Final Project

   

 

Proposal:

For our final assignment, Emma and I will be analyzing a scene that occurs in chapter 27 of Americanah. We decided that a comic strip would best to convey our message, as it could present a back-and-forth approach between characters. It will be able to show different viewpoints and can engage a multitude of audiences.

The inspiration for this scene comes from wanting to draw more attention to the social stigma that surrounds refugees, immigrants, and asylum seekers in the country that they are trying to relocate to. The anxiety they feel and the emotional trauma that they experience as they assimilate, as well as wanting to feel comfort that they are seen and heard in their new country, rather than just be invisible. Specifically, in chapter 27, Obinze reads only American newspapers and magazines, instead of British ones that were focusing on issues revolving around immigration. Later, Obinze encounters a woman on a train reading a newspaper about immigrants, which causes Obinze to feel lonely, as well as made him recognize that those who are natively from the United Kingdom can deny their hand in colonization. Our assignment will follow a similar path by showing the viewpoint of someone trying to obtain citizenship. It will also show the viewpoint of someone who was born in the United Kingdom and their career as an immigration officer. There will be dialogue between the two characters are they attempt to navigate this complex interaction. Different avenues will be explored, such as personal feelings, immigration laws in the country, social stigma, priviledge, and anxiety. A source we can use, although it is based on immigration in the United States and Mexico, is the academic journal, “Felons, not Families”: Criminalized illegality, stigma, and membership of deported “criminal aliens,” by Heidy Sarabia. This journal outlines U.S. immigration in the 1990s as they deported “criminal aliens,” and the affect this approach has had on effectively criminalizing these individuals which creates “consequences for their identity,” (Sarabia 284). While this source is not ideal, it goes in-depth on the issues that deportation and citizenship have on the identity of an individual, as well as their “reputation” that can develop due to the language used in the media to describe them.

Character List:

Obinze: A calm, intelligent young man, well-spoken illegal immigrant who works full time as a sales representative for the purpose of this script. This slightly imaginary scene takes place in Chapter 27. At this point in the novel, Obinze has been denied a visa and is currently an illegal immigrant. He is constantly on alert of those around him, as well as the current political climate and social stigma that surrounds those who are refugees, immigrants, and asylum seekers.

 

Immigration Officer: The immigration officer is taller and more built than Obinze, which adds to the intimidation and fear that Obinze feels during the interaction. He is white. He is in his work uniform and has a scowl on his face while reading his book on the train.

 

Women who accidentally bumps the immigration officer so he drops his book.

Script:

Characters are set away from each other on the train. The immigration officer is reading. Obinze notices and begins an internal dialogue.

 

Immigration officer is reading. He seems intimidating and not approachable. For now, he does not notice Obinze and is very focused on his book, “Politics of Immigration in France, Britain, and the United States: Comparative Study.”

 

Obinze’s thoughts: I wonder what he is thinking as he reads that. Did he get into this line of work to help or to harm?

 

Immigration Officer continues reading.

 

Obinze thoughts: If he notices me, will he see me for me or simply the color of my skin?

 

Immigration officer shifts in his seat slightly and causes Obinze to get nervous and look away quickly.

 

Immigration officer continues reading without noticing Obinze

 

The train stops and a woman rushes past, bumping the officer and causing him to drop his book.

 

Immigration officer drops book by Obinze’s feet and Obinze picks it up and hands it back.

 

Immigration officer: oh I’m sorry, thank you.

 

Obinze: Not a problem, officer.

 

Obinze can feel his fight or flight instinct start to kick in, but knows he must remain calm as to not raise any alarms, as he is an illegal immigrant.

 

Immigration officer immediately notices Obinze’s accent. He thinks its intriguing that Obinze addressed him as officer. He decides to close/put away his book and strike up a conversation.

 

Immigration officer: Where are you going?

 

Obinze: (insert fake location) I’m going to a work at my office.

 

Immigration officer: Oh, where do you work?

 

Obinze: in sales

 

Immigration officer: Ah, that must be bloody boring.

 

Obinze, still sensing danger, manages a slight smile.

 

Obinze: What do you do for work?

 

Immigration officer: I interview people coming into the country in the immigration office

 

Obinze: What made you get into that line of work?

