Archive for the ‘dangerous neighborhoods’ Category
Posted by Christopher Coen on May 17, 2012
A South Sudanese refugee who arrived in Rochester, NY at age 14 as an unaccompanied minor was murdered on Tuesday. Paul Chol Awuol was holding a friend’s son when a man just came up and shot him in the chest, according to the friend, Jessica Lane. He was in the process of becoming a certified nursing assistant, focused on helping others, when he went to Smith Street Tuesday to watch Lane’s child. In 2010 Sudanese refugees in Rochester reported finding a bullet hole in their apartment ceiling after three men were shot to death in the apartment above. A report at CBS Channel 8 gives details:
As Rochester police search for a suspect in Tuesday’s Smith Street homicide, friends of Paul Chol Awuol say the Sudanese refugee was shot in the chest while watching a close friend’s son.
Jerry DeLuccio wants people to remember Awuol as more than a crime statistic. “This was a young man that has made such a difference,” he said…
…Awuol was in the process of becoming a certified nursing assistant, focused more and more on helping others. That’s what led him to Smith Street Tuesday, to watch a friend’s child. “He was holding my son in his hand when this man came and just shot him in the chest,” said friend Jessica Lane through tears.
A small memorial has begun where the Sudanese refugee fell, the painful irony all too clear. The man who came to America as a boy to escape violence was ultimately killed by a gunman. “That’s what hurts me so much, is that he was ready to explode, in terms of how he would help others and we’re never going to have that chance,” said DeLuccio… Read more here
Posted in dangerous neighborhoods, men, Rochester, safety, South Sudanese, teenagers | Tagged: dangerous neighborhoods, Paul Chol Awuol, refugees, resettlement, rochester, shot to death, sudanese | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on May 4, 2012
Young Cambodians, mainly men, who came to the United States as infants and refugees, and were resettled in some of America’s worst gang infested neighborhoods, are now being deported due to felonies for which they have already served their time. Those who have atoned for their past crimes and are living as productive members of American society have no right to show a judge evidence of this or appeal their deportations. A video at YouTube explains their story:
One of the untold stories of the current immigration hysteria sweeping America is the forced deportation of young Cambodians, mainly men, who came to the United States as infants and refugees after escaping the Khmer Rouge genocide, civil war and illegal US invasion and bombings of Cambodia. Their families, poor, uneducated farmers for the most part, were dumped in some of America’s worst gang infested neighborhoods. Even though they had ‘permanent resident’ status, felony convictions, some more than 10 years old, means under new immigration rules they are being sent back to a country they do not know, where they have no family and little hope of escaping poverty. Even after serving time and paying back their debt to society, over 1500 Cambodians, some as old as 70 years, are being punished a second time and thrown into ICE jails with no right to appeal.
Over 200 have already arrived in Cambodia, leaving behind families, wives and children in the US. The deportees have no right to appeal, no right to see a judge to show that they have atoned for their past crimes and are living as productive members of American society. Considering America’s role in the turmoil that swept through Cambodia in the 1970s, we are breaking the faith with these refugees. Watch video here
By the way, if any of these young men had pursued their right to apply for citizenship, and had attained it, then they would not have been subject to deportation. Parents and resettlement agencies should help with this.
