From Fort Wayne to the world: how one Hoosier’s work with UNHCR is making a global impact for refugees

Originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana, Zachariah Pusti is a Resettlement and Complementary Pathways Officer with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. He is currently based in Panama City, Panama, though he has worked for UNHCR for nearly a decade and has also served in UNHCR operations in Egypt, Ethiopia, Malawi and Kenya. Today, on World Humanitarian Day, USA for UNHCR recognizes the work of Zachariah and colleagues across UNHCR for the lifesaving support and protection they deliver to refugees and forcibly displaced families globally.

What does a day in the life of a Resettlement and Complementary Pathways Officer for UNHCR look like?

I work with protection teams at operations to identify the most at-risk people in need of resettlement in the region. In the Panama operation, that includes [refugees] in Trinidad and Tobago, Aruba, Curaçao, Guyana, Cuba and Panama. 

We work with local UNHCR protection units and partner organizations to identify people who are in need of resettlement. We have also conducted protection monitoring exercises where we go out into the communities to ask people about their situation and to get a better understanding of what they're facing individually to make a risk assessment. Through that risk assessment, we identify a pool of individual cases to conduct a protection screening where we gain a better understanding of the individual's situation and learn more about why they fled their home country. The screening is conducted to ensure that the individual meets the criteria for resettlement, if any other immediate support is needed  and allows us to prioritize cases based on urgency.

Refugees identified for resettlement are then officially interviewed by UNHCR. After the interview, my team will submit the resettlement case to a country for consideration. The resettlement country will then conduct its own series of interviews and background checks before approving or denying an individual for resettlement.

Our team then works with International Organization for Migration (IOM) and other organizations to ensure the individuals can depart safely to the respective country of resettlement. 

Is there a refugee you helped during your career that continues inspiring your work today?

A case that will always stick with me was my first resettlement case in Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. The situation in Kakuma is quite difficult, and the refugee was particularly at risk as they were LGBTQAI+. The protection situation and threats they faced in Kakuma and back in their country of origin were tremendous. There were also some protection risks that prevented the refugee from being resettled in a specific country. All of these protection issues were considered to ensure the refugee was not resettled to a country where they would be further targeted. We worked together, I helped them with their resettlement interview, and at UNHCR we found a country that was more aligned with their protection needs. 

A couple of years later, they reached out through social media to thank me for helping them. They had been resettled to a country with a culture very different from the one they grew up in, but they were welcomed from the start. They had taken an interest not only in their personal integration but also in their ability to contribute to their new community. They told me that the resettlement experience with UNHCR inspired them to find ways to give back to refugees around the world.

They started working with Amnesty International soon after resettling and learned the local language in less than a year. They have continued to give me updates over the last several years. Now they live in the capital of the country and are going to college.

What are some of the biggest challenges you face in your work?

The positives outweigh the challenges. It's great to work in something where everything you do benefits somebody else. That's what interested me in the work from the beginning.

A challenge has been having to do more with fewer resources. After working in Kakuma, I worked in Malawi for two years in resettlement, and I had opportunities [out of necessity] to be more flexible in my job and take on additional roles. I did interviews and resettlement work, but I also worked to help expand complementary pathways programs and helped in the protection space where needed. 

[At the time] many of my friends working in resettlement lost their jobs due to cuts. I was one of two resettlement experts who was able to stay with the Malawi operation.

What sparked your interest in working for a humanitarian organization?

With the United States being very globalized and diverse, there will be some connection to other cultures and the outside world wherever you are in the U.S. I was originally interested in understanding other cultures in other parts of the world from a young age. I used to dream about living and moving to other places.

From the age of 15, I worked at a restaurant where a coworker had been resettled with his family to Fort Wayne, Indiana. He and I became good friends and we would play soccer on the weekends. Through that, I met a community of Afghan refugees, and others from all over the world. My friend also introduced me to his Burmese neighbors in Fort Wayne. Indiana is estimated to have one of the largest Burmese populations outside of Myanmar. Through these experiences, I became enthralled by the idea of moving abroad and working with refugees.

Why is a robust resettlement program important?

Our efforts to expand resettlement have been met with limitations in funding and staff capacity. This has resulted in staffing cuts and inhibited activities to identify the most vulnerable in some operations. Meanwhile, the needs for resettlement as a protection tool continue to grow. 

The impacts of resettlement for a family are significant. With resettlement, there is a solution to what often seems like an unending and dire situation for refugee families.

I’ve seen the positive impacts that refugee resettlement has on families in my hometown. 

I went back to Fort Wayne between positions, just before being stationed in Ethiopia. An Ethiopian family had recently opened a restaurant in town. I went to the restaurant and they spoke to me about their experience resettling to the U.S. They told me that they had a whole new life in Indiana and were focused on growing and progressing in the U.S., but had immediately made efforts to support education back in Ethiopia. Not only are they contributing locally by opening a small business, but they're also interested in helping others in their home country. 

In my career, I’ve repeatedly witnessed that when refugees have a second chance to rebuild, they are some of the first to step up and give back to help other refugees.

How can you help...

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency supports the full journey of refugees who have been forced to flee violence, war and persecution. Our donors help refugees in their greatest time of need with shelter, food, water and medical care, and their support builds awareness for resettled refugees living in the U.S. With your help, more refugees will have the opportunity to build peaceful lives and give their families a bright future.