The refugees gather at the International Rescue Committee offices on Memorial Drive, ready for help in starting new lives in Atlanta.

In small classrooms, they learn English and computer skills. They find help getting jobs. There is even a store where they can use vouchers to purchase donated items such as clothing, books and kitchen utensils. One recent morning, there was only one bicycle available in the shop. A lottery will decide who gets it.

Over the last three decades, IRC’s Atlanta office has resettled more than 19,000 refugees from 45 countries. The organization celebrated its 30th anniversary in Atlanta with a fundraiser Saturday, Sept. 19., at Nelson Mullins law firm, in Atlantic Station.

Alaa Naji talked about her experiences as a refugee from Iraq.

Her husband, who worked for the United Nations, was killed in a 2003 Al-Qaida bombing three days before the family was planning to leave Iraq for Jordan.

“He sustained horrible burns yet he was able to pull a colleague to safety, but then he himself died,” Ms. Naji wrote in a draft of her remarks for the fundraiser. “He was my safe harbor, my best friend and my soul mate. I lost a great man. I was 28 years old, and our children were 3 and 4.”

She got a job as a U.S. Army translator but received death threats if she did not quit her job with the Americans. Ms. Naji and her children fled to Jordan before being resettled in Atlanta in 2008, with the help of IRC, which hired her as a case manager.

“I am proud to work for IRC,” she wrote. “We help refugees to regain their identity, hope and security. “

IRC was founded in 1933 by scientist Albert Einstein and others who wanted to help those fleeing Nazi Germany.

“Unfortunately, for the 76 years that have followed, there’s been no ceasing worldwide of people needing safe haven because they’re fleeing war and persecution,” Ellen Beattie, executive director of the IRC Atlanta office, told GlobalAtlanta.

IRC works with the U.S. State Department to resettle refugees. The State Department chooses the refugees, many of whom have been in refugee camps for more than a decade. Once refugees have been assigned to Atlanta, IRC takes over, picking up the newly arrived immigrants at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and taking them to furnished apartments.

IRC staff and volunteers help the refugees obtain Social Security cards and Georgia identification cards,  enroll their children in school, use mass transit and U.S. currency, find jobs and speak English.

“Our goal for everyone is to see them reach self sufficiency so they are living independently on their own earned income,” said Ms. Beattie.

In the last year, IRC has resettled 1,000 refugees. “Two years ago, we were at half that,” said Ms. Beattie, who attributes the increase largely to the U.S. government’s decision to increase the number of refugees resettled in the U.S. 

But as the number of refugees is going up, so, too, is the time it takes for them to reach self sufficiency, largely because of the sluggish economy. Traditionally, 95 percent of the refugees were self sufficient six months after arriving in Atlanta, Ms. Beatty said. It now takes eight to nine months, she added.

“That means they do need additional help for longer paying the rent," said Ms. Beattie.

Three-fourths of IRC Atlanta’s budget comes from federal and state funds, the remainder from foundations and fundraisers. IRC also depends heavily on donations of furniture and household items and the work of more than 500 volunteers.

“They have histories that none of us can even imagine,” said Jay Krugman, a volunteer who teaches English to refugees. “It gives me a sense of humility, working with people who start out with so little.”

IRC has endured economic slumps before, and Ms. Beattie is optimistic the economy is turning around. “This organization was founded during the Great Depression,” she points out.

In the long term, the refugees IRC brings to Atlanta help the local economy by providing workers for hotels, warehouses, poultry plants and many other businesses, she said. Refugees have also started their own companies. 

“Demographically it’s good for the economy to have a younger, more diverse population,” she said. “”They bring language skills. They make us better for a global economy in many ways.”

For more information, to donate or volunteer, e-mail IRC here, call (404)-292-7731, extension 26 or click here.