Nirmala Rai remembers the day she arrived in Fargo from a refugee camp in Nepal. It was Nov. 11, 2011. She remembers the yellow and orange leaves, and it feeling so cold outside that she thought she would throw up. In a short story she wrote this past semester for class at Fargo South High…
Every refugee who resettles in Fargo-Moorhead makes the same first stop on their journey to become a part of the community: Lutheran Social Services. But that’s not where it ends. There are many stops New Americans can make to receive support so that assimilating to life in Fargo-Moorhead is a bit easier. Lutheran Social Services…
“We all want community, Chris. Stop spreading hatred,” Hunkun Abdullahi said. On Dec. 4, 2015, Chris Berg, host of KVLY’s “Point of View” had an intense discussion with two guests. Abdullahi is the Executive Director of the Afro American Development Association of Moorhead, Minn. Berg’s second guest was AADA’s program director Hamida Dakune. Dakune and…
In one day, Chandra Acharya saw 75 people die and be cremated by the riverside at Beldangi II refugee camp, in Maidhar, Nepal, “Kids, older folks, all because of dysentery and diarrhea from the dirty river,” Acharya said. Several years later, Acharya is now living in Fargo, where he works at Family HealthCare Center part…
Identifying angst about refugee resettlement Walking into LSS these days isn’t as simple as stepping into the lobby, strolling down the hall and knocking on doors. Resembling the visitation process of public schools, walkins must check into the front desk, stating their business or appointment. For the remainder of their time there, they must also…
Each month in Fargo-Moorhead and around the country, New Americans gather at naturalization ceremonies to be sworn in as new citizens of the United States. The process of becoming a citizen takes a minimum of one year’s time to complete from the time it takes to apply, go through background checks, study, and take the test itself. Citizens-in-training are given…
Growing more than veggies It’s early February, the ground is covered in sticky-wet snow and the streets are sloppy from a week of 40-degree temperatures. This weather is unseasonably warm for the majority of the Fargo-Moorhead population. But for New Americans Zainab Alsudani and Alyaa Luaibi, Fargo is still chilly and they long for the…
It takes a very steady hand to succeed at Milton Bradley’s Operation board game. It takes an even more steady hand to be an actual surgeon, and only the steadiest of hands get to hold national archery trophies. By day, Chris Wiger is a college student in his junior year at Concordia College double-majoring in…
Patriotism, nationalism, loyalty, allegiance: all words with positive connotations. To support one’s country is to be a good citizen, and to do otherwise is to be unthankful and petulant. Americans either believe America is the greatest country on Earth, or they don’t—but which group is correct? Until recently it was less common for people to…
Cell phone usage in Concordia classrooms In one classroom, a student is told to put her phone away and pay attention. Next door, students use their cell phones to take an in-class quiz. Down the hall, a professor asks a student to look up a fact on his phone. The use for Smartphones in our…