INDIANAPOLIS — Over 60,000 refugees came to the United States last year to escape violence and turmoil.
Two of those refugees are Eduardo and Antony. They came to Indiana from Venezuela.
"Indianapolis feels like home to me," Antony said.
The two left Venezuela due to the violence happening in the country. They were able to escape to Columbia until they got into the Exodus Refugee program to come to the United States legally. That's where they chose Indianapolis.
"Most people in Indianapolis are from America, so we felt that it was a challenge and allow us to be able to integrate better into the culture and how things work here in the country," Antony said.
It's not an easy process to be able to come to the U.S. as a refugee legally.
"You're going to go through the most intense security screenings and medical checks that anyone goes through before they have a chance to come to the United States, and you're just going to wait until the government says its your turn to be allowed to come to the U.S.," said Cassandra Sanborn, the director of Development at the Exodus Refugee Center in Indy.
Sanborn says it is not quick either.
"You're going to wait a long time," she said.
For Antony, that meant seven years.
"I left Venezuela in 2017 and when we were in Colombia the doors opened for this program that would allow us to come to the U.S. as refugees."
They made some stops along the way.
"We flew from Bogota, Colombia, to Houston and then here to Indianapolis. I distinctly remember being greeted by the cold. It was very brutally cold," Antony said.
They have been able to start their new lives, with both of them quickly getting jobs.
"We have been working at the Marriott Hotel and we've been having a great experience there. We work very closely with our supervisors or bosses there. We feel very closely to them," Eduardo said.
Now, they want to help other refugees feel at home in the Hoosier State.