 

Immigration officer: I mainly wanted to protect the UK against potential terrorists

 

Obinze is an illegal immigrant that has been denied a visa. Obinze understands that he is taking a risk by asking questions of the immigration officer, but Obinze knows he has an opportunity here to answer some of his lingering questions. Since he has been denied, he feels ostracized and marginalized by this society. Obinze believes that by asking questions of the officer, it may help him to gather further information and insight into his situation, as well as the viewpoint of the officer.

 

Obinze: So why do you deny those who are not terrorists and want a better life?

 

Immigration officer: This conversation just took a turn.

 

Immigration officer: I’m not the bad guy here. There are certain rules we have to follow, put in place by the government. That isn’t a part of the job I enjoy, but often, it has to be done.

 

Obinze: I suppose I understand that.

 

Immigration officer: Do you feel differently?

 

Obinze: I suppose I have a unique viewpoint since a lot of my friends have come from Nigeria, so I just see a different side of the system that often does not benefit those who are seeking a better life.

 

Immigration officer: I can see where you’re coming from, unfortunately it isn’t always fair.

 

Obinze gives a small smile

 

Obinze: Yes, unfortunately.

 

Immigration officer: Well, this is my stop. Have a nice day.

 

Obinze smiles and waves.

 

Obinze: You too.

Bibliography:

Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. Americanah. Alfred A. Knopf, 2016.

The novel, “Americanah,” follows Ifemelu and Obinze as they journey from Nigeria to the United States and England. Along the way, they fall in love and have the navigate their personal feelings, as well as their relationships with others while they are apart. Ifemelu travels to Philadelphia for college and struggles to feel as if she is at home and welcomed in the United States. Ifemelu begins to feel very depressed and no longer communicates with Obinze.

Obinze moves to England after he graduates, but is unable to find a job. His visa expires and he eventually becomes an illegal immigrant in England. He attempts to pay to be married to a girl in England in order to attain a green card, but is caught and sent back to England.

Ifemelu’s time in the United States is a rollercoaster of emotions. She begins to date Blaine and has a very popular blog about race. As a couple, they both start to support Obama’s presidency and stay in a relationship because of their support for him mostly. Ifemelu gets the opportunity to stay in the United States with a fellowship, but decides to end her relationship with Blaine and return to Nigeria.

In the meantime, Obinze is married to Kosi and they have a daughter. Obinze and Ifemelu finally decide to meet again and their past flame beings again, although since Obinze is married, they must end. Obinze then attempts to divorce Kosi, which she does not allow. Eventually, Obinze returns to Ifemelu.

 

B_TARGETjobs, Ross. “Immigration Officer: Job Description.” TARGETjobs, 23 Feb. 2017, targetjobs.co.uk/careers-advice/job-descriptions/279811-immigration-officer-job-description.

This media source overviews the duties of an immigration officer during their time of work. Some of these duties include, “observing passengers passing through passport control areas, examining passports, conducting interviews, taking fingerprints, carrying out surveillance, organising the removal of passengers who fail to qualify for entry, collecting statistics, and writing reports.” The article outlines different organizations that can employ immigration officers. The training and qualifications of immigration officers are also given, such as passing medical checks and security clearance. Other qualifications that are not required but provides advantages, include being fluent in multiple languages, or legal studies, superb A level or GCSE results. More strict qualifications for immigration officers in the UK are all candidates must be British Nationals, pass security checks, and medical checks. The article also states that, “all new recruits will receive an initial period of training that takes 9 weeks.”

Key skills for an immigration officer is also of utmost importance. The article states that “Immigration officers need to be assertive and have confidence in their own judgement while being fair and impartial. They need to be quick-thinking and observant to stop potential illegal immigrants. They have excellent communication and interpersonal skills as they regularly deal with international visitors with limited English language ability. They can be firm yet polite with people who may be frightened or aggressive. They are able to work independently as well as part of a team.” Immigration Officer’s versatile work ethic gives them a different look on how to handle each immigrant that comes through.

 

Blinder, Scott, and Lindsay Richards. “UK Public Opinion toward Immigration: Overall Attitudes and Level of Concern.” Migration Observatory, 7 June 2018, migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/uk-public-opinion-toward-immigration-overall-attitudes-and-level-of-concern/.

