Nov. 26--The music filling the room was wholly American -- the instantly recognizable Vince Guaraldi piano riff from the "Peanuts" holiday specials.
But the guests in the room didn't grow up watching Charlie Brown or celebrating Thanksgiving. They were refugees from troubled spots around the globe, Iraq, Somalia, Myanmar, Ethiopia and Afghanistan, all trying to find their way in a new country.
To help, Heartland Alliance's Refugee and Immigrant Community Services program last week offered a Thanksgiving primer at its North Side offices. First, staff members explained the holiday. Then they showed the refugees a DVD of "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving," in which cartoon character Linus gives his version of how it all began.
With that, everyone moved into another room, where a traditional feast had been readied: two turkeys -- one of them prepared under the Islamic requirements of halal -- gravy, stuffing, cranberry side dishes, cheesy potatoes, green bean casserole and pumpkin pie.
For Heartland Alliance, this third annual staff-cooked Thanksgiving meal was a way of thanking clients and teaching about an American tradition. Thanksgiving is a particularly resonant holiday for refugees, said Lea Tienou-Gustafson, the agency's associate director of refugee family adjustment and employment services.
While those at the dinner came to this country with nothing and face formidable challenges, she said, they are among the fortunate -- the 1 percent of refugees worldwide who get resettled.
"I think our participants are really thankful to be building a new life here," she said.
The connection between refugees and the quintessential American holiday is also clear to RefugeeOne, Illinois' largest resettlement agency.
This year, for the first time, the agency is arranging for refugee families to sit down for a holiday dinner with volunteers and donors who answered the agency's call for host homes.
"It's a way of really experiencing Thanksgiving in its original form, connecting people who hadn't known each other before," said Sara Spoonheim Amit, RefugeeOne's director of development.
A Bhutanese family has already had a Thanksgiving meal at a home in Wilmette, and more Thanksgiving meals are set at homes around the area for families from Iraq, Afghanistan, Congo, Sudan and Ethiopia.
"Refugees probably more than any other Americans are so mindful of what they are grateful for -- for their lives, a place to come home, the opportunity to work," Amit said.
At last week's Heartland Alliance dinner, the dishes were served at stations by staffers. As at many an American family table, some dishes were met with more favor than others.
Baked sweet potato and apples was a hard sell to some guests, said employment specialist Ahmed Alnidawi. "Not everyone in the Middle East likes sweet potato," he said -- or this particular dish's combination of sweet and savory.
Speaking in Arabic, he offered some to a woman in a headscarf. She firmly shook her head no, proving his point.
But for the most part, the meal was a success. "Very OK," pronounced Mohammed Abd Ali, who arrived here two months ago from Iraq.
"I like it. I like the turkey," said Salimah Mohammed Shafi, who is from Myanmar and was holding up her cellphone to shoot video of the event.
As for finding reasons to give thanks, it isn't always easy for newly arrived refugees. "When they arrive here, they are starting from scratch," said Heartland Alliance case manager Gilia Barih. "They lost everything."
Many are struggling through their first winters in this new world; some arrived at O'Hare International Airport wearing flip-flops.
"We all know that you guys come here with very big dreams. But in the beginning sometimes it seems like all these dreams are impossible to reach," Stephen Rodgers, the agency's supervisor of English language training, told the refugees with the help of an interpreter.
"But we know that if you work hard and put your mind to it, you can start a new life here in the United States despite the hard times. And for that I think we can be thankful."
Abd Ali had heard of Thanksgiving in Iraq but didn't really know what it was about. But now he and Twana Twana, also of Iraq, could provide an impressive civics lesson, helping each other with English as they shared what they had learned.
"In the 17th century it began," Twana said, when the newly arrived Pilgrims suffered from cold and hunger.
"The American natives help them have animals to stay alive," Abd Ali said. "The Pilgrims thank the natives for keeping them alive, and invite them to a meal."
The Iraqis pronounced themselves fans of the holiday.
"I like it because it's about family together," Abd Ali said.
"The poor and the rich eat the same foods," Twana said. "It's a happy day."
The refugees digging into corn pudding, pumpkin cheesecake, and macaroni and cheese were not just eating a meal, said Tienou-Gustafson, but also entering the cultural life of their new home.
"This is something going on all through America," she said. "Everybody is talking about Thanksgiving. It's important that they have a Thanksgiving meal, with the overeating and the noise and the children running around."
When she told one of the agency's clients that this was an American holiday, he had another thought.
"He said, 'Now it's Afghan, Iraqi, Bhutanese -- all together,'" Tienou-Gustafson said.
blbrotman@tribpub.com
