As talk of welcoming refugees swirls across the country, data from The Refugee Processing Center shows there are people finding sanctuary in West Virginia as they flee countries many might not expect.

Looking only at November 2023, the center’s statistics show the Mountain State opened its arms to five refugees from Iraq, three from Nicaragua, and one from Congo. For the United States as a whole, in November, there were 1,884 refugees registered from Congo, 1,350 from Syria, 1,080 from Afghanistan, 606 from Burma and 247 from Guatemala, to name the top five.

A report by Stacker, using The Refugee Processing Center’s data, says more than 3 million refugees have found new homes in the United States over the past 50 years or so.

We are, still, a nation where those fleeing violence, persecution and war can find some peace and start over.

And, as Mountain State residents will have noticed, the refugees (so far, anyway) are not coming from some of the countries making the headlines in recent months. We’ve forgotten about what is happening in Congo as it struggles through decades of civil war. We don’t talk much about Syria, or even Nicaragua and Guatemala. And Burma? When was the last time any of us thought about Burma? Well, so long ago that since 1989 the nation has been officially known as Myanmar. Even the RPC hasn’t caught up.

Violence and strife afflict nations all over the globe. Yet we, here in West Virginia and the United States, have the luxury of paying attention only to a conflict or two when the situation warrants. Perhaps that kind of safety and stability is precisely why those from all over the world seek refuge here.

It is encouraging to know there are people and organizations in West Virginia willing to offer that safe haven when it is sought. Many more may seek it soon. The RPC says the number of refugees coming into the U.S. in 2023 was significantly higher than in the prior two years. Surely when those people arrive they will find out that once you are here, you are a Mountaineer. And Mountaineers are — always — free.