This media source researched and provided an overview of the opinion that the United Kingdom citizens had towards immigrants and their level of concern. The discussion follows four core questions which are: “Do people favour or oppose immigration to the UK and is it seen as one of the most important issues facing the country? Secondly, are attitudes changing over time? Third, how does the UK compare to its European neighbours in its views? And Fourth, in light of the public debate around Brexit, how divided are we over attitudes to immigration?”

The source found that Britains do not look favorably at immigration, although there is evidence that attitudes are starting to change. Statistically, the data showed that 58% of Britain’s wanted to reduce the number of immigrants, while 30% are in favor of keeping the number where it currently is. In relation to attitude, there has been a shift in attitudes since 2013. Now, 45 percent agree that the number of immigrants is too high, compared to that opinion being 64 percent 4 years ago.

Britains do believe that immigration is the most important topic right now. When polls and surveys were taken, Britain’s showed a different preference of immigrants depending on their country of origin. The data showed that in 2017, 10 percent of Britain’s said that no Australians should be allowed in, while 37 percent stated that no Nigerians should be allowed.

The article did a great job at outlining the different data as it pertains to immigration, comparing it to other countries in Europe, and identifying the different factors for each set of data. It overviewed the opinions of the public, most of which Obinze would have interacted with on a daily basis. It helps to provide insight into the issue and the script.

 

Sarabia, Heidy. “Felons, Not Families”: Criminalized Illegality, Stigma, and Membership of Deported “criminal Aliens.” Migration Letters, vol. 15, no. 2, Apr. 2018, pp. 284–300. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=129478304&site=eds-live&scope=site.

While this source is between the United States and Mexico, it is beneficial for understanding the social stigma that surrounds illegal immigrants and how they are viewed by citizens and officers alike. The journal overviews the stigma that surrounds migrants who are deported and often labeled as “criminal aliens.” This label can often criminalize these migrants because of the system under which the United States operates. The journal further evaluates how this can have negative impacts on people’s identities if they are deported.

The journal states that  “Consequently, the legal status of those unauthorized in the U.S. is so stigmatized that it has been called it an abject status, defined as “those in the lowest, most contemptible, and most wretched social status” (Gonzales and Chavez 2012:256).” This statement furthers the viewpoint of the journal on how illegal immigrants are seen and why the stigma surrounding them is so horrible.

This article was useful for research because it allows an insight into deportation and citizenship of an individual. It also allows insight into the damaging effects that deportation and the label “illegal alien” or “illegal immigrant” can have on immigrant’s identity. Through this source, Obinze’s thoughts during chapter 27 when he sees the woman reading the newspaper can be further understood by the reader. He feels ostracized and seen as a criminal or a threat to Britain’s way of life. He also feels like she views him in a negative light, regardless of Obinze’s intentions for living a productive life.

 

Turnbull, Sarah1. “Immigration Detention and the Racialized Governance of Illegality in the United Kingdom.” Social Justice, vol. 44, no. 1, Jan. 2017, pp. 142–164. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=126568813&site=eds-live&scope=site.

This scholarly source outlines the suspected racism in Britain’s immigration system. This text overviewed how the british government handled immigrants, asylum seekers, and refugees. The text found that not only did the system produce a hostile environment, it also systematically spreads racism through the lack of diversity within the staff. The journal states, “the lack of racial diversity among staff was stark, with predominantly white “keepers” and non-white “kept.”  The immigration officers were mostly white, while those they were in charge of handling were most often not, as it was described in this quote from the journal: “The telling point, however, was that whiteness was associated with authority and with an outsider status.”

The detention center often handles those who are poor and have a more difficult time living a “standard” life in the United Kingdom. It often inhibits their ability to “work, rent, bank, or obtain a driver’s license in the UK,” which often leads them to leave the country because they can not live a life there.

The article provided an example of an interaction between an officer and a detainee. The detainee was Brazilian and was making comments that British citizens are lazy. The officer got involved when hearing these claims and take offense to these comments. The officer then decided to immediately end the argument, rather than allowing it to lead to an important conversation. In this process, the officer further marginalized the detainee and their experiences. This article helps for insight into Obinze’s oppression that he experiences in London while trying to gain citizenship.

