On
Saturday, I had my first experience volunteering at Safari Thrift, and the
experience was distinct from any previous ones. For starters, I was one of four
volunteers working. The other three seemed to be around my age, and were
clearly of African, Asian, and Indian ethnicity, had thick accents, and had
strong relationships with the staff at Safari Thrift. Noticing this, I
mindlessly assumed they were refugees who had worked with the ACC and desired
to give back to them—that’s great, right? I didn’t think much of it after that,
I knew that volunteering with refugees would be no different from volunteering
with anyone else, and, like we have talked about so many times in class, it
should have no effect on how I treat or perceive them as people. After talking
to them for about an hour as we worked, I mentioned something about a
restaurant that was near my school. They asked me what school I attended and I
replied University of Denver. Their immediate response was, “Oh! We go to DU!”
Turns out the three “refugees” are not refugees at all, but are simply
international students at my school, are actually in my class, and are studying
similar subjects as me. Awkward.
What
surprises me most about this experience is my own subconscious prejudices and
assumptions surrounding refugees. I didn’t necessarily treat them any
differently after I learned they were not refugees, but it absolutely changed
my opinions of them. It left me wondering if this is okay. Is it okay that
these mindless presumptions exist, even in people who have learned and talked
about refugees for four hours a week for over four weeks? And if this is not
okay, what do we do about it? I look forward to continue working with refugees
and also with people who are not refugees at all, because they all undoubtedly
have something to teach or show us about our understanding (or lack thereof) of
refugees.
Tay,
ReplyDeleteI think there are two things that you (and everyone else for that matter) can learn from this experience: (1) We are all human and we make mistakes as humans, and (2) Everyone has a story.
(1) I would advise you not to beat yourself up too much about what happened at the thrift store. You may have made an ill-informed assumption; however, it does not discount all of the great assumptions that you have made in the past: helping others in distress, being a beacon of inspiration for those lost, and living your life to the fullest while assuming that life can offer you the bountiful resources for your journey. It is only natural to assume. It is part of your culture - something embedded in to your very "mindful" existence.
(2) I think there is a way to combat the ill-informed assumptions, though. One simple thought: everyone has a story. Remember this along the way. You may think you know someone (your best friend, your sister, your roommate), but they may have a story to tell that you just have not heard yet. Oftentimes, the stories people do not divulge right away are the ones which really define their persona and character. Give people a chance to tell their stories before limiting them to one specific role.
Now, don't completely avoid assumptions: at times, it is better to assume that someone is going to hurt you in order for you to prepare/protect yourself. Everyone needs a good balance of allowing people to tell their story and capitulating to stereotyping/assuming/labeling for self-preservation.
Peace and Blessings!
Jaser