This is a comment received last night from reader Mark. We have heard this story over and over again. Many of the volags (federal taxpayer-funded contractors) are not taking care of the refugees in their charge and indeed are often not fulfilling their contracts with the government which require they provide refugees with adequate clothing among other things.
I met an Iraqi refugee couple today and I’m glad they were allowed to come here because the wife worked as an English teacher and was threatened for supporting foreigners. The family however was not given any clothes by their resettlement agency other than some jackets. She showed me the jacket she was given and it doesn’t fit her. We are in a very cold state and these people have no winter coats, no hats, no gloves, no scarves, and no boots. She was lucky to find a job that starts next week, but she has to take a bus and walk 5 blocks each way. She said she has already fallen down twice on the ice. I told her to call her refugee resettlement agency caseworker, but she said the caseworker doesn’t return messages. Tomorrow the windchill factor will be negative 20-30.
How many of you reading this know how easy it is to find second hand winter clothing? I bet you have many extra winter jackets in your own closets. If this family had a church or other group sponsoring them, just them, they would have their needs met. These volags often even discourage such sponsorship as we saw in Waterbury, CT last year.
Now this is a story from New Paltz, NY that helps make my point. Read it here. There is no mention of a refugee agency involved. This Iraqi family will probably make it because they have two American families who have taken them under their wings.
For new readers: You might want to visit a post I wrote in January—Refugees 101—where we call for a complaints hot line for refugees like the one mentioned by Mark.