Encountering Mercy: Welcoming the Stranger
“Encountering Mercy” is a series that will explore the corporal works of mercy during the Jubilee Year through the people whose lives exemplify them. The first is “Welcome the Stranger.” In the future the series will feature profiles of refugees living in the Diocese of Camden, bringing to light their stories of suffering and resilience and their contributions to their new communities.
For those who work at Catholic Charities’ Camden office, Luis’ perpetual smile has become a regular fixture of the lobby waiting room. The 57-year-old can be found there every Monday and Thursday without fail, volunteering as a member of the Catholic Charities furniture delivery truck team.
What those who share a handshake or a hug with the good-natured Cuban may not realize is that Luis is a refugee.
He arrived in the U.S. from Cuba in February this year, leaving behind four grown children. He waited for 10 months, undergoing the most rigorous screening process for any class of traveler admitted to the United States, until his refugee status was approved by the U.S. government. His case was assigned by the State Department to the refugee resettlement agency of the U.S. Catholic bishops, which then assigned him to Catholic Charities, Diocese of Camden.
“My dream is to see if one day they will let me go to see my children, to see if they will let me in to the country,” he says in Spanish. On the U.S. side there won’t be a problem. The problem is Cuba. “Sometimes they cut you off and they don’t let you back in.”
Life became difficult for Luis in the 1980s, when he became involved with a political group advocating for human rights in opposition to the communist government. In 1983 he was arrested and imprisoned for two years for his activities. Following his release, he was blacklisted, unable to obtain formal employment. A fisherman, he supported his family by working in the black market.
“They make life impossible for you and your family,” he said of the Cuban authorities.
He continued his political activity and, in 2014, was warned that he would be arrested again. With his children in their 30s, he decided to flee his coastal town for Havana where he applied for refugee status.
Luis describes the experience of arriving to U.S. soil for the first time as feeling as though he were being reborn.
At the airport he was met by Catholic Charities’ refugee resettlement staff and taken to the same Camden office he now calls his second home.
The program provides refugees with furnished housing when they first arrive, medical case management services, English as a Second Language classes, and assistance navigating U.S. immigration and social services and finding employment, all with the goal of helping newcomers achieve self-sufficiency and independence.
Within two months of his arrival, Luis found work at a car wash. He still works there five days a week. On his two days off — Monday and Thursday — he volunteers for Catholic Charities’ furniture warehouse, which supplies furniture for clients served by Catholic Charities, including veterans coming out of homelessness, victims of domestic violence, recently arrived refugees, and the broader community.
Refugees resettled by Catholic Charities often return to volunteer their time, assisting with everything from language interpretation to office tasks to unloading and sorting donations. Some, like Luis, are regular volunteers. Others will serve for several months at a time while they work toward full-time employment, and others respond to periodic calls for assistance with special projects.
“Of all the volunteers that we have, they [refugees] are the most compassionate and understanding of the needs of the community that we serve, because they themselves were in the same position at one time,” said Patrick Barry, director of Refugee and Immigration Services for Catholic Charities.
Luis says that volunteering helps him fill his days off and show his gratitude. Since Luis started his service in June, he has assisted with over 150 furniture pick-ups.
“I’m helping others to follow a good path,” the same path he found through Catholic Charities, he says.
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