JAMAICA ESTATES — Thomas Berry Place, which has been housing migrants from Central and South America for the past two years, has opened its doors to people in need from the other side of the globe.
The Passionists, who run the bucolic retreat center in Jamaica Estates, decided to accept refugees from Afghanistan. The first group — four Muslim women in their 20s — arrived July 1.
“This is a way for us not only to preach our charism but to live it,” explained Father Jim O’Shea, the provincial for the Passionists.
The Passionists’ charism is to be mindful of Jesus Christ’s passion and crucifixion and walk with those suffering around the world.
The women, who fled when the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021, lived with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Brentwood on their Long Island campus and participated in the sisters’ Refugee Resettlement Program.
However, the building where the women were staying has been sold, necessitating a new home.
Sister Tesa Fitzgerald, CSJ, president of the congregation, reached out to Father O’Shea and asked if the women could be relocated to Thomas Berry Place. He readily agreed.
According to the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the U.S. government has allowed approximately 90,000 Afghan refugees into the country since 2021.
Prior to the women’s arrival at Thomas Berry Place, Sister Karen Kavanagh, CSJ, who lives there, said she was looking forward to helping them settle in.
“I think they will be comfortable here,” she said, adding that the women are planning to make themselves at home by bringing pots and pans to cook their meals.
One of the women quickly found a job. She will be working in the kitchen at Thomas Berry Place. The other three refugees are now looking for jobs.
Thomas Leaven, program director at Thomas Berry Place, said making the women comfortable includes respecting cultural differences. For example, many Muslim women do not shake hands with men. “We will know how to interact with them,” he added.
The refugees received a big welcome from migrants who are already housed at Thomas Berry Place. Currently, four male migrants reside there. The women live in a separate wing.
One of those migrants, Jose Lugo, left his native Venezuela, went to Mexico, and crossed the border into Texas. He was among the thousands of migrants put on buses in Texas and transported to New York City.
He eventually found his way to Thomas Berry Place and is hopeful that the Afghan refugees will be as happy there as he is.
“Everyone deserves a chance to make a new life,” the Spanish-speaking Lugo said through a translator.
There is a legal difference between migrants and refugees. While both groups fled dangerous situations in their home countries, refugees are people who have obtained official status from the U.S. government.
The Passionists are stepping up their efforts as the Adams administration struggles to cope with the steady flow of migrants arriving every day.
“Since April 2022, more than 200,000 migrants and asylum-seekers have come to our city seeking a better life for themselves and their loved ones and needing our care,” Mayor Eric Adams noted in a June statement.