I was reading an article in the Baltimore Sun about Hagerstown’s refugee situation. I found a couple points somewhat interesting. The first was something said by Mukhabbat Gilmanova, a Russian Turkish refugee now living in Hagerstown. I think it illustrates one of the main problems with bringing refugees to Hagerstown:
“I really like Hagerstown. I really like the U.S.,” said Gilmanova, 21, who lives with her husband and in-laws and is studying to be a nurse. “I like packing … I like paycheck … I like everything.”
She and her husband live with his family. Many of the refugees resettled in Hagerstown are living in similar situations. Married couples live with the husband’s parents and in some cases, the husband’s grandparents. This might be the norm in Russia and other parts of the world, but it’s not typical here in Hagerstown. I don’t think that is the type of living arrangement most Americans want.
Because refugees are willing to blended families with parents and grandparents, they are able to work for far less then a living wage. Bringing refugees to Hagerstown creates a cheap and ready workforce for local businesses. It helps to drive wages down.
This too is from the Baltimore Sun article:
“To be honest with you, we’ve had a hard time finding people who want to work here from the Hagerstown area,” said Cheryl Eyler of Parker Plastics, who has hired about eight refugees. “The refugees have a great work ethic. They’re here every day, they don’t call in sick and they work hard. … They’re extremely thankful for having a job.”
Eyler currently has a few openings for $10- to $11-an-hour packing jobs. She would like to hire more refugees, she said, but now that is unlikely.
It’s hard to find employees to perform strenuous, manual labor jobs when you are only paying $10 an hour. Especially for employees with a great work ethic and that don’t call in sick. It’s hard to get by in Hagerstown on $10 an hour. That’s probably why many of these refugees sought financial aid from the city and the county. If they were being paid a living wage for their hard work, they wouldn’t need help from local taxpayers. The Virginia Council of Churches decided to quit bringing refugees to Hagerstown because city and county officials refused to assist refugees with money for housing.
If the refugees were earning a living wage in exchange for their hard work and good work ethic, they wouldn’t need help from the government.
