Archive for the ‘Burma/Myanmar’ Category
Posted by Christopher Coen on May 14, 2012
Some refugee population groups entering the US come from a long tradition of farming and may wish to continue farming as a way to earn a living. Refugees from Myanmar and Hmong refugees, mainly from Cambodia, are two groups that come to mind. The National Immigrant Farming Initiative is helping immigrants and refugees with a penchant for farming to apply those skills in the US by teaching them about our growing season, crops, prices, regulations, where and how to sell, how to connect with markets and government farm support programs. This is apparently not only a way for refugees to help them keep up their agrarian practices, but is also a way of avoiding the poverty trap for those with little English and a lack of American workplace skills. An article in Twin Cities Daily Planet has more:
He was born in mountainous Cambodia and dreamed of owning a farm. She was born to the far-reaching plains of the Midwest and flourished in an urban setting of coffee shops and poetry readings.
Now, immigrant Proeun and Amy Doeun are married, have four children, a herd of goats and 85 chickens as well as their own 40-acre farm in Rush City. That’s thanks in large part to the Minnesota Food Association, a farm entrepreneurship program she calls “our alma mater.’’
That program is but one of many to be highlighted at an upcoming national conference with a title as long and as self-explanatory as many a non-fiction book.
“Grassroots and Groundwork: Working Together to Reduce Poverty and Build Prosperity”…
…The need for such agricultural training appeared as Minnesota experienced a “huge and steady influx of immigrants from other countries, many of them from agrarian societies and they would like to know how can I farm in Minnesota,’’ Hill explains. The program teaches about the growing season here, crops, prices, regulations, where and how to sell, how to connect with markets and government farm support programs, he says.
The state group is a member of the National Immigrant Farming Initiative, an advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., supporting immigrants who don’t have the capital or knowhow or don’t understand the American agricultural system or have limited English, explains the group’s Executive Director Rigoberto Delgado. He will also speak at the conference.
Delgado says immigrants are replacing the disappearing American family farmer, pointing out that the number of Latino farmers in the United States grew 14 percent between 2002 and 2007.
“They come with the American dream and a penchant for farming. We are like the doorway for immigrants and refugees to find their way,’’ says Delgado… Read more here
Posted in Burma/Myanmar, community farms, Hmong, Minnesota | Tagged: Burma, community farms, family farmer, Hmong, Minnesota Food Association, Myanmar, National Immigrant Farming Initiative, refugees, resettlement, Small farms | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on May 3, 2012
In late 2009 and early 2010 a volunteer assisting refugees at the Bowling Green International Center (previously known as Western Kentucky Refugee Mutual Assistance Association) found refugees from Myanmar (in this case Karenni) living in deplorable conditions, who reported receiving low-quality resettlement services from the resettlement agency. The volunteer documented extensively what she saw and heard, including taking photos and videos. Oddly, a State Department resettlement grant inspection report from earlier in 2009 failed to uncover any of these problems.
Now, here is a look at the ORR’s most recent inspection report of the International Center’s (IC’s) use of Matching Grant Program funds, from 2006. By the way, this is one of twelve inspection reports (8 were incomplete) that we recently received from a Freedom of Information Act request to the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) covering a period from 2005 to 2011. (If HHS complied with the FOIA law, that would mean that the ORR did two inspections per year. This, in a program that in CY2006, for example, paid out $35,772,000 to the resettlement contractors, and served 24,753 refugees, Cuban/Haitian Entrants, asylees and victims of trafficking)
Here are highlights from the inspection:
- The IC’s national affiliate, the USCRI, supposedly monitored the IC in March of 2006 (these are the self-inspections that the State Dept. touts as being useful — I remain skeptical). “ORR requested a copy of this report for the record, but USCRI failed to comply.”
