Immigrants, refugees and technology
by Jessica Lynn Medrano, LA Tech4Good volunteer and Data Science for All Fellow
"My family made the unimaginable ~3,000-mile trek to the U.S. in the 80s as refugees from a war-torn country, and what’s even harder to understand is how they started from scratch in America without knowing the culture or language. Although technology has made the transition easier today, it has not yet manifested its maximum potential impact as we’ve seen in other areas, such as grassroots activism.
Read
dot.LA: How Technology Is Changing the Way Refugees Get to Safety
We are very glad to see this article from Brenda Gazzar and dot.LA on the critical role of technology in supporting refugees. The article outlines the work and challenges of several organizations: Refunite, Movement on the Ground, Welcome Tech and the International Rescue Committee, which provides “vital support to Afghans who have endured four decades of violent conflict, as well as natural disasters and the spread of COVID-19.”
Map by ErikaWittlieb from Pixabay
“No one is happy to leave their home country behind”
–Lal Mohammad quoted in For many Afghan refugees, the struggles don’t end when they reach U.S. soil, LA Times August 21, 2021
Watch
TechSoup: Apps for organizations working with refugees and immigrants
One piece of the picture is how tech can connect people with services. TechSoup posed this question:
“How can organizations serving refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants leverage technology to help people find the resources they need?”
And answered it together with Alysha Baratta of PeaceGeeks, Abby Davies of AsylumConnect, Sara Haj-Hassan of Tarjimly and Collin Stevens of USAHello in an August 2021 event - watch it here.
Make sure to follow LA Tech4Good, where I’ll be working on the Immigrant and Refugee Committee to help amplify how the latest technology and data practices are affecting these groups. And drop us a note if you are part of and/or work among immigrant and refugee communities and seek to collaborate. –Jessica