Editor’s note: Rowanne Haley is the manager of Community and Donor Relations at IRCO.
ROWANNE HALEY
FOR THE MID-COUNTY MEMO
Approximately 60 refugees from countries including Nepal, Ethiopia, Myanmar (formerly Burma), Barundi and Cuba recently attended a workshop at the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization on public safety, basic laws and emergency services.
In the countries where many of the attendees formerly lived, people in uniform were not seen as friends or advocates. In fact, many saw police officers as figures of fear, if not terror. The IRCO workshop is designed to begin changing those perceptions while informing the new Americans about how to avoid trouble with the law, how to respond if stopped by police and when to call police for protection.
