Diversity is complicated for refugees in Utah

by BRADY LEAVITT In a state that is 93 percent white, Gerald Brown represents diversity. Brown is white. He wears bow ties and peers through round-rimmed glasses. When asked if he speaks foreign languages, he says, “Only Southern.” When asked what his epitaph might read, he says, “A Holy Man.” And when asked if refugee [...]

A big change is coming for the IRC in SLC

by MATT BERGSTROM Imagine you have just contracted a life-altering disease. You find a specialist who knows how to treat it and the two of you work together to improve your quality of life. Now imagine that after six months you are told you have to go to a new specialist. The new doctor is [...]

Refugee caseworkers work long hours in Salt Lake City

by MICHAEL OLSON Originally from Rwanda, Africa, Valentine Mukundente and her parents were relocated to Salt Lake City as refugees. Before they came to America, however, Mukundente and her family were sent to a refugee camp in Zambia where she spent her high school years. In Zambia, Mukundente worked as a translator for the United Nations [...]

IRC Salt Lake City extends its care

by MICHAEL OLSON It all started with an idea, Albert Einstein’s idea. As a German refugee, Einstein came to America to escape the tyrant Adolf Hitler. Einstein used his influence and money to help others escape from Germany. Thanks to Einstein an American branch of an already existing European relief agency was founded in 1933. [...]