Posted in Cambodian, dangerous neighborhoods, ICE, Los Angeles, Oakland | Tagged: cambodian, deportation, gangs, ICE, Lost Boys, Lost Boyz, refugees, resettlement | 1 Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on May 1, 2012
Below is a comment that a regular reader of this blog submitted for today’s State Department public hearing on the size and scope of the refugee program for fiscal year 2013:
I am a private citizen refugee advocate who has been assisting refugees with resettlement issues for the past three years. My comments are based on my experience helping refugees after they arrive in the United States with two exceptions: (1) It shouldn’t be as hard as it appears to be logistically for refugees to go through the process to enter the U.S. . By that I mean, not that each individual shouldn’t be scrutinized in detail, but that the process should entail the least travel through dangerous areas in their home countries, the fewest return trips to an application center, the most feedback about application status, the fewest repeat requests for information, and the speediest answer about whether refugee status will be granted. (2) The travel loan program should be converted to a travel grant program. There seems to be some sort of philosophy that it is citizen-building to saddle a refugee with debt as his/her first exposure to life in the United States. I disagree…It is regularly and repeatedly emphasized to them that failure to repay the travel loan can jeopardize their ability to get U.S. citizenship because of an adverse credit report – yet they are all too often given no information about how to seek forgiveness of a loan many of them will likely never be able to repay in time because of their personal situations. Furthermore, I think having the resettlement agencies act as collection agents for these loans is a significant conflict of interest…
My remaining comments concern my experience during the course of my activities as a refugee advocate…Resettlement agency failures to meet contracted responsibilities are not isolated incidences but are regular, daily occurrences on a widespread basis. I believe these failures occur not because of lack of resources, although that is surely true in some cases, but primarily because of a lack of leadership. Leadership in the local affiliates, leadership in the national offices of resettlement agencies, and leadership in the Domestic Resettlement Section. The failure of leadership that talks to each other more than to refugees. Leadership that cares more about what Washington thinks than what refugees think…I have encountered exactly two offices serving refugees in which a human actually answered the telephone; my experience instead has been full of voice mail not returned and even voice mail boxes completely full – this by agencies who are serving people who may not even have used a telephone before coming to the U.S. Leadership, such as that at World Relief, who cares more about its employees’ religious qualifications than their actual competence. Leadership that does not put enough of its own cash into a resettlement program but instead phonies up the value of its match (the value of which, I believe, is rarely, if ever, audited…English language instruction, crucial, of course, for new arrivals, is regularly inadequate and irrelevant to what a new arrival needs. Referrals for mental health services are regularly inadequate or nonexistent. Housing placements are regularly in dangerous neighborhoods and/or too expensive for the refugee to sustain after financial support stops. Too often refugees are completely abandoned after the initial six months placement…Too often the minimum contractually-required services are not adequately provided or not provided at all. Too often refugees become homeless…There are few people in responsible positions who have the personal and professional competence to install effective programs, who care whether their subcontractors perform well, who care whether their employees serve their clients well, who blame themselves and not their clients when things are not working well…
Particularly disappointing is the leadership of the Domestic Resettlement Section who appears to be more apologist for and defender of resettlement agencies and their local affiliates no matter what rather than the overseers and refugee advocates they should be. Complaints go unanswered; or, if answered, are answered with the condescension of a parent who knows best and must be trusted to do the right thing. Investigation may be promised but one never knows whether it happens and what the result is because that would be a violation of confidentiality. All I know is that what I complained about did not appear to change…Program audits are too infrequent and do not appear to include audits of financial responsibility…Particularly disappointing is that the Domestic Resettlement Section seems to think all is well and nothing needs to change – at least nothing they care to share with the public…
Here is a link to a documentary about refugees in Buffalo, N.Y. I think you’ll find their indomitable spirits despite all that has happened to them is most inspiring. I also recommend the press kit that is posted on the web site for an insight as to how resettlement agencies in Buffalo inspired the making of this film. Read full letter here
Posted in capacity, dangerous neighborhoods, democracy, language interpretation/translation, lack of, Office of Admissions, openess and transparency in government, RPC (Refugee Processing Center), SIV (Special Immigrant Visa) immigrants, State Department, Travel Loan Program, volunteers, World Relief | Tagged: Advocate, comment, Domestic Resettlement Section, FY2013, public hearing, refugees, resettlement, RPC (Refugee Processing Center), State Department, US Department of State | 1 Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on April 10, 2012
In addition to the two recent murders of South Sudanese refugees in Denver, the director of ECDC African Community Center says that there have been many incidents of the refugees being attacked, hassled and threatened in the city. A young South Sudanese man was shot in the neck and paralyzed from the waist down when two men robbed him as he returned to his Denver apartment one afternoon last June. Another South Sudanese refugee reports having been laughed at, called ugly and told to go back to where he came from. A teenage girl once threatened to hit him with a rock, he said, and he believes that the Sudanese have been victims due to their darker color (most Sudanese have skin that is darker than that of the average African-American). An article in the Denver Post gives other details of abusive treatment and crimes against local South Sudanese residents:
Jimma Reat’s murder last week in Denver was one more blow to a war-scarred community of Sudanese refugees still struggling to come to grips with the unsolved shooting death of Reat’s uncle four months ago.
