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                 Refugees Come Together to Celebrate in Houston

   by Greg Flakus

   Texas has become a favored place for refugee resettlement in the United
   States, especially Houston. Ten percent of the refugees in the U.S.
   live in the Lone Star State.

   At a recent World Refugee Day celebration, people who left everything
   behind to find a new home in Houston enjoyed music, dancing, food and
   play.

   Saniha Lakhpaty, who works with the Catholic Charities refugee program,
   organized this year's event, held at the University of Saint Thomas.

   "They left behind a lot, and now they are here, settling into a new
   home," Lakhpaty said. "Houston has more refugees than any other city --
   many Houstonians actually do not know that. This is an opportunity for
   us to come together once a year and celebrate them."

   Most refugees avoid talking about what compelled them to leave their
   countries. "Refugees do not want to tell their story," Lakhpaty said.
   "They don't want to relive it. It is already difficult for them to
   resettle because many of them don't speak English. So, you have
   engineers and doctors working labor jobs just to get started and make
   life for their family."

   One thing that helps is the increasing diversity of Houston's
   population. Zain Alattar, who works with the YMCA's refugee program,
   speaks Arabic and several other languages.

   "I was raised in a pretty multicultural, multilingual environment, so
   now I help out with the refugees and I enjoy supporting the cause,"
   Alattar said.

   Refugees from various countries find common ground playing football,
   called soccer in the United States. So World Refugee Day planners
   brought teams from various nationalities together in a park for a set
   of games.

   One team, the Texas Tigers, was made up of Sudanese refugees. Another
   squad, made up mostly of players from Cuba, Algeria and Iraq, included
   women like Romi from Honduras, who works with Interfaith Ministries.

   "I just want to have fun and see some of the people from other
   agencies," she said, "because we don't talk that much with them and I
   would like to meet them."

   The celebration provided this chance for refugees to come together to
   support each other and embrace their new beginnings in a new homeland.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/refugees-come-togehter-celebrate-houston-texas/2828025.html