Events take place Sept. 16 through 25 Starting Sept. 16, the International Institute of Akron will celebrate Welcoming Week 2016. This annual series of events brings together immigrants and U.S.-born residents in a spirit of unity to raise awareness of the benefits of welcoming everyone – including new Americans. Last year, there were 245 events in over 80 … [Read more...]
Path to citizenship can be rocky for refugees, immigrants
Naturalization offers sense of identity, purpose for residents -- As a detainee in a refugee camp, Hsathablay Moo had no sense of belonging, no notion of self. “It seems like you’re an alien,” she says. “As a refugee for 24 years, I’d been through a lot, so much struggle, so much trauma, so many hardships; the one thing that was missing from my life was my identity.” Once … [Read more...]
Agency helps refugees establish roots in Akron
The International Institute of Akron’s entryway was filled with at least seven people, some sitting on the bench attached to the wall. I squeezed past the families, nodding hello, and entered the old building on Tallmadge Avenue. The father on the couch over from me spoke English and mentioned to an employee he needed to sign his wife up for the citizenship test. His daughter, … [Read more...]