The immigrants from the African country are frequently victims, said Project Education Sudan director Carol Rinehart.
“There are a lot of incidents with Sudanese being attacked, hassled and threatened,” Rinehart said. “They have been through a lot of trauma, and to have this happen to them, it just creates more anxiety.”…
…”This is a community that knows death. That doesn’t make it any easier,” said Jennifer Gueddiche, director of the ECDC African Community Center…
…David Deng, who came to the United States in 2001, was shot in the neck and paralyzed from the waist down when two men robbed him as he returned to his Denver apartment one afternoon last June. When a friend called and told him of Reat’s death, the news hit him hard.
“That is scaring me,” said Deng, 30. “We don’t know why there are a lot of bad things happening.”
His sentiment is widely shared within the tight-knit community of refugees that numbers about 6,000, Gueddiche said…
…”This is huge. They’re just absolutely devastated,” she said. “Imagine coming to a place where you are supposed to be safe. … This is the second random act of violence on this community.”
The recent burst of violence began Dec. 26, when Reat’s uncle, Youn Malual, was shot and killed in the parking lot of his Arapahoe County apartment building.
A father of five, he was returning from his job as a bus mechanic when he was attacked. He had no enemies, said Dengpathot, who thinks Malual’s death was the result of someone’s road rage.
His killer hasn’t been caught. Denver police also are still seeking those involved in Reat’s death. The longer the killers stay free, the more likely they — or someone else — will hurt another person, said Reat’s uncle, Thomas Puot…
…Authorities in Denver and Arapahoe County have said they have no reason to think the shootings of Mulual and Reat are related.
“At this point, we don’t have any indication of a connection, but it is something we will keep open,” said Denver police Capt. Ron Saunier, head of the Crimes Against Persons Bureau. “I don’t want to rule it out.”
The investigation into Malual’s death is active, and investigators are working on “significant” leads, said Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson.
Saunier said there is no indication that Reat’s death is gang-related.
The assailants, who appeared to be Latino, screamed racial epithets during the attack, said Reat’s brother, Ran James Pal, 25, who was driving that night.
That racial slurs would be part of the assault doesn’t surprise Isaac Bher, 32, who immigrated in 2001 and is now a U.S. citizen. Most Sudanese have skin that is darker than that of the average African-American.
“I know we have been victims by our darker color,” Bher said. “Even the African-Americans are not very happy with us.”
He said he has been laughed at, called ugly and told to go back to where [he] came from. A teenage girl once threatened to hit him with a rock, he said… Read more here
Posted in African Community Center (Denver), dangerous neighborhoods, Denver, police, safety, South Sudanese | Tagged: African Community Center, attacks, Denver, racial prejudice, refugees, resettlement, shootings, sudanese | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on April 9, 2012
A 24-year-old Sudanese refugee in Denver was shot to death while riding in his brother’s car after a police dispatcher instructed his brother to go back to the scene where someone had threatened them with a gun. The dispatcher also failed to send a police officer to the scene for about four minutes after the brother reported that men had threatened them with a gun. The original incident started at a traffic light as the young Sudanese men were driving when a Jeep rolled up beside them and men inside started to call them names using the N-word. The men got out of a Jeep (a stolen vehicle) and threw beer bottles, breaking the car’s rear window. Last December an uncle of the young man killed was also shot to death behind his home after returning home from work in the early morning hours, in a crime that is still unsolved. An article in the Denver Post documents what happened during the latest incident:
A Denver 911 operator was mistaken when he told a motorist to return to the area where he and his companions had been threatened in a road-rage incident — moments before a fatal shooting, the head of the city’s emergency phone system acknowledged Monday.
