Cedars, April 2018

April 2018 12 THE GLOBAL REFUGEE CRISIS: DIVERSITY by Alex Hentschel N estled in the suburbs of Atlanta sits the small town of Clarkston — the most diverse square mile in America, according to census data. What used to be a sleepy Southern town was transformed over the last few decades into a place bursting with culture, life and color because of refugee resettlement programs. Refugees who flee their home countries from intense persecution have resettled in Clarkston from all over the world. These refugees arrive legally, sometimes permanently, because of ongoing atrocities being committed in Syria, the Congo, Nepal, Myanmar and countless other places. These atrocities include genocide, war, crimes against humanity and other environments that are devastating to the human condition. Most of these refugees have lost family members and all of their worldly possessions in their flight to a safe ha- ven. The refugees who made it through the intensive (and of- ten arbitrary) vetting process to make it to the United States comprise only a fraction of those in need, as less than one percent of all those in need are actually resettled according to the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees. A team from Cedarville traveled to Clarkston over spring break to serve and learn. The team included Kur- tis DePree, Alex Hentschel, Daniel Jaquish, Macey Kakuk, Anna Rowell, Zach Rubosky, Lexi Smith, Janelle Thompson and Katrina Wiebe, as well as the two student team leaders, Timothy Mattackal and Mikaila O’Keefe. Many members of the team said that the moment they arrived, they knew they were in a place unlike anywhere they had been before. “Stepping into Clarkston for the first time was not what I expected at all. It looks like an American town, but then you look a little closer and then you’re taken to a different country — well, a lot of different countries all at once,” sophomore Zach Rubosky said. “It was so amaz- ‘From One Man He Made All the Nations’ Students serve and learn in the most diverse square mile in America Photos provided by Daniel Jaquish Pramila tells her story to the team. From left to right: Janelle Thompson, Pramila, Timothy Mattackal, Kurtis DePree, Mikaila O’Keefe, Alex Hentschel, and Lexi Smith