Some projections have Columbus's immigrant population growing by 1 million by 2050.
A yearlong research project by Columbus City Council and the Ohio State University College of Social Work looked at how those new residents face make the city feel like home.
Lead researcher on the project Arati Maleku, an associate professor at OSU's College of Social Work, said the quality of life for immigrants comes down to having a strong sense of belonging – which sometimes is compromised by straightforward integration efforts.
Maleku shared her findings with WOSU’s Allie Vugrincic.
Allie Vugrincic: So, what did you discover about this sense of belonging and why it's so important for new arrivals here in Columbus?
Arati Maleku: This idea of belonging, is normally defined as the emotional challenges that immigrants and refugees face in the process of social and cultural reorientation.
And this is very important as this influences the formation of social ties, participation in a community, and also impacts, people's overall well-being. But in this larger migration sphere, when it comes to migration research, we've not been able to really pinpoint what belonging really means from the perspectives of the immigrants.
So, what we found in very short is that belonging basically means this idea of thriving, right? So, we collected both quantitative and qualitative data. It sort of revealed this immigrant integration paradox where we found that, higher integration, and sense of belonging were paradoxically linked to a lower quality of life, reflecting that, when we only invest in integration efforts, the overall quality of life does not increase. But when we are thinking about programs and policies that aim to foster a sense of belonging, with some of these integration efforts, quality of life goes up.
Allie Vugrincic: And did you find any barriers to belonging, or were there any barriers you didn't expect?
Arati Maleku: We talked to community members, underrepresented 23 countries of origin. So, we had 109 committed members from all walks of life. What we found was barriers to belonging included language and cultural challenges, which was not surprising.
But some of the other aspects, such as devaluation of foreign credentials when people are not getting meaningful job is when, once they come to resettlement spaces. Personal and structural discrimination, funding inequities and from the young people's perspective, limited green spaces. Transportation problems also contributed to some of those barriers to, fostering a sense of belonging.
Allie Vugrincic: So, when you look at Columbus, compared to other cities, has Columbus been successful in helping immigrants integrate?
Arati Maleku: Absolutely. I think there's definitely, lot of room for growth, obviously, but the fact that the city council invested in this study to understand sense of belonging from the community perspective is definitely, a plus point. I think there's an intentional commitment to make Columbus better.
The critical role of community-based ethnic organizations that have been so instrumental in, amplifying the voices of the population, celebrating culture, community, education, all of these has been happening. And also, participants also talked about the support from local organizations and the local government.
Allie Vugrincic: Is there anything that the established residents of Columbus can do to help their immigrant neighbors feel welcome?
Arati Maleku: Absolutely. For everybody, I think remaining very interested, intentional, creating that space where every voice can be heard. And remaining very vigilant about our own perspective as we treat others are very important.
Celebration of culture is another big thing that came up, when people talked about celebrating culture. There was also this very big, role that culturally responsive services can play.