Jimma Reat, a 24-year-old Sudanese refugee, died in the incident.
Reat and three companions had safely returned to his Wheat Ridge apartment and called 911 to report the altercation early Sunday when the 911 operator instructed them to drive back to Denver and wait for a police officer.
While they waited, a Jeep that had been involved in the earlier incident appeared and someone opened fire, killing Reat…
…failed to dispatch a police officer for about four minutes after one of Reat’s brothers told him that a carload of men, one of them flourishing a gun, threatened them…
…Reat’s brother, Gatwec Dengpathot, said the group had returned to the parking lot at Reat’s apartment in Wheat Ridge after the altercation, during which someone threatened them with a gun…
…One of Reat’s brothers, who was driving the Dodge Charger, was on a cellphone talking to the operator.
“He told the dispatcher that it isn’t safe there,” Dengpathot said. “We don’t want to go there, that is where the problem happened, they were threatening us with a gun.”
But after a few moments, “they finally submitted to the (operator’s) authority” and returned to West 29th Avenue, just east of Sheridan Boulevard, within Denver’s border, Dengpathot said…
…The original incident started at a traffic light as the group was driving north on Sheridan, at West 10th, when the Jeep rolled up beside the Charger, and the men inside started to call them “names using the N-word,” Dengpathot said.
The men, he said, got out of the Jeep and threw beer bottles, breaking the Charger’s rear window… Read more here
Posted in African Community Center (Denver), dangerous neighborhoods, Denver, police, safety, South Sudanese | Tagged: Denver, dispatcher, killing, resettlement, rfugees, shooting, sudanese | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on January 20, 2012
Last May we read news reports in the Milwaukee media that Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan had placed Burmese refugees in an apartment building overflowing with code violations, roaches, leaking sewage, and owned and operated by a known felon involved in child-porn. A local reporter tried to get some answers from the State Department about their contractor, but answers were not forthcoming.
Now, based on a State Department monitoring report of USCRI’s International Institute of Wisconsin (IIW), it seems that agency was violating almost every State Department contract requirement. Monitors visited the usual small sample (too small?) of three refugee cases and found serious failure of the agency in providing minimal contract-requirements in all three cases. Problems ranged from lack of orientation or help of any type for a refugee family to refugees in substandard housing.
…[A] Burmese family of four lived in an apartment complex…The apartment visited had a smoke detector that did not work; the bathroom had missing ceiling tiles with pipes exposed, mold around the chalk in the bathtub, and evidence of water leakage; there were exposed wires in the hallway; paint was dirty with holes and nails on the wall…
They told monitors they did not receive any orientation from the agency. The caseworker told monitors that orientation was provided but that he had relied on the 17-year-old daughter for translation…This was not documented in the case file…
…[A] single Burmese Karen woman lived in a room in an apartment shared with a Burmese married couple…Her bedroom door did not have a doorknob or lock. She used a bookcase/dresser to block the door at night. The bathroom had a leaky ceiling. There were two broken windows in the living room and in the kitchen. She reported mice infestation in the apartment, and monitors observed mouse droppings in the kitchen pantry… Read more here
By the way, minors should never be used as interpreters.
