Rejection: Lessons from the United Nation’s Refugee Agency

Cartoon by Adam Zyglis — Fear of Refugees

It’s been two years. And I am still learning from what I have experienced there. If I had to sum it all up in one word, it would be humbling — Having food on my plate and a roof above my head is life, all else is luxury.

You can brush up with some facts and figures on the Refugee Criss here: http://www.unhcr.org/figures-at-a-glance.html

The task seemed simple; listen — translate — repeat. As an Interpreter for the UN’s refugee agency, I had the honor of being the medium both parties used to communicate, and the unique position of being both voice of the vulnerable and that of the decider.

Out of countless conversations I facilitated; there are none that resonates more than rejections. Rejections are an official notification that an applicant’s claim for a refugee status has been denied. Often delivered years after the first application was submitted.

A refugee status determination or an RSD is a legal or administrative process by which governments or UNHCR determine whether a person seeking international protection is considered a refugee under international, regional or national law. http://www.unhcr.org/refugee-status-determination.html

Most of them are dressed up on the day, expecting positive results, full of hope, they take a seat and some small talk cushions the verdict, — “We regret to inform you that … ” — The next part of the statement often does not matter. By this point they have stopped listening, everything changes, their facial expressions are not the same, they have sunk in their chair and are attempting to answer the crashing wave of questions all at once. What now? Is there a way around this? Is this really happening? Why me? Did I do something wrong?

Now, anything can happen. People are fragile, proud, and furious all at once, and their reactions can be as complex and as diverse as the people themselves. But no matter what happens, the message must be delivered.

The Bob’s | Office space

In terms of procedure, both rejections and letting people go can be similar. There comes a day for every organization, be it large or small, when they have to let someone go. Clearly, Being denied refugee status and loosing a job is not the same thing, but the communication part is. However, there is a bad way to do it, and there is a better way.

“Because people won’t remember every day they worked for your company, but they will surely remember the day you laid them off, they will remember every last detail about that day and the details will matter greatly” — bhorowitz’s The hard thing about hard things.

in a nutshell:

1. Be empathetic - this day is completely shit, more so for them but for you too.
2. Be professional - keep it short, get straight to the point, and do not apologize.
3. You can always expect a rebuttal, Listen — but do not responded, the decision is final.
4. Follow up, communicate all which will happen next, go through the details, last day, letter of employment, compensation etc.
5. Do it again in writing, very few people are active listeners, even less so in emotional situations. consider it a favor and answer any questions they might have, before they ask.