[caption id="" align="alignright" width="400"] MARK DIORIO / OBSERVER-DISPATCH Suada Muminovic of Bosnia, cooks in the kitchen at Tarik's Bakery & Coffee Shop Jul. 1, 2016 in Utica, N.Y. Over a 10-year span, refugees from some countries show long-term benefits to their communities and local economies, a new report claims.[/caption]

When Edin Kulosman moved to Utica in 1996, it took a few years before he and his wife transitioned to American life.

“It was a very bumpy road to assimilation,” said Kulosman, who was forced to leave his home country after the war in Bosnia. “The first of many barriers when you come as a refugee or immigrant to the U.S. is the language.”

Kulosman, 48, said he realized if he was going to be successful, he’d have to learn English and learn the culture.

And his years of hard work paid off last summer when he opened his restaurant, Tarik’s Bakery and Coffee Shop, on Bank Place.

After being in the United States for 10 years, refugees are very similar to their U.S.-born neighbors, a new study finds, with similar rates of labor force participation and business ownership. The large majority have learned to speak English after being in the country for 10 years and have become naturalized U.S. citizens after being in the country for 20 years, the Center for American Progress said.

The organization used data from the U.S. Census Bureau to analyze Somali, Burmese, Hmong and Bosnian refugees over a decade – mentioning Utica multiple times in the report, as refugees make up about 18 percent of the city’s total population.

Shelly Callahan, executive director of the Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees, said she’s definitely seen those ethnic groups excel locally, but it’s not limited to them.

“After a number of years, all groups flourish here,” said Callahan, who was interviewed by the Center for American Progress for its report. “There’s not one group that transitions more than another. … The economic impact is, frankly, remarkable.”

The refugee center, which settles between 400 and 450 refugees per year, makes up to 450 job placements per year and works with about 60 different employers who Callahan says “rely” on the center’s workforce.

They usually start making job placements about 90 days post-arrival and work with them up to 60 months post-arrival.

Kathryn Stam, an associate professor of anthropology at SUNY Polytechnic Institute and a board member at the Midtown Utica Community Center, has conducted interviews with refugee workers. She said she’s found that many work outside the city at places such as Chobani Greek Yogurt or Turning Stone Resort Casino, but there are plenty who’ve found employment in the city, too.

“There are some refugees working in Utica as well, for example at Con Med, food processing sites or the local hospitals,” she said. “They do difficult jobs that many other people do not want and they are very dependable. They often receive low wages and spend most of their money in Utica itself.”

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