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State Dept. To Look At Fox Valley’s Refugee Work

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A U.S. State Department official will visit the Fox Valley Monday to learn about the area’s work with refugees. More than one hundred people from around the world are expected to resettle in the region this year.

The refugees will come from places like Iraq, the Congo, Cuba, and Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.

Kathy Flores is the Diversity and Inclusion coordinator for the city of Appleton. She says the State Department’s domestic resettlement section chief will be in the valley to learn about the region’s work with refugees. Flores says it goes back more than thirty years, when the Hmong first came to Wisconsin.

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“We know that we have a strong history of re-settlement. She wants to see what ties the communities together with re-settlement,” Flores said. “She’s happy to come here and to Oshkosh and report back to other communities what we’re doing.”

Flores says Appleton helps newcomers find housing and jobs. It also introduces them to the police and fire departments.

“Our fire department is involved to help with fire safety,” Flores said, “because cooking may be different here than where they’re from.”

She says sometimes they need to learn not to fear law enforcement: “Specifically, individuals coming from the Congo.

“They have faced brutal violence from government forces, so when they come here they may not realize how supportive our officers are,” she said.

Of the 125 refugees expected this year, Flores says most of them will settle in Appleton, Neenah and Menasha.