Bertine Bahige describes himself as “one of the unlucky boys” who was captured by a militia and forced to serve as a child soldier in the Republic of Congo, formerly Zaire.

After his escape, he spent five years in a refugee camp. Then, slowly, his luck changed. After a years-long process, Bahige was admitted to the United States under the Refugee Resettlement Program.

“I was one of the less than 1 percent of the refugees around the globe who were fortunate enough to be considered for resettlement,” he said Thursday during a discussion at the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center.

Bahige lived in Maryland for a few years before moving to Wyoming. Now a high school math teacher, Bahige resides in Gillette with his wife and 5-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son. He was named Campbell County Teacher of the Year in 2014.

“I love Wyoming,” Bahige said. “It gave me a home. It gave me hope for my children.”

But he laments the fact that his home state is the only state in the country that does not participate the federal refugee program.

Thursday’s discussion, televised live from the Heart Mountain center through Wyoming PBS in Riverton, featured four panelists with varying viewpoints on the Refugee Resettlement Program. In addition to Bahige, panelists were Suzan Pritchett, a law professor at the University of Wyoming and co-director of UW’s Center for International Human Rights Law and Advocacy; and Wyoming Rep. Tom Reeder, R-Casper, who co-sponsored a bill that would have provided legislative authority over the approval of a refugee resettlement plan in Wyoming.

Though not previously announced, former U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson also participated on the panel.

Reeder said he decided to sponsor a refugee resettlement bill (which became House Bill 48), after the Paris bombing attacks in November.

“I wanted it to be where it was transparent for Wyoming citizens,” through a legislative process that would include public hearings, he said.

“Would just give everybody the opportunity to voice their opinion,” he said. “We just want to be able to talk about this and see what we’re getting into.”

Reeder noted that Gov. Matt Mead sent a letter to the federal government in September 2013 expressing Wyoming’s interest in participating in the Refugee Resettlement Program.

“That shocked a lot of people,” he said. “All the sudden, we have a program?”

Questions need to be answered, and Wyoming residents should have a say in the matter, he said.

Pritchett said she and Bahige began a discussion with Mead when they became aware that Wyoming did not participate in the program.

“There was a lot of misinformation circulating about who a refugee is,” she said. “We’re trying to bring clarity (and) a human face to it.”

Simpson, who served on the committee that oversaw the refugee program, said a refugee is “a person fleeing persecution based on race, religion, national origin, or membership in a political or social organization, and it means that dogs are at your heel and the guns are in their hands. This is a real refugee.”

People who only say they are fleeing from their country but cannot specifically say who they are fleeing from are not refugees, he said.

The refugee program needs more oversight, Simpson said.

“When you clear away the emotion, fear, guilt and racism, and the humanity of it — you know, button your shirt, your heart fell out — then you’re going to be in the toughest possible place,” he said.

“Now we find ... that in this tremendous flow (of immigrants) are people who choose to blow up in the softest markets and the softest targets you can ever imagine. And no wonder people are spooked, and no wonder the conversation has soured.”

Bahige countered that none of the people responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States or the bombings in Paris and Brussels were refugees.

“Refugees go through the most vigorous process available,” he said, noting that it took him more than three years to complete the process.

“It (has) been proven that the people who did these horrific and horrendous things in Paris, and recently in Brussels, are not refugees,” he said. “There are born and raised European citizens, people who can jump on a plane any time — they don’t even need a visa — or they can drive to Mexico and come to the United States,” he said.

Pritchett said, “Every time we allow somebody into our country, there’s a risk. We can’t 100 percent guarantee that every person who crosses our borders comes to the Untied States with our country’s best interests in mind.

“While the (refugee) program that’s in place probably isn’t perfect, I know that it’s currently undergoing scrutiny because of this type of fear of terrorists using the program to enter our country. ... I think it’s highly unlikely that the person who wants to come to the United States would come through this program, because there are a million other ways to get here.”

Refugees must be weaned off of the Refugee Resettlement Program rather than continuing to be dependent on federal funds, Simpson said.

Simpson referred to Bahige as a remarkable man, noting that he remained on the refugee program for only three months before becoming independent.

But “we’ve had people in refugee resettlement for 20 or 30 years,” and the federal program’s budget continues to grow, Simpson said.

Pritchett said other numbers tell a different story. Statistics from 2009-11 show that immigrant men ages 15 and older were more likely to work than their U.S.-born counterparts, and nearly three times less likely to be criminals.

“Statistics can be used in all different ways,” she said.

Reeder expressed concern that participating in the refugee program would cost the state money. But Simpson said the program functions entirely on federal funds. “The state wouldn’t have anything to do with it,” he said.

Bahige told of his own experience. He worked three jobs, and rode a bicycle where he needed to go.

“I started working at Burger King. I couldn’t speak the language, so I actually had to carry the trash out. To me, from carry the trash out, to be able to move on to making burgers was an accomplishment,” Bahige said.

Then he was allowed to start taking orders from people, communicating with them.

“From there, going to drive-thru where I have to listen to somebody, ... making sure that I give the correct change, that’s a skill in itself,” Bahige said.

Only after that was he able to get a scholarship to attend the University of Wyoming, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics education, and later to attend South Dakota State University, where he earned a master’s degree in education leadership.

With Wyoming’s economy today, “I’m scared to death,” he said. “Once we start losing those mining jobs in Gillette, we start losing people,” and that will lead to fewer jobs for teachers.

If he were to get laid off, “I would take my jacket off, and if that means Burger King again so I can feed my kid, I will do that. I will do that!” Bahige said, prompting applause from the audience.

“Let’s start that honest conversation,” he said. “Let’s talk about diversity in Wyoming. Let’s talk about multiculturalism in Wyoming. Let’s have an honest conversation. Let’s talk about fact ... because what I get on Facebook and email has nothing to do with fact.”