Posted in Burma/Myanmar, community/cultural orientation, Cuban, cultural/community orientation, post arrival, dangerous neighborhoods, home visits, housing, housing, substandard, International Institute of Wisconsin, language, late health screenings, Milwaukee, pocket-money, rats and roaches, State Department, teenagers | Tagged: Milwaukee, refugees, resettlement, substandard housing, U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on December 28, 2011
An article in the San Francisco Chronicle identifies the many Iraqi refugees who have been attacked in East Oakland. In response, the State Department’s PRM spokeswoman, Beth Schlachter, reminds us about its lax, partner-friendly regulations by saying that the department’s guidelines for relocating refugees don’t even consider crime rates (funny how that works). A reader commenting on the article reminds us that Bosnian refugees had similar problems in the 90s, so the private resettlement agencies and their friends at government oversight agencies have obviously long-known about this problem. Refugees from Burma/Myanmar in the area have also experienced muggings and robberies, as have refugees from Bhutan/Nepal. The article details the situation in Oakland for Iraqi refugees:
…In June 2008, [Ghazwan Al-Sharif] moved in with two other Iraqi refugees, sharing a two-bedroom apartment in Oakland’s Fruitvale neighborhood – a situation arranged by the nonprofit International Rescue Committee…
…One night, he decided to walk home alone. Two men attacked him, bashing him in the face with a metal object and robbing him of some money, his cell phone and his ID. He was left screaming on the ground, his face gushing blood.
He said the police never identified his attackers.
Al-Sharif, 40, is one of more than 50 Iraqi refugees who have been moved to East Oakland by the International Rescue Committee. The nonprofit’s officials say they won’t settle refugees in unsafe neighborhoods, but Al-Sharif and dozens of other Iraqis blame the organization for exposing them to an unfamiliar type of violence – one perpetrated by gangs rather than political militants…
…Like many of his fellow Bay Area refugees, Al-Sharif does not believe the International Rescue Committee has done enough. “Why are you putting them in Oakland and letting them suffer?” he said, referring to his fellow refugees. “I want to be safe. … I can find work and manage to survive, but I need to be safe.”
Oakland as refuge
Oakland has a long history of hosting immigrants from around the world. Affordable housing, easy access to city services, efficient transportation such as BART, and an accepting, multicultural society make the city a great place for refugees, said rescue committee spokeswoman Melissa Winkler.
But the nonprofit receives only $1,800 in federal funding to provide each refugee with housing, employment and other basic needs. That doesn’t go far in the Bay Area, and refugees are expected to be financially self-sufficient within four months.
That’s why the IRC chose to resettle many of them in Oakland, where housing is often inexpensive…
…Unfortunately, the city also has one of the country’s highest crime rates, according to federal statistics and other studies.
Beth Schlachter, spokeswoman for the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration at the State Department, said government guidelines for relocating refugees don’t consider crime rates. The requirements for “decent, safe and sanitary housing,” she said, extend only “from the apartment itself to the building or apartment complex they’re living in.”…
…[Harith Al-Kaiate, 47] hasn’t forgotten the time a nighttime gunfight near his home left his car, which was parked outside, riddled with bullets…
…Ragheed Abdulameer, 32, another recent arrival, [was] robbed at gunpoint earlier this year just a few blocks from his home at East 24th Street and 14th Avenue…One of Abdulameer’s friends has yet to bring his wife and children from Iraq, believing they’re safer in Basra. The friend declined to be interviewed or identified for this article, saying he fears retaliation from federal authorities and the rescue committee.
More than a dozen Iraqi refugees who have been resettled in Oakland say they live in varying degrees of fear.
“Had I known about this place, I’d never have agreed to come,” said Oday Fatah, 33…
…the only solution for you is to get beaten or mugged and then you can get out,” quipped Al-Sharif, who says he became depressed and attempted suicide after he was mugged. His condition persuaded the International Rescue Committee to help relocate him to San Francisco.
The rescue committee agreed to move another refugee and his family after he was shot multiple times in a drive-by shooting outside a Fruitvale mini-mart earlier this year, Climent said.
