Feza's Story
Over the next several months, US Together will be sharing stories from the refugees we serve in the Cleveland community. This is a project to shed light on the fact that refugees are more than just the label we give them. They are our neighbors, classmates, coworkers, friends and family. We work to enrich their lives and help them navigate their new communities, and they do the same for us. We learn so much from our new neighbors and their cultures and experiences. Our first story is about a refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Feza.
Feza came to Cleveland from a refugee camp in the DRC nearly two years ago, with four of her children, two older boys, and two younger girls, at the age of 43. Feza’s oldest son is getting married soon and the other is currently studying engineering at Cleveland State University. Her two younger daughters currently go to school at the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. The oldest girl enjoys math and wants to go to college to study something related to the subject, and the youngest enjoys creating art in her free time using paints, pencils and other mediums.
In our interview, Feza described how she did not like the cold Cleveland weather at first; however, it has grown on her since arriving two years ago. She finds the summertime difficult because of all the bugs that come around.
When she lived in East Africa, she would travel everywhere by foot; however, in Cleveland, this is not possible. Since exercise helps Feza feel so good, this is one of the most difficult parts of living in America. However, Feza and her kids enjoy walks around their neighborhood and they travel to Edgewater Beach in the summer. Once in a while, Feza will swim in the lake. As a Muslim woman, she wears pants and a hijab in the water, but this has sometimes resulted in funny looks from strangers, so she doesn’t feel comfortable doing this often.
In addition to not walking as much as she used to in the DRC, Feza described the difficulties of learning English. She enjoys learning the language, but it can be overwhelming since there is so much to remember. One way she learns is through watching English television shows!
About a month ago, Feza began working at a factory that creates sanitizer products. She loves the position because she gets to sit and not be on her feet all day. She was so happy to begin her new job because she wanted to work and contribute to her new community since she moved to Cleveland, but was told to wait in order to monitor her diabetes.
She’s also happy that there are other Swahili speakers who have been hired by the company, giving Feza a community of coworkers to talk to, eat with and feel more alive around. She mentioned that one of the toughest parts of the position is the isolation she feels from the American workers, since they often don’t try to engage the Swahili speakers in conversations. Feza believes this would help with her English skills tremendously; however, she thinks that people are afraid of talking to new English learners, even though the practice could help improve the new learners’ skills. Overall, Feza loves her new job and plans to work at the sanitizer factory until she retires.