Pitch

Visual:

For our final assignment, Emma and I will be analyzing a scene that occurs in chapter 27 of Americanah. We decided that a comic strip would best to convey our message, as it could present a back-and-forth approach between characters. It will be able to show different viewpoints and can engage a multitude of audiences.

The inspiration for this scene comes from wanting to draw more attention to the social stigma that surrounds refugees, immigrants, and asylum seekers in the country that they are trying to relocate to. The anxiety they feel and the emotional trauma that they experience as they assimilate, as well as wanting to feel comfort that they are seen and heard in their new country, rather than just be invisible. Specifically, in chapter 27, Obinze reads only American newspapers and magazines, instead of British ones that were focusing on issues revolving around immigration. Later, Obinze encounters a woman on a train reading a newspaper about immigrants, which causes Obinze to feel lonely, as well as made him recognize that those who are natively from the United Kingdom can deny their hand in colonization. Our assignment will follow a similar path by showing the viewpoint of someone trying to obtain citizenship. It will also show the viewpoint of someone who was born in the United Kingdom and their career as an immigration officer. There will be dialogue between the two characters are they attempt to navigate this complex interaction. Different avenues will be explored, such as personal feelings, immigration laws in the country, social stigma, priviledge, and anxiety. A source we can use, although it is based on immigration in the United States and Mexico, is the academic journal, “Felons, not Families”: Criminalized illegality, stigma, and membership of deported “criminal aliens,” by Heidy Sarabia. This journal outlines U.S. immigration in the 1990s as they deported “criminal aliens,” and the affect this approach has had on effectively criminalizing these individuals which creates “consequences for their identity,” (Sarabia 284). While this source is not ideal, it goes in-depth on the issues that deportation and citizenship have on the identity of an individual, as well as their “reputation” that can develop due to the language used in the media to describe them.

Sarabia, Heidy. “Felons, Not Families”: Criminalized Illegality, Stigma, and Membership of Deported “criminal Aliens.” Migration Letters, vol. 15, no. 2, Apr. 2018, pp. 284–300. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=129478304&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Article 2: How to Make America Greater Again

This piece by Eduardo Porter touches on the aspects of wage in immigrants. Wage specifically pertaining to refugees from other countries making more money for the same job that an American would make. Porter enhances the fact that coming to America is better for natives. For example, a 35 year old Peruvian man working for the Peruvian economy would make around $452 a month. However, that same Peruvian male working in the United States would make $1,717 per month. Porter says that there are obvious reasons why immigrants come to the U.S and the main one being the financial stability that they gain once they cross that border. However, that stability stays within the one time that they cross opposed to crossing multiple times.

Porter also touches on the ignorance that our government specifically has to the natural human instinct to gaining more financial stability. He inserts an excerpt from a professor, “If trade deals were strictly about efficiency and growing the size of the overall economic pie… trade negotiators would drop everything else on their agenda and spend their whole time trying to strike a bargain…” If the government is so adamant about gaining stability, then why should they penalize immigrants for wanting the same? By simply allowing immigrants to freely cross the border could “double the world’s gross domestic product” (Porter 2017).

This strongly left biased piece leaves some good questions for the readers while including valuable statistics. The statistics still leaves the readers some room to formulate their own opinion. I think this is a well written piece, although I have some bias myself.

 

Porter, Eduardo. “How to Make America Greater: More Immigration.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 7 Feb. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/02/07/business/economy/restricting-immigration-would-make-america-smaller-not-greater.html.

Article 3: Inside Immigration Law

As someone who has a German grandmother who was an immigrant, I have become intrigued as to how the process of immigration itself has changed over the years. When I asked my grandmother about her  immigration process, she said that the experience as a whole was difficult but she never went into depth about the difficulty. After reading the article, “Inside Immigration Law” I received knowledge about the ins and outs of migration policies in Germany over the years. The article begins with a testimony of an immigrant named Amira who came to Germany due to the frantic civil war. However, their application for a refugee asylum was not approved thus in turn they were deported to their state of origin. However, Amira never actually owned a residence permit which is why she and her family were not approved in the first place.

The article provides credible interviews with German immigrants that had a failed application processes. The article also provides in-depth research about why Germany has implemented an immigration law and how it has affected immigrants. The German immigration law categorizes migrants by code and by numbers instead of giving individualized attention. This is one of the main problems with immigration approval because people are looked as numbers. Throughout the article, 5 immigrants all with different lives and qualifications are patiently waiting to hear back to get approval. The study itself is about four months long and focuses on how German government actually approves those trying to move into the country. The study gathered facts regarding how the process is assessed as a whole and ways to change it to make it more personable.