[Iraqi refugees who make it to the US] almost certainly suffered horrendous trauma in their home country.
“They’ve survived, and they’ve come to the U.S. to start a new life, and if you settle them in an environment like that, you bring back all these things,” Abdulkhaleq said… Read more here
Posted in dangerous neighborhoods, Iraqi, IRC, Oakland, PRM, public/private partnership, safety, San Francisco, State Department, suicide | Tagged: crime, International Rescue Committee, Iraqi, IRC, mugging, Oakland, refugees, resettlement, shooting, State Department | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on December 13, 2011
Cleveland’s International Services Center (ISC) will work with the Cuyahoga County land bank in a joint effort, called The Discovering Home Program, to pair refugee families with some of the area’s many vacant homes. There are about 15,000 vacant and abandoned houses in Cuyahoga County. Currently the Cuyahoga Land Bank lists many of these houses (most requiring extensive rehab) on its website, along with an application, for sale between $5-10K. Fannie Mae, the government-sponsored mortgage finance company, kicked in $50,000 to fund some of the repairs and to jumpstart the program. ISC will require refugees to invest “sweat equity” in helping to renovate the homes – similar to how Habitat for Humanity works to build homes for low-income families. The details are found in an article in The Plain Dealer:
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Within the collection of abandoned houses haunting the region stand some unpolished gems, sturdy structures that lack only a caring family to again become a home. Where will those families come from?
They’re already here.
That’s what the International Services Center told leaders of the Cuyahoga County land bank…
…”We have all these empty houses. These people need homes,” said Karin Wishner, executive director of the International Services Center, the region’s oldest resettlement agency. “This seems to be a good answer to both problems.”…
…That was intriguing news to Gus Frangos, president of what’s formally called the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corp. He has more vacant houses than he knows what to do with. The usual solution, demolition, costs his agency $10,000 to $20,000 per house…
…The program, called “Discovering Home,” will begin modestly this winter with a single family moving into a house on the northeast side of Lakewood.
In November, the land bank began renovations on the narrow yellow two-story house at 1443 Hopkins Avenue, which has stood vacant for years. Fannie Mae, the government-sponsored mortgage finance company, kicked in $50,000 to fund some of the repairs and to jumpstart the program.
Plans call for the land bank to turn over the deed to the ISC, which will manage the property until the tenants — who are expected to earn sweat equity — are deemed ready to be homeowners…
…Frangos said he hopes to renovate 11 more doomed houses next year, in cooperation with the ISC, match them with refugee families and then take stock.
“My vision is, every year, I’d like to give 10, 15 houses over to their families,” Frangos said. “I think we can bring back some of these neighborhoods.”
From his perspective, the cost is manageable. Money he would have spent on demolition he will plow into renovation.
The ISC, a struggling nonprofit agency, will need additional revenue to cover its new costs as a landlord and property owner. Staffers hope the program will attract public support and donations… Read more here
I like the idea of the program since it could be a win-win for everyone – vacant homes find a use, which better uses the demolition costs, refugees get homes, raising the tax base, thus helping to stabilize the City’s neighborhoods. There is the issue, however, of local crime and the safety and quality of the local schools. That’s a question that the State Department and the private resettlement agencies need to consider before they place refugees in various cities – refugees in Cleveland are no doubt already dealing with those issues while living in low-income rentals. Also, the program will need quite a bit of money along with the “sweat equity” for things such as appliances, duct work, paint, pipes, and electric, HVAC, and plumbing repairs and installations. The ISC will need now-how and skill to deal with the possible variables – managing the money, dealing with contractors who may try to overcharge, theft and vandalism between repairs and the move in date, and acting as a landlord while the refugees pay down the costs. From a PR standpoint it would be best if other local agencies were offering similar opportunities to other low-income residents — but that’s a larger problem.
