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From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Mon Mar 28 2011 - 10:44:59 EST
http://www.syracuse.com/kirst/index.ssf/2011/03/post_139.html The
indomitable Nasser Fitwi: One tale from the good Census news in
Syracuse Published:
Sunday, March 27, 2011, 9:42 AM Updated: Monday, March 28, 2011, 8:21 AM
* *By Sean Kirst / The Post-Standard The Post-Standard
On the North Side of Syracuse, Nasser Fitwi is quickly becoming a familiar
marvel. He travels by foot, crossing the street at busy intersections, even
climbing snowbanks when there is no other choice. He often travels downtown,
to the Central Library, where he studies as a means of making headway toward
a job.
He does all that without vision, at least in the classic sense. When he was
8, a little boy working as a shepherd in his native Eritrea, he grew sick
with the measles. The disease took away his eyesight. At 9, he enrolled in a
school for the blind. Nasser fell in love with knowledge. He learned to read
braille. He discovered that education in Eritrea was an honor outweighing
any disability.
“I don’t feel I was blind,” said Nasser. No one treated him that way until
he came to Syracuse.
Almost 11 months ago, Nasser, 50, arrived here from a refugee camp in
Ethiopia. He had been told he was going to Arizona, a hot and arid land.
Instead, he was with a group of refugees who arrived at Hanock International
Airport. They were met by caseworkers from Refugee Resettlement Services, an
arm of Catholic Charities of Onondaga County. No one had told them Nasser
would be on the plane. “Who’s this blind guy?” asked one surprised worker.
Nasser smiled at his hosts. They realized he speaks English.
He was soon an admired figure at the refugee offices at the Northside CYO,
where a stream of daily visitors, in native garb, provide a glimpse into a
source of growth in Syracuse. New U.S. Census numbers indicate the city’s
population dropped by only 1.5 percent from 2000 to 2010 — the tiniest
population decline in the last 50 years for any big Upstate city. While
delighted civic officials are still sifting through those numbers, Paul
Driscoll, commissioner of neighborhood and business development in Syracuse,
said one aspect is clear:
“A new stream of refugees is a constant that we can pinpoint and count. I
absolutely think it’s a definite driver for stabilizing our population.”
In other words, the influx of refugees is among the factors compensating for
any exodus from the city. Several local agencies assist newcomers in their
adjustment. According to statistics provided by Kate Holmes, volunteer
coordinator for Refugee Resettlement Services, about 5,850 refugees arrived
in greater Syracuse over the past decade.
That trend, she said, renews the pattern that originally made Syracuse a
prominent city.
“What do we call the North Side? Little Italy,” Holmes said. “What do we
call the West End? Tipperary Hill. This is the same thing. It’s the next
wave, and it’s being lived out in every neighborhood. They want the same
things we want: They want to work. They want to better themselves. They want
what’s best for their children.”
The refugees are from such countries as Somalia, Sudan, Iraq — and Nasser’s
homeland, Eritrea, a small nation that broke away in 1993 from Ethiopia, in
the horn of Africa. Friday, Nasser made a point of thanking the many people
who helped him since he arrived, especially Julie Norman, his original
caseworker with Refugee Resettlement Services, and MAMI, the interpreting
service that provides him with part-time work.
Norman estimates that about 60 Eritreans have settled in Syracuse. Nasser —
with his academic background, confident bearing and strong English — has
assumed a prominent role in that community.
“He goes above and beyond, really,” Norman said. If another Eritrean has a
medical problem, Nasser handles follow-up calls to the doctor. He routinely
goes by cab or bus to comfort any friend in the hospital. He provides advice
to other refugees who are legally blind.
That outreach, Nasser said, helps keep his mind from his worries. His wife
and children — two sons and three daughters — remain in Eritrea and
Ethiopia. While he is making slow progress toward bringing them to Syracuse,
it pains him to hear their sadness when they speak by phone. Nasser also
misses being in a classroom. In Eritrea, he taught English and classic
literature. His passion was Shakespeare, “especially the strong love in
Othello.”
He left Eritrea “because in our country, the economic status was not good.”
He speaks with appreciation of Syracuse, taking delight in such small
pleasures as mail delivery to his front door. What he finds maddening is the
change in the way he is perceived. In his homeland, he was a respected
teacher. Here, many people see him first as a blind man.
Once they get to know him, almost always, those opinions change.
Nasser moves casually through the neighborhoods around his North Side
apartment. The snow can be a hindrance, but he uses streetlights and
telephone poles as a kind of physical map on city streets. He has turned
into a regular at Francesca’s Cucina, a North Salina Street restaurant where
he often stops for coffee.
“I make myself busy,” Nasser said. “If I make myself idle, I think always of
my children.”
While he wishes he could teach, he is realistic about his prospects. His
goal is to be a vocational counselor. He supports himself on disability
payments and his services as an interpreter. His focus, beyond all else, is
to find a full-time job, and he voices an ethic shared with generations of
immigrants before him.
“If you’re not working,” Nasser said, “that’s a punishment.”
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