Reuniting with the outcasts

I thought I had written a post on a book that I had read courtesy of the HyWy, but I can't seem to find it in my archives.  Anyways a few years ago I read the book Outcasts United, which was about a soccer team of refugee kids in an Atlanta suburb.  They use soccer to bring them closer together and bridge different cultures.  

While traveling Idaho I stayed with a CouchSurfer that was writing a series of articles (and eventually a book) about the experience of ethnic Nepali refugees who were kicked out of their Bhutanese homeland.  Her particular interest in this story stemmed from the influx of refugees into her small Idaho town, Twin Falls.  This was the last story that I expected to stumble upon while traveling around Idaho.  My vision for my trip was one of introspection and rejuvenation, but at the end of it the most memorable part was talking with refugees that have only been in the US for a month.  What struck me was how enthusiastic, positive, and pumped up they were.  Considering their situation; being kicked out of their home more than 20 years ago, spending those 20 years living in a camp while being told that you aren't from Nepal or Bhutan, and eventually moved to a new home in a completely foreign land; I don't think you could find a more charged individual if you looked at a kid starting his first varsity football game and itching to sack the quarterback.  In today's society it seems that we bemoan the immigrant population for stealing jobs, but in all honesty I don't think those that complain the most vocally would want to have anything to do with the work that these people are willing to do.  The standard argument against refugee relocation to the US is, "if we can't help our own people why are we helping others?"  It's a difficult argument to make that if there is a dollar to be spent by the federal government on a school down the street vs. refugees thousands of miles away, which is better.  However, what I do know is that when I saw how much drive these individuals have I know that we are truly investing in the future of our own country as they become permanent residents and eventually citizens.  What scares me is whether the process (red tape, racism, etc.) will drain them of their positivity and leave them jaded.  The other scary possibility is that people see the positivity as naivete and find ways to exploit it.  In the end I guess the only thing to do is hope and connect with other refugees to show them that not everyone is unhappy to see them here.