Posted in Cleveland, dangerous neighborhoods, economic self-sufficiency, housing, International Services Center, population levels, using refugees as pawns to boost | Tagged: .Discovering Home Program, Cleveland, Cuyahoga Land Bank, Fannie Mae, International Services Center, ISC, refugees, resettlement, sweat equity, vacant housing | 1 Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on November 28, 2011
Researchers at San Francisco State University and the Burma Refugee Family Network (BRFN) released a report that claims almost 60 percent of Oakland’s refugees from Burma/Myanmar are living in extreme poverty, with 63% being unemployed. Those of Karenni origin from Burma fair even worse: 81 percent are unemployed, and 90 percent are living in extreme poverty. The report concludes that refugees from Burma in Oakland are at risk of becoming a permanent, poverty-stricken underclass, and that the local resettlement program has not been successful. An article at EurekAlert has the story:
Refugees who have fled Burma to live in Oakland, Calif., are at risk of becoming a permanent, poverty-stricken underclass warns a new report released today by researchers at San Francisco State University and the Burma Refugee Family Network (BRFN). The report found that almost 60 percent of Oakland’s refugees from Burma are living in extreme poverty…
…”These recent refugees from Burma are facing dire circumstances,” said Russell Jeung, associate professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University…
…Jeung and his students, together with BRFN and other community-based organizations, surveyed 194 refugees from Burma to assess the community’s needs. The researchers found that in addition to high poverty rates, these refugees face barriers to accessing employment, health care and government benefits caused by their lack of English. These barriers have been exacerbated by recent cuts in the provision of English as a Second Language (ESL) classes and a lack of appropriate interpretation services…
…The report found that among Oakland’s refugee population from Burma:
- 63 percent are unemployed. Those that are employed have sporadic, low-wage jobs.
- 57 percent live below the federal threshold for extreme poverty, earning less than $1,000 per month for an average household size of five. Most of the remainder live below the federal poverty line.
- 38 percent speak no English at all. Another 28 percent speak English poorly.
- 74 percent report that lack of English is their biggest barrier to accessing health care.
- 47 percent report that English classes are the most-needed service in their community…
…Now resettled in Oakland, refugees of Karenni origin are struggling to adapt to life in the United States: 81 percent are unemployed, 90 percent are living in extreme poverty and 90 percent have no high school education…
…”Our findings suggest that resettlement programs in Oakland are not yet successful,” Maung said. “We would like to see federal and local refugee government agencies and nonprofits working together with and supporting grassroots community organizations in order to help members of our community achieve self-sufficiency.”… Read more here
Refugees from Burma/Myanmar have also experienced muggings and robberies in Oakland, as have refugees from Bhutan/Nepal.
Posted in alienation-isolation, Burma/Myanmar, dangerous neighborhoods, economic self-sufficiency, employment/jobs for refugees, ESL & ELL, Karen, Karenni, language, language interpretation/translation, lack of, Oakland | Tagged: Burma, Burma Refugee Family Network, Cesar Chavez Institute, From Crisis to Community Development: Needs Assessments of Refugees from Burma, Myanmar, Oakland, poverty, refugees, resettlement, San Francisco State University | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on November 9, 2011
An in-depth article on the events surrounding the December 2009 attack on dozens of Asian refugee children at a south Philadelphia school, that resulted in 13 refugee children taken to the emergency room, reveals the extent that teachers, the principle, security guards and other staff were present and unresponsive as the attacks occurred. Refugee students report that the principle disappeared while walking children home just before vicious beatings took place. Teachers and cafeteria staff called the students “Yo Dragonball” or “Yo Chinese” and even mocked their accents. The School District of Philadelphia also apparently has an ongoing pattern of unresponsiveness to reports of students bullying refugee students, despite an early 2011 settlement with the Justice Department.
