The Mindset of a Refugee

By Joseph Minani

The Mindset of a Refugee: Understanding the human potential for current and former refugees to change our planet is part autobiography, part call to action. In the book, author Joseph Minani recalls his childhood through the fictional character Karenzo-a young boy living with his family in a Tanzanian refugee camp. Through Minani's word

• Language: English
• Publisher: New Degree Press
• Release date: Jul 27, 2020
• ISBN: 9781641377591

Book preview

Acknowledgments

This book is a product of meaningful life experiences, conversations, and memories. It would be extremely remiss of me to not thank all the incredible people in my life who made this book possible, including:

My loving parents, thank you for everything that I am. It is your courage and perseverance that inspires me. I truly would not be where I am now if it were not for your dedication to keeping my siblings and me afloat even in the most testing times and places. To my siblings, Eric Karenzo Misago, Johani Misago, Joseline Bucumi, Gorette Nimbona, and Damaseni Ntahimpera, thank you for your unwavering love and support since birth and since the beginning of my authorship.

Bruce Sakindi III, thank you for introducing me to Eric Koester and the wonderful community of authors at creator. You were by my side all the way and you pushed to the challenge. Luca Mcleod, it was you who during my sophomore year in college that I would rave to about my first writings and you who encouraged me to dream big and to keep going. John Schauber, as both a friend and God father, you and Curtis have made a huge difference in my life, and I will be forever grateful for the amazing memories that you both helped in creating. Luma Mufleh, you have always believed in me, on and off the soccer field; it was you who pushed me to the limit both mentally and physically to seek my potential as a former refugee, student, and athlete.

A huge thank you to the best camera man, Tin Win. Those long hours recording on Pa Sheikh’s special android phone and those great moments of laughing until the morning. You helped significantly in making the book’s promo-video turn out to be incredible.

I would like to express my deepest appreciation to you all. I received generous support from all of you, including, Pa sheikh Ngom, Sirena Register, Nmachi Okere, Hermon Gebrezgiabher, Amponsah Asamoah, Michidael Ceard, Johania Charles, Cindy Luc, Samantha Ternelus, Sandy Dang, Ya Yang, Jim Dimarogonas, Dau Doldol, Isabelle Darling, Ali Kabir, Harmony (Anne-Marie) Ilunga, Jennifer Sanhou, Ojay Lewis, Victor Zamora, Aude-Marie Alexandra Ackebo, Glenn A. Bowen, Hilary Weaver, Muhoza Valence, Aime Obedi, Hycinthe Mekourou, Janelle Forbes, Khamis Jaden, Maria Drattell, Ogbia Afeworkie, Wahid Khaleqdad, Thein Han, Hawraa Hassan, Cecile Mpawenimana, Christina Johnson, Chance Muderhwa, Pierrette Barge, Bineyam Tumbo, Nishimwe Maria-Goreth, Jenny Hess, Susie Gauthier, Martina Muñoz, Stefano Cammarota, Paola Lopez-Hernandez, Jacques Musavyimana, Eric Koester, Manirambona Eveline, Andre Swaby, Robin Olson, Brianne Miller, Yamilet Hernandez, Ashley Baquero, Denis Ordonez, Valencia Martinez, Sarah Ruiz, Paola Melendez Reyes, Jenise Smalls, Matthew Cameron, Zhonnel Bailey, Johanssen Grandoit, Jonas Nzambimana, Claudine Niyonsenga, Marvelous Niyomahoro, Delphine Niyonizeye, Claude Niyonkuru, Grier Kellett, Courtney Tucker, Nikki Wiggins, Camilo A. Martinez, Liliana Sanchez, LaQuontae Wright, Karli Zschogner, Devin Davis, Lilia DiBello, Victor Romano, Liz James, Courtney Berrien, Tiffani Knowles, Julia Lutgendorf, Lindsey Walker, Corina Sanchez, Evdoxia Mastrominas, Keeilyn Vicente, and Carleigh Knight. Thank you all for pushing my campaign forward, helping me fund the book, and believing in me.

I am particularly grateful for the assistance provided by New Degree Press and staff, specifically Linda Berardelli, Alaisha Verdeflor, Brian Bies, Jamie T., Amanda Brown, Mackenzie Finklea, Heather Gomez, ChandaElaine Spurlock, Kristy Carter, Nekisha Wilkins, Lyn S., Gina Champagne, Gjorgji Pejkovski, Milos Mandic, Aleksandra Dabic, and Jennifer Candiotti.