 

Eule, Tobias G. Inside Immigration Law: Migration Management and Policy Application in Germany. Routledge, Taylor Et Francis Group, 2016.

Article Summary 1

The Article, “Yes Immigration Hurts American Workers.” The author of the article, George Borjas has a very opinionated view on immigration as a whole. In his article, he states that immigrants are the ones who are taking Americans’ jobs. His opening paragraph opens up with a summary about his studies and admits that he has been studying immigration for over 30 years. Trump has also used one of Borjas economic papers as a reference for the wall idea.

Borjas points out that immigrants value is slowly increasing based upon the amount of government assistance that they have. Immigrants gain more government financial needs oppose to natives. Immigrants also pay lower taxes than natives since they are new to the country. Borjas also points out that the “responsibility nationalist policy” also detriments natives. With conflicting views, policy fights can get violent which is why Borjas believes no one brings up the problem.

This article is overall a very opinionated piece. His word choice and anti-clinton views show that this piece has a right bias. His anti immigration statements like, “anyone who tells you that immigration doesn’t have any negative effects doesn’t understand how it really works” (Borjas).

Overall, I thought that this piece could have been written better if the author did not put all of his strong views on the table. Politic pieces that are written well are the ones that provide points from both the left and right side.

 

Borjas, George J., et al. “Yes, Immigration Hurts American Workers.” POLITICO Magazine, www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/09/trump-clinton-immigration-economy-unemployment-jobs-214216.

Provocation

Chapter 1 of Americanah is filled with questions, recognitions and hesitations to being acclimated in new cultures. This theme can also be a lesson for readers as well. Ifemelu has recognitions of differences in herself and cultural surroundings as she travels through New York City from New Jersey to go to a new hair salon.  As she travels through New York City, she finds a sense of relief that other black passengers get on the train with her. However, she notices that white passengers get on as well. She is not particularly use to this because everyone from her town in New Jersey is white and thin whereas back in Nigeria, everyone is just the opposite. Coming to America has made her realize that she missed home in Nigeria and wants to travel back. After the encounter with the man at the grocery store calling her “fat”, her self confidence began to slowly spiral and she stopped writing on her blogs. Ifemelu realizes that it is time to go home as she breaks up with her current american boyfriend, Blaine. “It brought with it amorphous longings, shapeless desires, brief imaginary glints of other lives she could be living, that over the months melded into a piercing homesickness” (Adichie 7).

Ifamelu begins to realize very early on in the book that she does not want to live in America anymore and that she misses her old life. What do you think was the ultimate factor for her to decide that she wants her old life back?

Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. Americanah. New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 2013.

Carlos Hernandez Reflection

Walking into class with the expected visit from Carlos Hernandez, I was a bit prepared for the usual “guest speaker” spiel. However, little did I know that this would be one of the most informative, intellectual, and inspiring chats from a very knowledgeable academic. I began to tune in very closely when Hernandez was discussing his experience in poetry. I had read a couple of his pieces before class and knew that I would be interested in the thoughts behind the work. As someone who has previously tried to get published for my poetry through my word press platform, I realized that I had a lot to learn. I had learned from Hernandez that rejection is actually a crucial part to creating the best piece. He was discussing another platform other than WordPress called “Duotrope” where entry level poets like myself can submit work and potentially get paid. During his conversation with everyone in class, I was further intrigued to listen to his backstory. As someone who has an immigrant grandmother, it was interesting to hear someone else’s experience coming to the states. I particularly liked the fact how his experience as an immigrant has shaped his writing and art in a positive aspect. I really enjoyed the visit and am glad that I opened up my mind to the experience because if I didn’t I would not have gained inspiring knowledge. I plan on submitting some of my pieces to other platforms, thanks to Carlos Hernandez.

