Will an Influx of Refugees Change Your Community?

In Managing for Long-term Community Recovery in the Aftermath of Disaster, researchers Alesch, Arendt and Holly note the effects that a disaster can have on the demographics of a community. In one example, they cite the case of a community in Southern California after the Northridge earthquake. Prior to the earthquake, the community was composed largely of retired aerospace industry workers, many of whom decided to move away after the earthquake. They were replaced by primarily young Hispanic families. This influx of new residents generated a demand for different stores, restaurants, entertainment and so forth and changed the entire character of the community.

Demographic shifts are not limited to disasters. Given the refugee crisis in Europe, the United States can expect a new wave of immigration as these displaced people seek new lives. Indeed, President Obama has pledged to accept 10,000 refugees this year. Historically, immigrants tend to cluster into communities where they can be among people that share their language and culture. This may well lead to dramatic demographic shifts that will have an impact on our ability to provide services to your community.

Consider some of the issues with which we will be confronted:

• Communications – Although language is one of the most obvious barriers to communications, it is just the start. We need to understand how the new community gets and transfers information. Written communications aren’t always effective and social media may not be common. Further, we need to identify community leaders who can help us get our message out. We have learned, for example, that in many African-American communities the best way to reach people is through local churches. Ministers have a credibility within the community that the media and government announcements do not.
  
  
• Distrust of government – Refugees more than likely have had bad experiences with government. Either government has not provided the services that were needed or services were only available if you could pay for them. Police forces may have been repressive. Consequently, there is a reluctance on the part of many new immigrants to seek out or accept government services. The problem is exacerbated if the immigrant is undocumented: during the Loma Prieta earthquake, in California, many migrant workers were reluctant to seek assistance because they feared being deported.
  
  
• Cultural conflicts – Well-meaning attempts at assistance can sometimes have unintended consequences if we fail to account for cultural differences. During one relief mission in the Pacific, I received a costly lesson on the difference between long grain versus short grain rice and fruit cocktail versus other tinned fruit. We have also seen conflicts over our treatment of remains during mass casualty events when religious practices of various faiths were not considered.
  
  

Emergency managers cannot influence demographic shifts but we need to be aware of them. Our goal is to provide services to all our citizens and to do that we must understand and consider their needs in our planning. Communities are rarely static and our planning needs to be just as dynamic.