Social Worker Helps Immigrants Adapt

Bluena Khatri, MSW ’09

As a social worker, Bluena Khatri assists immigrants and refugees at the International Institute of St. Louis. (Whitney Curtis)

Bluena Khatri, MSW ’09, was working one afternoon at the International ­Institute of St. Louis when an elderly Iraqi woman burst into her office in tears.

Khatri, a social worker, asked her what was wrong.

The woman had emigrated to St. Louis with her son and his family, leaving an ailing husband and other relatives behind. Within a few months of entering the United States, her son physically, psychologically and emotionally abused her. She told no one of the abuse until that day in Khatri’s office.

“She came to me in tears and told me that she had left her son’s apartment and had ­decided to live on the streets,” Khatri says. “In a very short span of time, I had to find her a safe place to stay temporarily and then help her move to somewhere permanent.”

Now, the woman lives in government-­assisted housing and has learned to Skype with her husband and relatives in Iraq. ­According to Khatri, she is content.

This woman is just one of the many whose lives Khatri has changed for the better.

Khatri assists immigrants and refugees who have severe medical conditions, face mental health challenges, are victims of domestic violence, are addicted to drugs and alcohol, and experience elderly and child abuse. Khatri also educates newly arrived refugees about abuse laws in the United States.

At present, she works with people from many different countries. Previously at the institute, she was directly involved in resettling Bhutanese refugees from Nepal. The ­refugees are Lhotshampas and are of ­Nepalese origins. Lhotshampas were resettled by the government of Bhutan in the 19th century, and in the 1990s, they were deemed a threat to the country and forcibly expelled. Since then, they have been living in refugee camps in Nepal. As Nepal and Bhutan have yet to implement any agreement on repatriation, they are being resettled in North America and many other countries in the world under the auspices of UNHCR. Khatri has helped approximately 500 Bhutanese adjust to a new culture in St. Louis.

“I was raised in a family where human service and giving back to society were the core values of living,” Khatri says.

Khatri came to the United States in 2007 from Nepal to earn her master’s of social work. Long before she arrived here, she wanted to help people.

“I was raised in a family where human service and giving back to society were the core values of living,” Khatri says. “Since childhood, I have seen my father going to different war-torn countries and helping people through his service in the United Nations. My father embraced family values and helped me develop a passion for human service that motivates me to do what I am doing right now.”

This philosophy guided Khatri through her undergraduate work in Nepal. Even at home, she helped Bhutanese refugees by visiting their camps and conducting interviews with them.

Now, at the International Institute of St. Louis, she finds that her clients struggle through many of the same problems she did when she first came to America.

“Although I had a good command of the English language, I experienced difficulties ­adjusting to the culture, food, norms and values of the U.S. in the beginning,” Khatri says. “Those experiences completely ­influence my work in understanding and ­feeling for my clients. Some do not even know how to read and write in their own ­language, but they are expected to learn ­English and be independent and self-sufficient in a short period of time.”

Even though she found adjusting to her new life difficult, Khatri was delighted to be in the United States and working toward an MSW.

She served as diversity outreach coordinator for the International graduate student association for Career development And ­Networking (I-CAN) at WUSTL. Khatri also founded the ­International Student ­Association.

The MSW program then helped Khatri kick off her career. She conducted her practicum at the International Institute and was offered a position there upon graduation. Today, she continues to improve the lives of others.

The institute helps immigrants and refugees with employment, English, counseling, social work, community/economic development and case management.

“My favorite part about my job is to see clients happy and achieving their dreams,” Khatri says.

Michelle Merlin, Arts & Sciences Class of ’12, was a summer writing intern in University Marketing & Design.

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