- Of the 67 refugees enrolled in the MG program in 2005, the ORR reviewed only eight refugee case files. Files contained document forms in other languages that did not have a corresponding English copy. Comprehensive employment services were in some cases not documented as required by MG Guidelines. In some cases there was no documentation of closeout, e.g. status of refugee at termination of services and referrals to later programs if needed. The ORR reviewer found that the full issues that had arisen in refugee cases — the resulting services and/or follow-up for some cases — were not noted, and were instead learned only by speaking with the refugees (visiting with only three of the 67 refugees) and resettlement agency staff.
- The IC referred the vast majority of refugees to only one factory that it had a long, established relationship with, disregarding the diversity of refugees’ employment histories and education. (One size does not fit all.)
- Instances where the IC did not pay the children’s part of the monthly cash payments – $40 per child. This is the cash that the ORR gives to resettlement agencies for refugee parents who are receiving employment services so that they are able to pay basic bills.
- Although resettlement agencies such as the IC are allowed to use $2 in MG funds for each $1 in donations they gather, the ORR review found “numerous instances in which copious amounts of inappropriate and unallowable donations were being recorded and counted as MG match. Examples include $1,639 for clothing donations to [match the MG funds] a family of three…and $3,319 for clothing donations for a family of six…unclear service donations of $192 (I suspect that should be four digits — a piece here is redacted)…and counting donations that are clearly required as part of the [State Department refugee grant] (Mattresses [for one refugee] and pillows, sheets, mattresses, etc. for [another refugee] as MG match. The reviewer…found that donated goods were not…consistently valued in a manner that assigns reasonable values to such donations.”
- The IC intermingled funds from separate grants, even from separate US federal agencies, which the ORR assessed as “grossly incompliant” (sic). For example, the reviewer found “numerous instances where [IC] was incorrectly charging federal funds for employee time. ORR Matching Grant, ORR Cash Assistance, ORR Medical Assistance, ORR…Social Services, and [State Department initial resettlement services grant money] charges were often mixed up.” This included double charging case management services to the MG program and to another grant though the refugee was only enrolled in the MG program, charging refugee health costs to MG, and charging MG past the allowable service period.
- Despite these deficiencies the ORR wrote that the International Center provides “effective services to refugees that are enrolled in the MG program” (???), and that the number of refugees enrolled in the MG program was projected to increase from 67 in 2005 to 175 in 2006. The ORR’s specific assessment of the IC’s use of MG program grant money also appears to give the agency credit for non-MG services. For example, the ORR gives the IC credit for services such as referring refugees in a timely manner to food stamps, medical assistance, health screenings and social security cards – all of which the State Department refugee resettlement grant covered. Read report here
Posted in Bowling Green, children, employment services, employment/jobs for refugees, International Center in Bowling Green (Western Kentucky Refugee Mutual Assistance Association), Karenni, Matching Grant program, ORR, USCRI | Tagged: Bowling Green, government contractor, International Center, karenni, Matching grant, One size fits all, ORR, refugees, resettlement, Western Kentucky Refugee Mutual Assistance Association | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on April 26, 2012
“Car break-ins, ’30-plus’ broken windows, an old man getting punched in the face, a young woman…kicked’, and theft.” Those are some of the incidents at Summer Place Townhomes in Lansing, MI that refugees say have happened to them since November. The refugees, from Burma, Bhutan and Iraq, say they have been the target of a group of 10 and 20 local teenagers. Some of the refugees find it hard to sleep at night, while others are taking turns staying up at night to watch for trouble. The Lansing Police Department doesn’t seem to know much about what’s happening though refugees have reported the ongoing crimes. An article at Lansing City Pulse has the story:
…Bo is a refugee from Burma and has lived in Summer Place Townhomes for about seven years…
…since November, Bo and his family haven’t been sleeping due to a combination of fear and duty — they take turns staying up all night to keep intruders away. Several other neighbors in Summer Place report similar situations.
“It’s been quiet, safe, secure,” Bo said, referring to the years leading up to November. Then he rattles off nearly daily instances when he and his neighborhood have been the target of a group of local teenagers, between 10 and 20 of them: car break-ins, “30-plus” broken windows, an old man getting punched in the face, a young woman “about my age kicked by those people,” theft.
