Few controversies are more fraught than immigration to this country. The issue has divided Americans and caused a crisis on our southern border.

Two guest speakers at Moravian College discussed immigration from different perspectives Feb. 13. Both gave the audience insight into what we can learn from the experiences of refugees.

Grace Han recounted her dangerous nighttime escape from”the prison state of North Korea” to China under cover of night, accompanied by her parents,

her young sister, and a guide they had hired. Once in China they had to hide their North Korean identity to avoid deportation to North Korea where they

would have been sent to a concentration camp or executed in public. Six years later, sixteen year old Grace and her parents moved to the UK where she

had a very mixed experience in school. After six years in the UK, the family moved to South Korea where she plans to attend college.

Dr. Melissa Borja, the other speaker, is an Assistant Professor at Michigan State University. A scholar of migration, race, and ethnicity, she studies Hmong

refugees the United States and how religious policy affects their resettlement.

Both speakers discussed the mixed reception refugees have received in their adopted country. Melissa noted that refugees from different cultures than that

of their adopted country can experience greater difficulty being accepted. For example, the Vietnam War brought about a million non white, non Christian

refugees to the United States. Prior to their arrival, most refugees had come from Europe. After the Vietnam War only 36% of Americans favored accepting

refugees. Grace noted that at first people in the United States were not welcoming, but once they got to know her, they were more accepting.

According to Melissa, opposition to refugees can stem from the perception that they are a threat to our economy. “Sometimes our needs are at the epicenter,

not their needs.” She noted that we tend t’o accept refugees when it’s in our political interest do so. She told the audience that “as future teachers, you will be

exposed to refugees who have experienced terrible things in their home countries”. Many have been forced to leave, and “forced migration can be traumatic,”

but it can also end happily.

To illustrate the point she described the experience of a husband, his very pregnant wife, and their young child, who were fleeing Laos and heading for Thailand.

The wife went into labor and gave birth on the banks of the Mekong River. All the while soldiers were shooting at people crossing the river into Thailand. The family succeeded in escaping. The “baby” is now a student at the University of California Berkley.