Currently at Refugee and Immigrant Roundtable with @InterfaithMin.

This is part of the @HoustonChron Listening Project, a new initiative to hear what people care about in this city, what they’re interested and what they think we could do better.

“The story of resettlement is so much the story of Houston.” - @srileychronicle

“We are not the experts. We want you to teach us. We are here to listen.” - @FeliciaLMason

We have immigrants and refugees from Ethiopia, Iraq, Mexico, Congo, Russia, Afghanistan and more.

Most of the group gets their news from social media (Facebook, Instagram, Google news, Twitter).

For international news, they go to BBC, Euronews, NYT, NPR, cable news and weekly newspapers in their communities.

But I don’t think there’s a Chronicle subscriber in the group.

. @FeliciaLMason asks how people trust sources of information. Nadia, a 34-year Houstonian originally from Iran, said “there’s so much fake news these days” and said it’s important to make sure something is true before reposting.

Two Interfaith Ministries employees said the Chronicle do a good job investigating, mentioning @MassarahMikati’s story on the women’s empowerment program at @InterfaithMin https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/It-s-the-first-step-in-America-Swimming-13864890.php

Stories written by the Chronicle have attracted notice by national news like @abcnews and @nowthisnews

A volunteer asks what stories are being written about refugee and immigrant success stories. She worries that people wrongly believe refugee/immigrant do not contribute to society.

Another Interfaith Ministries employee said we need to bring more diverse voices into our sources.

“We’re not just coming with a bag, but our brains.”

He said many doctors at Houston’s big hospitals are immigrants.

For the first 10 years, Iran native Nadia said she didn’t celebrate Persian New Year.

“First few years, I was just trying to reshape my personality to fit in. I changed my clothes, my accent and watched movies that everyone watched to talk about.”

Nadia said it became more important to celebrate the traditions and holidays of her home country.

“It’s what makes me, me.”

Esther moved to Houston a year ago with her sister and son. She said she feels at peace, but she’s lucky because she learned some English in Nairobi before coming to the U.S.

She said that refugees who don’t know English can be taken advantage of.

Another Congolese refugee said the Chronicle could provide a better understanding of how emergency assistance works. Rather than automatically call 911 for an emergency, but what other options does a person have?

Breakdowns in understanding of the country’s health care system.

Not just health care, but how to handle evictions, lawyers, dealing with police, car dealers, learning to drive, etc.

An Interfaith Ministries employee originally from Moscow said she has heard that it takes so long for refugees to meet locals once they come to Houston. They often isolate in their immigrant communities and may only be exposed to their case manager.

But spending time with locals will contribute to a sense of normalcy.

Like bringing immigrant or refugee children trick-or-treating. It’s scary at first, like “why are we begging for candy?” But they learn the culture and have fun. And it helps them emigrate.

. @_yichinlee, a Chronicle photographer, asks the group how they learn English while they work and continue to live their religious and social lives. Her family is originally from Taiwan, and she has lived in North Carolina and Minnesota.

. @InterfaithMin said they put a large emphasis on refugees working but they encourage a work-life balance. When they first get to the country, that’s the hardest part and time of most sacrifice.

Flor is from El Salvador. She said the hardest thing has been the language barrier and the lack of family. She worked at Burger King for a while and said she was able to learn the words for the basic ingredients of a hamburger.

Once she found @InterfaithMin, Flor was able to be placed in a M-F job so she could spend more time with her 14-year-old son and find an English class or do a digital program like Duolingo.

An Interfaith Ministries employee said the job has changed in the current administration because rhetoric is not friendly toward immigrant communities.

But they focus on working to provide social and financial services that are already settled in the Houston area.

Refugees are eligible for social and employment services for five years.

What Nadia would like Americans to know about Iran is that the people are kind, hospitable.

“The people of Iran are different from the government of Iran.”

Americans need to learn geography basically. Which I already knew.

“I have several passports but I mostly feel American.”

#DidYouKnow Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee?

“I have yet to see a more culturally rich community or compassionate city than Houston.” - Tehmina, a 22-year Houstonian originally from Pakistan.

Most of the group would like Americans to see the world outside the U.S. and understand the thousands of years of history and culture.

They hope that people outside the the country would know that Americans are kind, generous and advocate for people and not just arrogant or Cowboys.