Several hundred supporters showed up at an interfaith gathering in Greensboro Monday night to show support for the Triad's refugee community.
Christian, Muslim, and Jewish leaders – along with supporters from around the state – spoke at a press event at First Presbyterian Church to welcome refugees to the region and support further resettlement.
Wasif Qureshi is past president of the Islamic Center of Greensboro and among those who spoke at the event.
He's seen the refugee experience first-hand, and says Greensboro's past as a civil rights hub should inform its future.
“Greensboro is a city where the Civil Rights Movement took place. You live in a city with a history of making a change,” Qureshi said. “Why not use that same momentum and do something for the Muslims?”
Stephanie Adams is director of Church World Service in Greensboro. Her organization helps refugees resettle in the region.
She says recent media coverage and the response of elected officials to refugee resettlement have created a sense of fear among some Syrian and Iraqi refugees who are already here. She says that's not the Greensboro she knows.
“It does not represent the community we live in,” Adams said. “We're welcoming to newcomers – Syrians included – and we embrace our Muslim neighbors.”
Republican Congressman Mark Walker attended the event as a guest, though he didn't speak. As a minister for decades, he says he understands the need for compassion, but also wants to keep the country safe.
“My job is to balance the safety and security aspect, along with the humanitarian spirit, as well,” Walker said. “When the FBI director says ‘you've got some gaps here you need to be paying attention to,' I don't know that it's out of the process to put a pause on this.”
Walker recently voted to pass a bill that would stop and retool the application process for Syrian and Iraqi refugees.
President Obama has threatened to veto that bill.