So this is why you stand guard overnight. “Yeah, it’s very dangerous. We all worry. You gotta watch out and stay awake.”
Bo fears the worst: that the harassment will turn deadly. At one point, he armed himself with a pellet gun, which he said was subsequently taken by the Lansing Police Department. “We are not shooting for anything. I believe I’m doing the right thing. It’s like I’m security, protecting all people, not just the Burmese.”
As I walk through the neighborhood Saturday before meeting Bo, refugees from Iraq and Bhutan tell similar stories.
Dozens of young children — from toddlers to teenagers — were playing in the street and courtyards. Adults gathered around, keeping an eye on them. The day before, the group came and broke a car window, said Ammar Mahdi, a 41-year-old refugee from Iraq. Mahdi’s English was broken and, at times, his 10-year-old son, Yousif, acted as a translator.
“We need help. It’s every day,” Mahdi said. “I am not sleeping.”..
…Devi Ghimisey is from Bhutan and about the same age as Mahdi. He lived in a refugee camp in Nepal for 18 years before coming to the U.S. three years ago.
“They come while we’re sleeping. Kids playing football — they come and beat them up. They come and throw rocks,” Ghimisey said.
Recently, the group stole Mohammed Mohahamed’s children’s three bikes. Two weeks ago, they broke his neighbor’s house windows. Mohahamed is 33 and also came from Iraq. “I want to change this trouble,” he said. “I want the street here safe.”…
While this has been going on, arrests have been scarce…neighbors say the response from the Lansing Police Department has been inadequate…
…neighbors say they feel discouraged from calling the police because the trouble keeps happening — even after reports…
…Alfonso Salas, who owns Lansing Athletics sporting goods store…says that while it’s a rough neighborhood to begin with, he thinks it’s racially charged. And he warns that something needs to change, or “it’s gonna get bad.”
“Because of the color of their skin and who they are, they get beat up on,” he said. “I feel for them… Read more here
Posted in abuse, Burma/Myanmar, children, hate crimes, housing, Iraqi, Lansing, Nepali Bhutanese, police, safety | Tagged: attacks, broken windows, Burma, dangerous neighborhood, Lansing, Myanmar, refugees, resettlement, Summer Place Townhomes, theft | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on April 18, 2012
The Nickel City Smiler film will screen in Burlington on April 23.
Nickel City Smiler Movie – Karen People of Burma Refugee Documentary Film
Nickel City Smiler will be screening in North End Studios, Studio B in Burlington, Vermont on April 23rd at 7pm. Please come out and support Caroline Grace Casey and the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program.
Posted in Burlington, Burma/Myanmar | Tagged: Burma, Myanmar, Nickel City Smiler, refugees, resettlement, Smiler Greely | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on April 18, 2012
***UPDATE*** – April 24, 2012 — Dovetree Apartments alleges that only one apartment was affected by bed bug infestation
Bed bugs have infested at least 24 apartment units in an apartment building housing refugees in San Antonio. The resurgence of bedbugs is a problem throughout the United States (Note: like mosquitoes they take a blood meal from humans, however, unlike mosquitoes they transmit no diseases). Bedding donated to Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of San Antonio seems to be the culprit in this case. An article at KSAT has the story:
Refugees from all over the world came to San Antonio to escape war, poverty and persecution in their home countries, yet Pamela Espurvoa, a refugee advocate, said they arrived here only to encounter a bed bug infestation at the Dove Tree Apartments in the 4500 block of Gardendale.
Yet now, Pamela Raines, director of development for Catholic Charities, the agency responsible for their resettlement, said Dove Tree will begin treatment on Friday once the affected apartments are identified.
“Catholic Charities will certainly cover it,” Raines said, referring to the cost of the extermination…
…Espurvoa said tenants of all ages were being bitten by the bugs. She said an exterminator told her the bed bugs were in the mattresses, walls, air ducts and clothing.
“He couldn’t believe the magnitude of this, and this is only one unit,” Espurvoa said.
