Utica: The City of Many
My love for Utica runs deep, and I’m convinced that Utica is one of the best cities in the world. I know it’s a small city with seemingly little to offer, but even so, I have a substantial list of reasons why I think Utica is the best. At the top of this list is how Utica helps so many refugees. Tens of thousands of refugees have come to the United States with Utica as their starting place, resettling into their new homes with the help of The Center which continues to serve the refugee community in the Mohawk Valley as well as incoming refugees. The more I live in Utica, and the more I hear the histories of people living in Utica, the more I’m in awe of how Utica serves as a haven, hope, and stepping stone for various people.
Growing up going to Utica City Schools paired with having parents who were refugees created the perfect storm for me to have both the desire and the ability to hear people’s stories, particularly stories of refugees. There’s something unique about hearing the story of a mother with three children moving to four different countries before being able to settle and dream up a life again, or the story of a wife who had to leave her husband because he’s a wanted political leader in the nation they’re fleeing to protect their children or the story of a boy who grew up in a refugee camp and didn’t know anything different until he had to uproot his life at 9 or 10 years old to a new home in a new nation with a new language and new people. The list goes on and on.
Hearing the stories of refugees is unique in that it makes you realize that the things going on in the world, the military coup in Myanmar, the political distress in Bosnia, the war in Ukraine - those aren’t far removed events we’re detached from, it’s the story of your neighbor. Stories like this have a way of showing both the brokenness and beauty of humanity. How terrible that governments, institutions created to protect people, around the world would cause such extreme calamity and harm in their nation, and how important and hopeful is it that other individuals and institutions would go out of their way to make a home for the wanderer, give safety to the endangered, and offer a future to those who’ve had to leave their entire life behind.
Asking someone where they’re from when they came to the United States, or most other questions opens the door for someone to share their story with you. There’s no agenda, there’s no disconnect caused by technology when you’re face-to-face, there’s no hurry when you’re just there to sit, listen, and be curious. We should be asking good questions, honoring what people are and are not willing to share, listening well, and giving our time, money, and votes where we can to ensure safety and a future that is accessible to whoever needs it.
Image obtained from Squarespace
