Category: Who is going where

Bhutanese refugees headed our way

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Traveling in Asia in the last week, Asst. Sec. of State Ellen Sauerbrey announced that Bhutanese refugees living in United Nations camps in Nepal would soon be resettled in western countries.   The United States will take the largest number—60,000.    The Nepali-speaking Bhutanese were, according to various reports, driven from their homes by “racist” persecution (not by war).

The process for large scale third country resettlement of Bhutanese refugees living in eastern Nepal has begun with the mass information campaign in all the camps, UNHCR today said.

_______

The campaign is aimed at assisting the refugees to make an informed decision by providing them with accurate information, the UN refugee agency said.

_______

This follows the decision of the Nepal government to allow those refugees who wish to opt for third country resettlement as an alternative solution to do so on the basis of an informed choice and acceptance by the resettlement country.

We reported way back in July that many of those living in camps did not want to leave, holding onto hope that  they would be allowed to return someday to a country known as the “last Shangri-La”.   The mostly Hindu refugees may be in for a real shock when they are resettled in crime-ridden neighborhoods in America.

I guess the United Nations will convince them that working the 12- hour shift at meat-packing plants or mattress factories dispersed throughout America will be better than the wish of many to stay together in Nepal and wait for the easterly wind to bring the smell of their soil.

The first of thousands are expected to arrive here in January 2008.

Ft. Wayne, IN stretched to the max, no sympathy here

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Ho hum, here we go again.  Fort Wayne, Indiana facing an overload of refugees.   Apparently Allen County has been there, done that before.  Does anyone care?   Schools are overcrowded and a health crisis looms.    But, like so many outside the Washington Beltway they seem to be like sheep, whatever Washington wants, Washington gets?

Allen County may receive up to 800 refugees next year, more than four times the usual number. This year has also seen a dramatic increase with more than 700 refugees.

________

Estimated at more than 3,000, Fort Wayne’s Burmese population is already one of the largest in the United States.

_________

The majority of the incoming refugees are family reunification cases. Catholic Charities, as one of the many organizations nationwide used by the federal government to aid in resettlement, can’t turn any refugees away.

Catholic Charities can’t turn refugees away because they have a federal contract to resettle them somewhere.  But, the citizens of Ft. Wayne and Allen County can insist that the federal government cover the costs of the refugees’ schooling, welfare and health care.   These costs of a federal program should not be borne by the local community.   Or, Ft. Wayne could join other cities and just say NO! 

Oh, and speaking of health care, Allen County is still boo-hooing over the health problems they face.   We heard about this back in September, but it would appear that no one has bothered to complain to their federal elected officials.

About half the refugees are infected with latent tuberculosis, and treating the infection has strained the health department’s resources.

———–

But it must be done: About 10 percent of people carrying the non-contagious infection develop active, contagious tuberculosis if they are not treated with antibiotics, McMahan said.

————

About 10 percent of the refugees also have chronic active hepatitis B, she said.

One more thing, Ft. Wayne, if you continue to jump when Washington tells you, you might want to at least insist that Catholic Charities does its job and finds enough volunteers to care for the refugees’ needs. 

East Bay, CA–not quite a haven

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Could the East Bay area of California be our Iraqi receiving area number  six?  See our post yesterday listing other areas of the US expected to receive what promises to be a flood of Iraqi refugees in the coming year.  I thought for a minute that this was Nancy Pelosi’s district, but silly me, that would be as shocking as bringing Iraqi refugees to Hyannisport.

This article isn’t quite so cheery as the usual “haven” story and launches into the stresses and strains of living in America.   Among the culture shockers—our schools:

“That doesn’t look like a school, that looks like a disco,” said Hazim as the family passed by a high school and saw girls in low-rise pants and tank tops.

But on a more serious note, this article highlights again the mixed messages we are getting about the Iraqi refugee situation.  What is the real story?  Are we concerned that terrorists will get in, or are we worried about the signal it sends to the world—that Iraq will not be safe for a long time.  Or, both?

…. the slowdown is a clause in the Patriot Act that bars immigration to anyone who has offered “material support” to the enemy.

——–

But a spokesman for the State Department said the only bureaucratic bottleneck was the lack of “infrastructure” in Jordan and Syria. With two refugee processing centers now in place, 1,000 refugees should now enter the United States each month, Kurtis Cooper said in a telephone interview earlier this month.

———

“We consider those issues to have been addressed,” he said.

———

“It’s mystifying,” said Newland [Migration Policy Institute]. The long processing times occur “partly because they are Iraqis and the U.S. is conducting a war in Iraq,” she said. “But it’s also because the government doesn’t want to concede the vast majority will not be able to go back.”

For some other interesting views on this topic see Mother Jones here.

By the way,  it is probably no surprise that California tops the nation in the number of refugees resettled from 1983-2005.   More than 20 countries are represented in the 434,348 resettled.

Iraqis “find haven” in Boise

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

See what did I tell you!  This is the second story today where refugees “find haven”, this one is in Idaho and the other was in Florida.   I might have lost count, but Boise, ID must be city number four in our quest to discover nine “Iraqi recieving areas” in the US.   Way back in July we reported that Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI) said there were nine cities expected to recieve Iraqi refugees in the coming year. 

So, on our Iraqi refugee hit parade we have identified five so far:   Harrisonburg, VA, Warren, MI, Denver, CO, Boise, ID, and according to this article, Spokane, WA.   The U.S. State Dept. goal is to resettle 12,000 Iraqis during FY 2008.    That should be about 1,300 Iraqis per each of nine sites. 

Unlike Hagerstown, MD,  Boise is welcoming.

Boise has become something of a magnet for refugees, in part because it has three active refugee resettlement agencies, a relatively low cost of living, lots of job opportunities and a welcoming community. Since 1980, 12,000 refugees have been resettled in Idaho, mostly in Boise. They’ve come from around the world, with large groups arriving in recent years from Bosnia, Uzbekistan and Somalia. Just in the past year, Boise has received 800 refugees from 20 countries.

Bosnia, Uzbekistan and Somalia, gee the Mosque building industry must be booming in Boise.

Burmese “find haven” in Florida

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

I wonder about these daily “find haven” articles.   Is there some sort of template reporters follow when writing refugee resettlement stories?    The stories always start with a heartbreaking tale and as you read down there are little hints that not everything is peachy, but the reporter can’t quite bring him or herself to say it.   Almost every story ends with a plea for volunteers, so you know the resettlement agency is struggling even when the community is “welcoming”.

One of two “find haven” stories today is from Florida and involves the Burmese refugees.  

Nearly 14,000 Myanmar refugees have found their way to the U.S.during the past year, according to figures from the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. Close to 500 of them came to Florida.

O.K.  I know there are Buddhist monks dying as they face-off with the brutal military regime that runs Myanmar, but here is what I really want to know.   Why are we scooping up all the pro-democracy advocates who should be standing side by side with the brave monks and instead bringing them to America to wash dishes?

The majority of Myanmar refugees who have made it to Central Florida are single men like Thang.

———

Thang places his right hand on his chest when speaking of his homeland. He misses his life as a corn and wheat farmer….. he works as a kitchen helper at a hotel near International Drive.

If anyone has the answer, a real policy answer not some mushy answer, please tell me.