Refugees Celebrate Thanksgiving Together In Dallas

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DALLAS (KRLD-AM) - More than 200 people who fled to the United States from the war and oppression in their home countries will be spending Thanksgiving together in east Dallas.

Gateway of Grace is hosting its annual dinner at St John's Episcopal Church. Organization founder Samira Page, herself a refugee from Iran, says that for many of the people attending, this will be their first experience with the Thanksgiving holiday.

"It's an opportunity to introduce them to Thanksgiving and the reasons why we give thanks," says Page. "So, it's not only just sharing the values of this holiday, but also the joy of the season."

Among those attending will be a family of five from Syria, who came to Dallas last April.

Last week, Governor Gregg Abbott warned that organizations helping Syrian refugees face losing federal dollars that are doled out by the state. Governor Abbott says he is concerned that opening the doors to people fleeing Syrian puts national security at risk. Hundreds of refugees from Syrian are already living in North Texas. The United Methodist Church, Catholic Charities, the Society of Friends, the Jewish Federation of Dallas and others say complying with Abbott's order would violate federal law - and go against their missions.

Page says, in her experience, helping people find a safe home in the U.S. is the best way to insure against the families becoming disenfranchised and reaching out to negative organizations. "The terrorists recruit people who are not connected to community," says Page. "So, we have this wonderful Christian community and great values in our society and culture that we can share and connect these refugees to."

Gateway of Grace is a Christian organization, but Page says that the services they offer year-round to refugees are not limited to people who identify as Christians themselves.

" And, that is just shocking to them," says Page. "This is really an introduction to them to Christianity, because many of many of them are not familiar with what Christianity is or what Christian values are."

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