The article also points to relatively large number of refugees from Burma/Myanmar that the State Department resettled in a relatively short period, which the school district was not ready to accommodate. These are some of the considerations the State Department needs to make when reading glowing annual resettlement proposals from their private resettlement contractors
We should not underestimate the catastrophic long-term damage to refugees resulting from these brutalities during their formative years. The article points out that bullying can lead to a lifetime of low self-worth, suicide attempt or depression, and that doesn’t even consider the trauma, tumult and deprivation that refugee have already endured before their resettlement. Hyphen Magazine magazine published this article:
On a cold December day in 2009, just weeks before Christmas, 15-year-old Trang Dang was walking home from school with her sister and eight friends, all recent Vietnamese immigrants. Also part of their group: the principal of their school.
Dang, who is 5’9” with a medium build and a dimpled, contagious smile, asked the principal to accompany them because she and the others were terrified by the intense bullying and violence against Asian students that had taken place earlier that day at their school, South Philadelphia High School. Midway through the walk, the principal, LaGreta Brown, disappeared, Dang said. “She walked to the corner with us and then we didn’t see her anymore,” Dang said. They debated whether to stay or continue walking. “Our friends said if we stand here, we’ll get in trouble,” Dang said. So they opted to try to make it home that day on their own.
They never did.
About half a block from school, a mob of at least two dozen students started chasing them. Dang was the first to be caught. She was punched in the face, shattering her glasses. “It was a quick hit and then they ran,” she said. “After I got hit, then my mind just went blank. I was crying. It wasn’t that painful, I think, but I don’t really remember. I think because I’ve tried to forget about that day.” The entire group was cornered, and all were hit. Dang still doesn’t know for sure why the principal seemingly left the group…
…The entire day, roving gangs of high schoolers searched for and attacked Asian teenagers in a nightmarish ordeal. Most of the attacks took place on the premises of this poor school in south Philadelphia while teachers, security guards and other staff were present.
In total, at least 26 Asian immigrant students were physically assaulted in a series of violent conflicts. Thirteen Asian students ended up in the emergency room for injuries ranging from a broken nose to black eyes. One had to have surgery because he could no longer breathe through his nose…
…Some speculate that the ethnic tensions at the school can be attributed to lack of adult intervention, adults modeling bad behavior such as racially charged name calling, stereotypes and an influx of Asian students in a relatively short time period without the school or district adequately addressing the changes…
…In the last five years, there were 534 documented assaults at the school, more than any other in the district…
…In some cases, bullying can lead to thoughts of suicide, according to Eliza Noh, an Asian American studies professor at California State University, Fullerton, who has studied suicide among Asian Americans. “Some Asian American women I interviewed reported being victims of racist bullying when they were young, contributing to their low self-worth, suicide attempt or depression later in life,” Noh said. Liu pointed out bullying victims are essentially trauma victims who experience post-traumatic stress disorder similar to war veterans. He warned that young people may experience psychosomatic symptoms like feeling ill, as well as hypervigilance, heightened startled responses, depression and social withdrawal… Read more here
Posted in abuse, Burma/Myanmar, capacity, children, dangerous neighborhoods, Dept. of Justice, FBI, mental health, Philadelphia, safety, schools, State Department, teenagers | Tagged: Asian, bullying, Burmese, children, Myanmar, Philadelphia, refugees, resettlement, South Philadelphia High School, State Department | Leave a Comment »
Christopher Coen
Melissa Sogard
nancylee1
Comment submitted for today’s State Department hearing on size & scope of refugee program
Posted by Christopher Coen on May 1, 2012
Posted in capacity, dangerous neighborhoods, democracy, language interpretation/translation, lack of, Office of Admissions, openess and transparency in government, RPC (Refugee Processing Center), SIV (Special Immigrant Visa) immigrants, State Department, Travel Loan Program, volunteers, World Relief | Tagged: Advocate, comment, Domestic Resettlement Section, FY2013, public hearing, refugees, resettlement, RPC (Refugee Processing Center), State Department, US Department of State | 1 Comment »