Introduction

My family and I arrived in the United States in 2007 as Burundian refugees after the long and exhausting process of vetting, inquisitions, and experiencing moments of uncertainty. We sometimes questioned whether we would be resettled or not because waiting played a big part in the process. I was born in a refugee camp called Camp Lukole in Tanzania after my family fled violence and genocides in the Great Lakes Region of East Africa, Burundi and Rwanda. Growing up in Camp Lukole was a challenge for my family and the people around us. Paradoxically, the life we led was substantial as it was our reality. It was not out of the norm for my family to be tested every day, non-metaphorically, and it was normal for me to drink dirty water or tolerate tapeworms and jiggers. This was a life I was born into. The philosopher Søren Kierkegaard speculated that, Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced. The refugee experience is invariably severe. It is a life that no one should be subjected to. It is a reality that is very flawed and should not be lived in for too long.

From a young age, I made attempts to scrutinize aspects of my own life, my family’s, and the lives of people around me from a unique perspective. I am constantly observing the why’s behind where we are in life and what impedes us from reaching our fullest potential. I am particularly fascinated with the trajectory of those of us who have had traumatic life experiences, such as being a refugee, for obvious reasons. I began studying and interviewing successful people who had a similar experience to my own. It turns out there are many of them. One of the most exceptional people I spoke with was Sandy Dang. Sandy arrived in the United States as a Vietnamese refugee at the age of thirteen after three years of moving from warehouse to warehouse to warehouse in Hong Kong as they waited to be recognized as a people who want to settle and rebuild their lives.

We have been through a lot, war and refugee camps, so we know that we have to keep having hope, so that we can move forward, said Sandy. Since then, she has kept moving forward in all aspects of her life. Once a refugee and now a world-class leader, Sandy Dang and her accomplishments are the glowing example of what all refugees could aspire to achieve. She is succeeding today because of the lessons she learned as a refugee. In most cases, the refugee experience is prolonged while world leaders debate on why they should not take in refugees. Over the years, the number of refugees around the world fluctuated as violence, persecution, and war erupted and died down. Currently, the world experiences a crisis bigger than ever before as the number of refugees around the world increases.

As of 2020, there are over 70.8 million children, men, and women who have been forcibly displaced all over the world. Still, 37,000 people are forced to flee their homes every day due to conflict or persecution. Of these 70.8 million people, sixty-seven percent come from just five countries: Syria, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Myanmar, and Somalia.¹ According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, eighty-four percent of refugees are magnanimously hosted by nations where economic opportunities are limited.² The world is finally waking up as we are forced to acknowledge the millions of families and children that lie at our doorsteps, gates, fences, walls, and borders, needing assistance, hoping to find a home, and longing for a future.

It is a crisis in and of itself that leaders around the world either do not know what to do, are hesitating, shocked, speculating, or just making excuses. I believe people want to give, and I hope you internalize the opposite of how the media and politicians knowingly or unknowingly portray refugees. Lately, certain media outlets portray refugees as these other people almost as if they are creatures far from being human and far from this world. Refugees might not be living their lives comfortably in peace or in health, but they are still living, and they are as alive as you or I are. Let us not lose touch with their humanity. Let us not ostracize or neglect them. What you could do is welcome them and see them as sisters, brothers, friends and neighbors, potential leaders, teachers, doctors, lawyers, cooks, advocates, and integral members of our society.

Truly understanding that refugees are human and individuals not numbers or a burden as the media has represented them to be is a huge step toward supporting refugees, so they can go on to contribute in changing the world for the better. Several former refugees, like Sandy Dang, have proven that their mindset after these traumatic experiences helped them to become great leaders, entrepreneurs, teachers, and members of society. When former refugees hone this growth mindset of overcoming trauma and understanding that their experiences make them unique and exceptional beings, it can be game changing.

Indeed, this mindset is so powerful because it is evidence of the strength within the human mind, spirit, and body. I especially believe in this mindset of hope and perseverance, dedication and hard work, creativity and problem solving, empathy, compassion, patience, ambition, and adaptation.

I was compelled to write this book because I was curious to learn more about this growth mindset and how former refugees have utilized it to get ahead in life and lead companies, communities, and nations. I feel that my own experiences make me the perfect person to shine a light on this because I have found research from experts (who themselves were refugees), I work with refugees, and because I believe in refugees worldwide.

