Rockford refugees embrace American culture with Thanksgiving celebrations
Thanksgiving is a favorite holiday and long-standing tradition among many American families.
For many refugees, the holiday is a whole new and unfamiliar experience but one they are eager to learn more about, adopt and celebrate as soon-to-be or hopeful Americans.
Flandry Miyamou is unemployed, in a new country, and does not speak the language.
But if you ask him, he has plenty to be thankful for.
More: Winnebago County, Rockford leaders: Keep region friendly to refugees
Miyamou, 44, his wife, Nadege Mouyitou, and their three daughters, ages 17, 11 and 6, along with their friend, Brice Nkaya, all arrived late this summer in Rockford after fleeing their home country in the Republic of Congo.
The French-speaking refugees fled in part because of gangs and political and civil unrest.
With help from the Rockford Refugee Support Program, a not-for-profit social service agency, Miyamou and his family and Nkava have found housing, and Miyamou's and Mouyitou's children are enrolled in Rockford Public Schools.
Miyamou, a mechanic, and Nkaya, a plumber, also have applied for social security cards and are hopeful of landing jobs.
Speaking through Mustafa Abdall, the founder and director of the Refugee Support Program, the Miyamou family and Nkaya also are looking forward to celebrating their very first Thanksgiving in the United States.
Congolese turkey
The Miyamous and Nkaya will do so by participating in the annual Bilingual Thanksgiving, a holiday dinner for Rockford Public School families for whom English is not their first language.
Participants are asked to share a bit of their culture by bringing a dish that they eat in their home country.
Mustafa Abdall said he plans to provide Mouyitou with a turkey, as well, to prepare on Thanksgiving Day.
"She can cook it the Congolese way," he said.
The family also will prepare a side dish of fufu, a starchy root vegetable, similar to sweet potatoes.
Holiday for thankfulness
Mohammad Alhammwi, 20, of Rockford, is from Syria. He, his parents and three brothers and two sisters fled the country eight years ago because of the Civil War that broke out in 2011.
"We were little, and over there was no future for us," Alhammwi said. "It wasn't safe anymore."
Alhammwi, a student at Rasmussen College, is fluent in both Arabic and English.
Alhammwi still remembers his family celebrating their first Thanksgiving in Rockford with their neighbors.
"They are from the Middle East, and they told us about it," he said. The families prepared mansaf, a rice, yogurt dish served with lamb or goat meat.
Alhammwi said he quickly grew to understand the appeal of Thanksgiving because it brings people together and is a time to reflect on who and what you are thankful for in your life.
"It's actually one of the nice things in America," he said. "We love it. We do it every year."
Alhammwi's family has not only adopted the holiday, but also the holiday's most popular dish, turkey.
"We actually have a farm here that we go to and slaughter the turkey and have it fresh," he said.
Chris Green: 815-987-1241; cgreen@rrstar.com; @chrisfgreen
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Illinois refugees celebrating first Thanksgiving embrace holiday
