{"product_id":"city-of-refugees-the-story-of-three-newcomers-who-breathed-life-into-a-dying-american-town-9780807008201","title":"City of Refugees: The Story of Three Newcomers Who Breathed Life Into a Dying American Town","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFor readers of \u003ci\u003eCaste\u003c\/i\u003e, this intimate portrait of newcomers revitalizing a fading industrial town illuminates the larger canvas of refugee life in 21st century America \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMany Americans imagine refugees as threatening outsiders who will steal jobs or be a drain on the economy. But across the country, refugees are rebuilding and maintaining the American Dream. In\u003ci\u003e City of Refugees\u003c\/i\u003e, journalist Susan Hartman shows how an influx of refugees helped revive Utica, New York, an old upstate manufacturing town that was nearly destroyed by depopulation and arson. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHartman follows 3 of these newcomers over the course of 8 years as they and their families adjust to new lives in America. There's Sadia, a bright, spirited Somali Bantu teenager who rebels against her formidable mother; Ali, an Iraqi translator who creates a home with a divorced American woman but is still traumatized by war; and Mersiha, a hard-working and ebullient Bosnian who dreams of opening a café. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThey are part of an extraordinary migration of refugees from Vietnam, Bosnia, Burma, Somalia, Iraq, and elsewhere, who have transformed Utica over the past four decades--opening small businesses, fixing up abandoned houses, and adding a spark of vitality to forlorn city streets. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOther Rust Belt cities have also welcomed refugees, hoping to jump-start their economies and attract a younger population. \u003ci\u003eCity of Refugees\u003c\/i\u003e is a complex and poignant story of a small city but also of America--a country whose promise of safe harbor and opportunity is knotty and incomplete, but undeniably alive.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Beacon Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/09\/2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780807008201\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 264\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.81lbs","brand":"Susan Hartman","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42769685643445,"sku":"9780807008201","price":15.26,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_0ca5d3f3-733d-4d76-aba6-b70b4565eac4.jpg?v=1678834815","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/city-of-refugees-the-story-of-three-newcomers-who-breathed-life-into-a-dying-american-town-9780807008201","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}