Espurvoa said she believes at least two dozen units are infested…
…Reason being, the apartment manager said, was that the infestation occurred after the refugees moved in.
Both she and Espurvoa said the likely source was the bedding that was donated, since the families arrived with next to nothing… Read more here
An article at the San Antonio Express-News indicates that several buildings are affected. Also, a Myanmar refugee said she had not reported the problem to apartment management despite a month-long infestation.
…Exterminators have been called to combat a bedbug problem at a Northwest Side apartment complex reserved for refugees seeking asylum.
The outbreak was reported Tuesday at the Dove Tree apartments in the 4500 block of Gardendale. Dove Tree is one of several San Antonio complexes where refugees settle after arriving through the United States Refugee Resettlement Program.
Catholic Charities is helping provide exterminators to spray affected units Friday, according to a source. The organization had no comment Tuesday night.
The pest problem has been reported to affect several buildings.
Nye Reh, from Myanmar, lives with his wife and five other relatives in a two-bedroom unit where a spray of insect droppings covers the corner of a mattress.
Reh said through a relative interpreting for him that he itches throughout the day.
Damanti Biswa said she sleeps near her front door to get away from the bugs. Tika Biswa interpreted for her, saying she’s had the problem for the past month and hadn’t reported the bugs to apartment management yet…
…The resurgence of bedbugs has been a problem throughout the United States, not only in apartments but also in the nicest hotels, said Roseann Vivanco, clinical instructor at the University of Texas Health Science Center…
“Bedbugs don’t mean a person is dirty; they don’t discriminate between the rich or poor,” Vivanco said. “There does need to be some education, continuous cleaning, and they’ll need assistance with that. I’m glad to see that Catholic Charities has stepped up to the plate to help out.” Read more here
Posted in bed bugs, Burma/Myanmar, Catholic Charities Archdiocese of San Antonio Inc., Nepali Bhutanese, San Antonio, volunteers | Tagged: bed bugs, bhutanese, Burma, catholic charities, infestation, Myanmar, refugees, resettlement, San Antonio | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on April 17, 2012
At least five houses were damaged in a fire that sweep through an historic neighborhood in downtown near the capitol in Albany on Sunday. The building where the fire started was occupied by three Myanmar refugee families resettled by Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Albany. An article at the Albany Times-Union explains:
ALBANY — First, neighbors heard screams. Then they saw the flames.
A wall of fire washed over half a block of Park Avenue in the Mansion neighborhood Sunday evening, drawing every firetruck in the capital city to try to contain a blaze that was roaring in three houses when crews arrived around 8 p.m.
At least five houses erected in the years after the Civil War were damaged, officials said late Sunday. And although half a city block was evacuated as smoke and steam spoiled the mild spring air, no firefighters or residents were injured, according to Mayor Jerry Jennings and Fire Chief Robert Forezzi.
It was too early, the men said, to know how many people were displaced…
…Michele O’Sullivan, 45, was sitting in her apartment at 56 Park Ave. when “we heard screams, then we heard fire, then we looked up and in seconds we saw the flames.” She and several other neighbors said the blaze started at 60 Park Ave., in the back of the top floor. Forezzi and Jennings said an investigation was ongoing and that any word on a cause was premature. That building is occupied by three families who are refugees from the southeast Asian nation of Burma, according to a volunteer for Catholic Charities who assists them. The volunteer declined to be named. Some recently arrived in the city, but others have been here at least two years, the volunteer said… Read more here
Posted in Albany, apartment house fires, Burma/Myanmar | Tagged: Albany, apartment house fire, Burma, catholic charities, Myanmar, refugees, resettlement | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on April 10, 2012
Nickel City Smiler Movie – Karen People of Burma Refugee Documentary Film
Nickel City Smiler will be screening at San Francisco State University on Thursday April 19th at 4:30pm in Burk Hall, room 408. For those of you in the area, come out and support Prof. Lee, the Burmese Youth Association, and the Burma Family Network.