Grant Proposal: McKesson and LIRS

McKesson Medical Care is one of the biggest healthcare company in the world. They will partner with the LIRS in order to provide the proper care that refugees can get. The first step to gaining this grant would be to create a relationship between Mckesson and the refugees so trust can be implemented during the process. Mckesson has billions of donors who give a certain amount almost every year. Mckesson has a very good reputation with working with those in poverty as well, so it is likely for them to partner with a non profit organization like the LIRS. People who become refugees in a foreign country may not have the proper access to not just health insurance but health care in general; this is where McKesson steps in. The early steps will include yearly check ups for those who are staying at that asylum. This will provide an introductory phase to the process as a whole.

Building My Business : Career Panel

The Entrepreneurship Career Panel was a great experience. As I am someone who rarely participates in on-campus activities, I feel as though I was inspired with this particular event. This career panel was specifically helpful because I plan on opening up my own clothing boutique when I get older. The panel helped me gain more knowledge about my dream and I have realized that starting your own business is not smooth sailing. Starting your own business entails many ups and downs but from what I have learned, it is fulfilling in the end. I could relate to the entrepreneurs myself for I also feel that I would like to be in control of my business. All of the speakers believed they could do better than their boss and this idea is what got them motivated. As a college student, I felt inspired to start my own mini business. For example, John Dinkel adopted his entrepreneur characteristics while in college. He was a primary writer for his school newspaper at Salisbury and once he graduated, used his writing skills for sales and marketing.

I have also learned that college is a great way to turn something into a business. For example, Andy Brown of “Eat Pizza” stated that you are surrounded by so many people in college so why not start a business? With an abundance of people my age and in a confined space makes it easy to start a business. Brown also gave good tips such as recognizing the importance of keeping two streams of income when starting out in your business. Since starting your own business entails many ups and downs, having something steady on the side is crucial. Many other tips that the speakers gave were important to reiterate, but I had already known some of these points already. To me, the knowledge of working two jobs while maintaining your business was the most important thing that I have learned at the event.

In Digital Publishing, it is important to brand your business. Websites, social media posts and simply getting your name out there is how you build a business. By producing a website that meets all credentials and targets the desired audience is what will make the business successful. When becoming an entrepreneur it is important to make websites to get the company’s name out there. Since almost everybody uses social media and the internet, it is important to create an aesthetically pleasing website with multiple modes to intrigue your audience. As a Business Communication major, learning about starting up your own business was very helpful. Since I plan to open a clothing boutique, I believe that it is important for me to create a good website that represents exactly what my business will be. By taking Digital Publishing, it will help me use my marketing skills while learning other aspects of website styles, modes, and affordances to create the best site.

 

80 Years in the Making: Refugee Website Analysis

“Our World is facing a refugee crisis of a magnitude not seen since the second World War. This presents us with great challenges and many hard decisions.” ~Pope Francis~

Non-Profit organizations have been established since nearly 80 years ago and are still prominent in today’s world. Refugee organizations such as the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service located in Baltimore, Maryland is constantly updating their website to target towards those who have a passion of giving back. The LIRS contains features that provide rhetorical messages including audience, purpose, context, author and genre to create a multimodal website.

The home page of the site begins with a view of the navigation bar which includes links to pages like “about us, our work, take action, resources, press room, blog and DONATE.” The donate button is bolded in bright orange (unlike the blue theme) on the top right corner. This indicates that the intended audience are people with money who can afford to donate. The website also provides a link that is called “our partners.” Our partners include the church partners that are affiliated with certain activities that the LIRS may provide. The donate button also serves a purpose for possible members of a church that works collaboratively with the LIRS. Members of the EvangelicalLutheran Church in America (ELCA), the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod LCMS, and the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (LELCA) could have a higher chance of donating because they are partnered with the LIRS.

Since the LIRS is a religious focused non-profit, it is important to recognize that refugees who are seeking help may want to work with a lutheran-influenced asylum. The website tailors their focus on those who are religious by inserting a “history” page (underneath the “about us” category,) explaining that the LIRS

has a religious “tone” to the organization as a whole. Refugees and Immigrants who follow a specific religion may favor the fact that it is a Lutheran non profit, for they understand how churches give back to the community and would prefer to be affiliated with this influence. The purpose is to target a group of refugees and with appropriate resources, use them to provide a religious influence on their daily lives.

