As we have come to learn in recent weeks from Cindy in Bowling Green, KY, or Ellen in Ft. Wayne, IN, or Madeleine in the UK, all refugees arriving here from Myanmar (Burma) or more accurately from camps in Thailand are not all Burmese. In fact, there is quite a bit of hostility between some of these ethnic groups, yet they are plunked down in the same neighborhoods in US cities. I think the assumption by do-gooder refugee agencies is that the mythical melting pot will work its magic.
Here is a short article from the Voice of Chin Refugees which explains some of what is happening.
Mr. Uk, who was stay in Baltimore, Maryland expresses, “There is no Chin case worker in resettlement office but only Burmese. I can understand only a very little Burmese language. Sometimes interpreters are provided for me by telephone that is actually not preferable because by telephone it is very difficult to understand one another. Sometimes, I have many problems but I just try to ignore it.” Hundreds of Chin refugees are in Maryland State, Indianapolis, Kansas City and Dallas but it can be seen that in all of those places only Burmese Case workers are employed in order to handle Chin refugees. A Chin University student in US comments regarding this issue, “There is a big misunderstanding that Chins are still called as Burmese. Actually Chins and Burmese are different nations. Chins are ruled and abuse by Burmese military government.”