of approximately 61 thousand residents
in Utica New York nearly 11,000 are
immigrants and refugees and 450 or more
arrive here each year
Utica was a manufacturing home in the
1970s and 1980s some of our factories
began to leave and our population began
to a decline but then later in the 1980s
in came the refugees they began to buy
houses the driver on East Utica you’ll
see many businesses run by some of the
refugees from other countries and would
you say that they have revived the
economy I think it’s been a godsend
are you what’s your name Chris do you
run this place yeah
collectively Chris Sunderland helps to
run the Midtown Utica community center
and this place is a bit of a hangout it
just looks like a bag of fun it is also
a place for anyone to come and dance and
play and learn they provide food
assistance programs and more where are
you from that must’ve been a very hard
decision for them when they left Kenny
has come to America
dude that was right for family yeah with
the afternoon vibe of this place in full
swing Chris and I took a moment to chat
all the people in Utica who are
uncomfortable with the levels of
refugees wonderful older woman who owned
the house she asked me one day why there
were so many Asians moving onto the
street I I said I don’t know but they’re
cleaning up the block so and it’s that
true oh yeah absolutely if I took up I
should have taken pictures six years ago
and this street has quite a high
concentration of refugees right yes and
it’s all come full circle there’s a
health clinic there there’s three
different grocery stores so this area is
game getting better yeah
there’s a lot more that the United
States and the rest of the international
community can do to more effectively
address the global refugee crisis we
have to protect the rights of refugees
to flee their country and when they get
to a neighboring country refugees need
to be able to access education and they
need to be able to work if they can’t do
those things they’re not going to be
able to stay there they’re not going to
be able to support their families
they’re going to be a constant risk of
being returned back to face danger and
harm most of us come from immigrant
families my grandmother and grandfather
came from Italy in the 1890s they were
welcomed here Who am I not to welcome
refugees
[Music]
in Utica New York nearly 11,000 are
immigrants and refugees and 450 or more
arrive here each year
Utica was a manufacturing home in the
1970s and 1980s some of our factories
began to leave and our population began
to a decline but then later in the 1980s
in came the refugees they began to buy
houses the driver on East Utica you’ll
see many businesses run by some of the
refugees from other countries and would
you say that they have revived the
economy I think it’s been a godsend
are you what’s your name Chris do you
run this place yeah
collectively Chris Sunderland helps to
run the Midtown Utica community center
and this place is a bit of a hangout it
just looks like a bag of fun it is also
a place for anyone to come and dance and
play and learn they provide food
assistance programs and more where are
you from that must’ve been a very hard
decision for them when they left Kenny
has come to America
dude that was right for family yeah with
the afternoon vibe of this place in full
swing Chris and I took a moment to chat
all the people in Utica who are
uncomfortable with the levels of
refugees wonderful older woman who owned
the house she asked me one day why there
were so many Asians moving onto the
street I I said I don’t know but they’re
cleaning up the block so and it’s that
true oh yeah absolutely if I took up I
should have taken pictures six years ago
and this street has quite a high
concentration of refugees right yes and
it’s all come full circle there’s a
health clinic there there’s three
different grocery stores so this area is
game getting better yeah
there’s a lot more that the United
States and the rest of the international
community can do to more effectively
address the global refugee crisis we
have to protect the rights of refugees
to flee their country and when they get
to a neighboring country refugees need
to be able to access education and they
need to be able to work if they can’t do
those things they’re not going to be
able to stay there they’re not going to
be able to support their families
they’re going to be a constant risk of
being returned back to face danger and
harm most of us come from immigrant
families my grandmother and grandfather
came from Italy in the 1890s they were
welcomed here Who am I not to welcome
refugees
[Music]
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