Posted in Buffalo, Karen, San Francisco | Tagged: Buffalo, Burma, Burma Family Network, Burmese Youth Association, CEP Films, Myanmar, Nickel City Smiler, refugees, resettlement | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on April 7, 2012
Refugees in many parts of the country find that together with the language barrier obtaining driving licenses as one of the main barriers to economic self-sufficiency. Transportation to work is difficult to arrange in areas lacking mass transit. Myanmar refugees in Kentucky have found it difficult to get driving license permits, citing a poorly translated (into Burmese) version of the written test. Alternatively, Kentucky law allows residents to take the permit test orally. Yet, in an explanation that doesn’t make sense to me, the director of a local organization that assists refugees claims that translators (interpreters?) must be court certified, and supposedly there is no local certification process available in Burmese or Karenni. (Why not?) An article in the Bowling Green Daily News explains:
When Bu Reh came to Bowling Green from the jungle of Myanmar, he wanted a quality life for his family – a home, education, jobs and a car.
He didn’t know how difficult that would be…
…After failing his driver’s permit test multiple times because he couldn’t understand the badly translated questions, Bu Reh invested about $1,000 to take his test in Arizona, which has better Burmese translation.
He got his driver’s license in Arizona, giving authorities the address of relatives who live there. After returning to Bowling Green and using it for awhile, the license was suspended and taken away.
His story is one example of how language barriers hinder communication and cause problems for international residents. Because of a lack of good translation, many refugees are unaware that it’s against the law to provide a fake address to get a license in another state. It’s also difficult to understand driving rules and pass the written and driving tests. Many refugees walk and ride bicycles, and they often rely on others to shuttle them, they say…
…Several Burmese refugees – and refugees from other countries – claim the written permit tests are badly translated, making them faulty and nearly impossible to pass. Furthermore, a variety of languages are spoken in Myanmar and written tests are not offered in Karenni, one of the most popular languages spoken among Bowling Green residents, according to speakers at the forum.
The translation issue also prevents many refugees from accurately understanding the law, which is why so many think it’s all right to give fake addresses for driver’s licenses in other states, said Jennifer Bell, director of CEDARS, a local organization that assists refugees and other international residents…
…One man said through a translator that he’s very thankful to live in Bowling Green, but he has failed the permit test six times, which is frustrating. Another man said the only problem he has encountered since living in Bowling Green is the inability to get a driver’s license. He currently rides a bicycle…
…Still, there are problems within the government that church and CEDARS members are working to correct. Kentucky law allows residents to take the permit test orally, and they’re trying to find an appropriate translator for that task, Hohman said.
But those translators are required to be court certified, and Bell isn’t aware of a local certification process available in Burmese or Karenni, she said in an email.
…Hohman [is] working with police and legislators to get the written test re-translated into a better form of Burmese, he said.
He also spoke with Arizona police officers, who said they would consider releasing the driver’s license suspension for some refugees who are working to get a valid Kentucky license, he said…. Read more here
Posted in Bowling Green, Burma/Myanmar, driving instruction, economic self-sufficiency, Karenni, language | Tagged: Bowling Green, Burmese, driving license, karenni, permit, red tape, refugees, resettlement, translation | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on March 19, 2012
Last month attorney Zoe Ann Olson at Idaho Legal Aid Services, Inc. told us about her efforts to help refugees in Idaho whom resettlement agencies had damaged their credit ratings via reporting them to Trans-Union. Now comes word that the State Department is planning the significant changes to the refugee Travel Loan Program. Beginning in October, those refugees owing the most money will see their monthly payments capped according to a formula that the State Department has not yet finalized. An article in the Philadelphia Inquirer has the details:
…In the land of the free, [refugees] are instant debtors.
Depending on the size of the family and how far the plane traveled, the bill can exceed $10,000, a sum beyond what many refugees would make in a lifetime back home.
They must begin reimbursing the federal government after five months, and pay in full within 42 months. They are warned that credit bureaus are kept apprised of their punctuality, or lack of it.