I also believe refugees should be seen from a unique perspective—they are phoenixes capable of rising above and are full of potential. If he or she has proper support, there is nothing they cannot achieve. I have seen so many people in my life achieve phenomenal things or push themselves to greater heights. I have seen the compassion mixed with the appreciation of life as they interact with others. It is truly amazing how completely human they are after enduring inhumane conditions in camps for years and some for generations.

A Note to Readers

Throughout the book, I tell personal stories a boy named Karenzo. In the book, he reflects on his life in the refugee camp and shares his interesting childhood moments and journey to the United States. While Karenzo is sharing a true story that is based on real experiences and in real places, his character is meant to be a symbol of the children around the world waiting in refugee camps or trying to assimilate to new cultures in foreign countries. Karenzo is just one of millions of refugee kids, and his camp is just one of the thousands of refugee camps around the world.

The name Karenzo is also the actual name of my youngest brother who was born in the United States, and who has lived a completely different life from the one I was born into. Calling myself Karenzo in this book allows me to tell the story in third person and to create a captivating piece of literature encompassing imagery and the philosophy of life while still telling my very real story. I was only a child; I just wanted to eat, sleep, and play. My childhood self represents the millions of kids worldwide who live or have lived a life that was imposed on them…a life unfit for a child.

I believe I have a calling to write this book, but more than that, I believe deeply in the humanity and individuality of refugees, who with the right support are individuals with some of the highest potential on earth.

The Mindset of a Refugee: Understanding the Human Potential for Current and Former Refugees to Change our Planet is a book for anyone who is interested in helping, understanding, and working with refugees. Do not be discouraged by the negativity about refugees that the media, powerful leaders, and the people around you impart. This is a calling for you to go forth, humanize, support, and not pity refugees because it will uplift a community of extraordinary people and create a better world for you and for me.

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1 Kathryn Reid, Forced to flee: Top countries refugee are coming from.

2 Charlotte Edmond, 84% of refugees live in developing countries.

PART I:

HOW WE GOT HERE

CHAPTER I:

Chronicles

The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.

–Albert Einstein

Hutu-Tutsi Conflict

Three tribes: Hutus, Tutsis, and Twa lived together in the kingdom of Ruanda-Urundi and co-existed in the Great Lakes Region of East Africa. Between the majority tribes Hutus and Tutsis, a person who was considered Tutsi owned a lot of cattle and lived closer to the mwami (King), while a Hutu was one who lived farther from the king and was a farmer. Because of the occupational differences, the Tutsi were wealthy and powerful, but the Hutu were the majority who were mostly poor.³ It is one of the many reasons why the colonizers allowed the Tutsi leaders to keep power and maintain control over the new colony. In the early 1800s, the mass killings of thousands of people in the kingdom of Urundi (modern day Burundi) rendered the first thousand to become refugees as they fled the country to Ruanda (modern day Rwanda). The killings years later intensified because of a great conflict between two ethnic groups whose division was sharpened by the Belgians as they had control of the Ruanda-Urundi colony. The colonizers also required that everyone carry around identity cards, making the difference between the two tribes a racial one. A person was considered Tutsi usually if one had lighter skin color, a narrow nose, and had a tall, slender body. A Hutu was the opposite: shorter, darker, and with a deeper voice. Such preposterous classifications would later cause people to lose their lives as there really was no clear way to tell the difference.⁴ The colonial rulers precipitated a division by classifying and categorizing a people which bred tension and violence among the Hutu and Tutsi people.

After the kingdom gained independence in 1962, it separated into the Republic of Rwanda and the Kingdom of Burundi. Great conflicts among Hutus and Tutsis arose because of tensions between the minority Tutsis in both new Burundi and new Rwanda. After ten years, in Burundi, 200,000 people were massacred by a Tutsi army. The world speculated or rather hesitated to step in; this was a grave mistake. After twenty years of built up tension and thirst for vengeance among a people, the world witnessed utmost horror.⁵ It was in 1994, when a plane carrying the prospective Hutu leader was shot down over the capital Kigali in Rwanda. To the majority, this was considered an assassination of a Hutu leader, which triggered a great conflict in Rwanda—the Hutu/Tutsi conflict in which over 800,000 people were killed.

It was complete savagery featuring tragedy after tragedy as friends and loved ones lost their lives. No one was safe, as anyone could be a victim of vengeance and retaliation in Burundi or Rwanda. My parents fled to Rwanda as the killings intensified in Burundi, joining the two million families that fled to neighboring countries and many straight into refugee camps