is Not Done in public in Texas, where you might *be* racist but you at least know that racism is technically rude. That's why country types are always all "I ain't even sorry" when they get going, because they were taught better. It's not compassion exactly, but there is a certain self-awareness.)
posted by Lyn Never at 9:36 AM on May 31, 2017 [6 favorites]

My mother was definitely racist but manners were more important - the end result is she raised me to be better than she was. If only everyone would try to do that.
posted by double bubble at 9:51 AM on May 31, 2017 [2 favorites]

How can this state elect Ted Cruz to Senate though....perhaps demographics will change outcomes here.

We've been waiting for decades. Even though the rural areas are becoming depopulated, they are vast. And the suburbs are not helping. I still have guilt about relocating to the bay area, because Texas needs my vote more than SF does.

Houston also has a pretty strong immigrant population. There's a section of the city where the street signs are all in Vietnamese, since white flight and their refugee crisis happened about the same time. Going to a local college, this fact certainly tempered my professors' view on race in history and poli sci courses. Refugees tend to come from a more middle class background and being displaced by a failing government, they're distrustful of large government. Prior to 9/11, this gave Republicans a huge boost. While there is often initial distrust, it often melts away and contributes to the Model Minority Myth and only further fuels anger directed towards poor Hispanic and Black populations because they can't figure out bootstraps.

Which is to say that this is business as usual. And while it's good to see America not do the wrong thing, history shows us that we should be careful at the ways that we process this change.
posted by politikitty at 10:12 AM on May 31, 2017 [2 favorites]

I'm no fancy biblical scholar, but I don't think that this is what the Southern Baptist Convention is about, and I don't think that's what Muscular Christianity is about. That whole "read the whole book from start to end" suggestion is a massive red flag.

You may be right in this assessment, but if it's what is helping some of the people of Dallas to accept and welcome refugees, then I don't especially care.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:15 AM on May 31, 2017

Dallas is in many ways a great city. I grew up there. I should hate it, but in the past 10 years the place has surprised me considerably. To the point that I'd have no problems leaving Austin and moving back to Big D.
posted by Annika Cicada at 11:14 AM on May 31, 2017 [1 favorite]

> Baptists and their ilk scare the fuck out of me. More than Salafists.
What scares you about the Baptists?
posted by durandal at 11:54 AM on May 31, 2017

WTG Dallas! How can this state elect Ted Cruz to Senate though....perhaps demographics will change outcomes here.

You are assuming that all these immigrants and their kids will vote Democrat and I think you are wrong. I'm an immigrant, I know a lot of immigrants. There was widespread admiration for Trump as a type of strongman that people have traditionally supported in many immigrant communities, especially among the men who are far more likely to gain citizenship and vote to start with. Also, immigrant families are generally far more religious and conservative/ male dominated in the traditional sense than US born citizens.
posted by fshgrl at 10:00 PM on May 31, 2017

So much of this story speaks honestly about fear. I'm struck by the courage of so many people in this story to challenge that fear, especially the refugee families who are asked to put faith in effective strangers just to fulfill basic needs. But I also think about the suspicious volunteers who kept interrogating their own values even when they were afraid. Our world is a little better because they made that choice.

I hope this piece helps others put their beliefs to the test, too. Feeling scared (of the unknown, of the other, of change you're not in charge of) is super normal and does not have to hinder one's empathy. Hell, it can inform it.

I'll remember this piece the next time I read a justification of American racism/xenophobia/Islamophobia that argues from a place of fear, like somehow me being afraid means I'm free to forget who my best self is.
posted by Avarith at 11:01 AM on June 1, 2017 [2 favorites]

I was left wondering about the religious differences. The article mentions two (Samira Page and Azam) who are Christian. I would expect the majority of refugees resettled from Iran and Iraq would remain Muslim. How does Page's Christianity affect her reception among the Muslim refugees? When Page talks about making refugees feel welcome during the holidays, which holidays does she mean? There are some photographs of an Easter egg hunt, which I'm pretty sure is Christian. It just feels like there's a huge and very interesting topic that the author completely omitted.
posted by d. z. wang at 8:06 PM on June 1, 2017

overall both cities are - comparative to small-town Texas - pretty liberal,

Not just comparative to small town Texas, they are liberal just like almost every other big city in the county. Here's the results of the last 3 presidential elections:
City/County-- 2008 (D/R)-- 2012(D/R)-- 2016(D/R)
Dallas-- 57/42-- 57/42-- 61/35
Houston-- 50/48-- 49/49-- 54/42
Austin-- 64/34-- 60/36-- 66/27
San Antonio-- 52/46-- 52/47-- 54/41
Whole State-- 43/55-- 41/57-- 43/52

Houston had an open lesbian mayor who got term limited!

How can this state elect Ted Cruz to Senate though....perhaps demographics will change outcomes here.

Maybe some support from the democratic party would have helped? Here's the fund-raising numbers for the 2012 race where he was elected:

Ted Cruz (R) $9,053,212
Paul Sadler (D) $139,197
John Jay Myers (L) $6,139

How do you even expect the democrat to compete in that?

I'm so tired of everyone assuming that just because it's Texas, that everyone is a redneck who hates brown people. We have liberal cities and conservative suburbs and country just like every other state.
posted by LizBoBiz at 7:01 AM on June 2, 2017 [3 favorites]