“Our goal is not to care for them in . . . perpetual victimhood,” said David Robinson, acting assistant secretary of state for population, refugees, and migration, which oversees the program. Loans tell them “it’s not a one-way street.”
Refugee advocates, who give orientations on financial literacy even before the displaced leave the camps, agree the program teaches a critical lesson in responsible borrowing. But criticism has mounted that it also imposes too heavy a burden on families already weighed down by multiple disadvantages.
So the State Department is planning the first significant changes to the Travel Loan Program in its 32-year history. Beginning in October, those owing the most money will see their monthly payments capped according to a formula still under review.
The change will make the program “more equitable,” Robinson said. “In some cases, individually, the burden may [have been] too high.”
Of the 28 nations that take in refugees, the United States accepts the vast majority – 57,000 out of a total of about 80,000 last year, from more than 60 countries. But only the United States and Canada require repayment. Canada charges interest; America does not.
The federal government paid nearly $43 million in airfares last year, and so far has collected $1.7 million.
Data released to The Inquirer last week by the International Organization for Migration, the intergovernmental group that dispenses the travel money, show that almost half the loans since 2002 – 45 percent – were not repaid during the prescribed 42 months. About 25 percent, or one in four families, is delinquent by 180 days or more.
“We don’t want anybody to fall into [delinquency],” Robinson said, “but we know people do.”…
…The pot shrinks automatically because the 10 nongovernmental agencies that collect the loans keep 25 percent for operating costs.
The travel-loan program’s administrators say it bends over backward to work out repayment plans and never seeks liens for failure to pay. About $14 million – three percent of the total outlay since 2002 – was forgiven because of a death in the family, disability, or other hardship… Read more here
Posted in Burma/Myanmar, Philadelphia, Travel Loan Program | Tagged: International Organization for Migration, IOM, refugees, State Department, Travel Loan, travel loan program | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on March 12, 2012
It’s still not clear to me that the refugee resettlement agencies, as the private sector partners in the US refugee resettlement program, are actually acting as a source of significant private funding for the program., as they so often tout. When I’ve tried to look at the figures I’ve found little information available, and what is available does not show significant private funds. An article in the Utica Observer-Dispatch discusses the changing economic needs of the local refugee resettlement agency — the Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees:
UTICA — During the past 30 years, the Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees has resettled people from 31 countries.
At its height in 1997, the center welcomed more than 1,000 Bosnians. During the past five years, the center has resettled an average of 500 refugees per year, most of whom have been Karen/Burmese refugees.
As the center continues to welcome new refugees who often become citizens and grow their families here, the Utica area – known as the city that loves refugees – must look at this group and its impact in a new way while it morphs into one culture.
Here’s a look at how the center is contributing to that process:…
…The refugee center devised a plan that would keep it relevant as not only a resource for new arriving refugees but for a community that reflects a change in its cultural, ethnic and linguistic diversity.
Foreseeing that need, the board created objectives three years ago focusing on services that would promote cultural identity, increase access to interpreting and cultural awareness training, and provide opportunities for the community to become unified. That led to the creation of Compass Cultural Institute, an interpreting service program and cultural competence training service that’s been active in local hospitals, schools and workplaces.
“If we just depended on financial income coming only from resettling refugees [emphasis added] and continued to do that five or 10 years ago and not try to move in a different direction and provide other services to them, we would be in a different position,” refugee center board President Robert Dicks said… Read more here
Should they “depend” on refugee resettlement for the organization’s financial income or should they be bringing significant private funding to the program? There should be enough transparency in the resettlement program so that we can look at these private funding figures. Secondly, refugees have always needed other services and support beyond the initial resettlement period, so shouldn’t these services have been built into every resettlement agency a long time ago? I know that organizations have to make sure the numbers work but the emphasis should always have been on refugees’ needs.
Posted in former Yugoslav republics, funding, Karen, Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees, Utica | Tagged: funding, Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees, refugees, resettlement, Utica | 2 Comments »
Christopher Coen
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