By: Sean Horgan

I was thirteen when I came to the United States from Ireland. When we arrived, we had access to an Irish-American community that helped my family transition to our new home. About five years later, I enlisted in the Marines because I was looking for a new American family, a brotherhood, and a way to serve my new country.

My own story is one reason I care so much about protecting refugees today—and it’s part of what lead me to join a “SIV Sips” event hosted by Veterans for American Ideals at a Starbucks here in Boston last week. SIV Sips bring together veterans, refugees, and Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) recipients—those individuals who served alongside the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan—for coffee and community.

At the event, I met a newly arrived refugee named Mohammad. Mohammad fled Afghanistan alone when he was just sixteen years old, leaving all his loved ones behind. He arrived in Australia as a refugee and was sent to the tiny island of Nauru where he remained for five years. Life was very difficult in the camp, he told us. He had arrived in Boston just three weeks earlier, again alone, as all his friends from the camp were sent elsewhere—to Dallas and Michigan. He had a case manager who was helping him, but he was nervous about finding work and his future here.

The group in attendance offered what support we could on the spot. One person provided more information on her organization’s program that provides 6-month internships with the promise of placement on successful completion. Starbucks shared more about its hiring process. At the end of the gathering, we exchanged contact information and promised to stay in touch and support as we could. Since then, we have all been working with our networks to ensure Mohammad, and others, have a successful transition.  I’ve contacted members of my network to follow-up on that promise: for example, through contacts at the Greater Boston Veterans Collaborative, I was able to reach out to Jewish Family Services, which provides services to children and families throughout the Boston region.

Transitions aren’t easy. Veterans know this as well as anyone. We adjust to life in the service, to each new duty station, and to civilian life again once we separate. We know what it’s like to adjust to a new culture, to have to interview and find work in contexts that feels foreign. Many of us know what it’s like to lose people we care about or suddenly be far away from them. All of that is hard enough when you have friends, family, and fellow veterans to call on for support. It’s vastly more difficult if you have to go it alone.

The same is true for anyone newly arriving to our country. It helps to know your neighbors, and to know that there are people looking out for you. My hope is that we can make life a little easier for Mohammad, by providing him with a community network as he navigates his transition to the United States and becoming an American.

When we were in the military, and when we were going through our own transitions, we took care of one another. As veterans, and as Americans, I think we also have a responsibility to take care of our fellow community members—especially the newest and most vulnerable among us. I would encourage others to extend a helping hand to their newest neighbors. If you’re in the Boston area, you can join our next SIV Sips gathering on May 3rd. These gatherings are happening in a number of other cities as well. Visit Eventbrite for more details. You can also call your local resettlement agencies and volunteer your support. Or simply call your Member of Congress and ask what they’re doing to ensure that refugees are welcomed and supported in the United States.  

Sean Horgan was born in Ireland and enlisted in the Marines shortly after becoming a US resident.  He served everywhere from the Arctic Circle to a tour in Fallujah Iraq, where he led a rifle platoon of 44 Marines.  Sean led Team Rubicon’s development in New England, serving as the first Regional Administrator and growing the veteran-powered disaster response team to over 1000 members. Sean is a Product Manager at Verily, an Alphabet company focused on making the world's health data useful so that people enjoy healthier lives.