The overall intention of the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service is to create a religious focused home for refugees and for those who would like to work for a religious focused refugee organization. The LIRS provides a link called “steps to host a refugee Sunday” which shows how your Lutheran church can get involved in service. With programs such as “Refugee Sunday, Faith on the Move, Be not afraid, No Temas, and ELCA Youth Gatherings,” lutheran churches are encouraged to get involved with helping immigrants through the LIRS. 

  

To target every time of demographic, the LIRS uses the internet web overall to capture their audience. They also use images on their website of the statue of liberty as their main theme and the flame in the statue of liberty as their logo to provide a feeling of full acceptance for the potential refugees. Like many non profit websites, the Lutheran Immigrant and Refugee Service website targets everybody. In this day of age, mostly everybody in the world has internet and technology, so for the LIRS to be using the web as their main source of interaction shows they are trying to reach a mass audience. In order to further reach a mass audience of all demographics, the website provides a tiled mosaic structure of a “digital storytelling campaign” to welcome fellow immigrants. The campaign consists of refugees who have previously gone through the LIRS proving the credibility and to shed a positive light on the program.

 

The LIRS does a good job with site exploration. Since there is no sound on the page or any type of video’s generalizing the LIRS, this forces viewers to explore their website a bit more and view other criteria other than the home page to get a feel for the site.  Unlike other refugee sites such as the HIAS, the LIRS does not have a video testimony or audio media. Since viewers are forced to actually read the site a bit more, the LIRS provides postings to get viewers updated with recent news about refugees occurring in the United States. This further emphasizes how important refugee asylums are. The news postings include current events regarding the President of the United States, and LIRS updates. 

Since viewers are forced to explore the page to get more details, people who view this website would most likely access this on their computer, or their phones. The overall layout of the website creates an aesthetically pleasing appearance where viewers read from left to right. The overall facts that readers need to know are dead center, in large text, with no other distractions or information surrounding it. This is done purposefully so people can scroll and analyze the page with ease. 

The previous author of the LIRS (who was president Linda Hartke, 2017) established the site’s credibility by saying that the non profit has been around for 80 plus years. This allows the readers to gain a sense of comfort since it has been established for a long time. With a quick google search, people who view the website could also see awards that the LIRS have received. The site provides an announcement that president, Linda Hartke has won the Maryland International Business Leadership award back in 2017. However, what the site does not mention is that in 2018, Hartke was soon fired as the LIRS CEO due to her “financial irregularities” and “harassment” during her time. This has caused her reputation to soon backfire. 

   

Overall, the site establishes it’s credibility by providing viewers a history page which states that the non-profit has been around since 1939. The LIRS also establishes their credibility by providing a “Loans Customer Portal” button at the top right corner, indicating that the organization has money to give out loans for potential refugees. The LIRS site categorizes as a non-profit refugee website that protects and helps refugees while being welcomed to the community. It is also categorized as a refugee site due to it’s options for asylum seekers as well as the common theme of “donations, ways to get involved, and our work” found on the main header navigation bars of each site. For example, a website called “Refugees International” looks almost identical to the LIRS website with its header options. Refugeesinternational.org creates news postings in a centered alignment as well, just like the Lutheran Immigrant and Refugee Services site however the only difference is that Refugee International categorizes their news as “The Latest from RI.” 

       vs. 

Overall, the Lutheran Immigrant and Refugee Services website is a well organized, aesthetically pleasing site with an abundance of information.  The site provides positive multimodal tactics to grab viewers into providing or receiving help in many ways. The dark blue and light blue color scheme approach of the site comes off as a non-threatening way to getting involved with the LIRS. The overall alignment makes it easy to read and perfect for people with a slim vocabulary. Although the site is easy to navigate and skim, the creator of the site could have provided some auditory and more visual modes to then grab an even larger demographic. People who are blind could use the audio and people who have reading disabilities need the videos to grasp as much information as they can.

 

 

 

 

References: 

“Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service.” LIRS, 6 Feb. 2019, www.lirs.org/.

“Refugees International.” Refugees International, www.refugeesinternational.org/.

Corcoran, Ann. “Lutherans Announce Departure of CEO Hartke amid Claims of Financial Irregularities, Poor Management.” Refugee Resettlement Watch, 14 Feb. 2018, refugeeresettlementwatch.wordpress.com/2018/02/14/lutherans-announce-departure-of-ceo-hartke-amid-claims-of-financial-irregularities-poor-management/.