HELPING ANOTHER FAMILY RESETTLE FROM BURMA
The Immigration and Refugee Services of Catholic Charities of NW Florida continues to resettle refugee families from Burma. Burma is ruled by an authoritarian military regime, also known as a military junta. Its country has been under this rule since 1988. The country’s government suppresses all expression of opposition to its rule, making it hard for citizens to have freedom of living. Many citizens often live in fear of the military junta.
One refugee family that Catholic Charities resettled decided not to live in fear and hoped to seek a better life. On March 2, 2003, Mr. Khai and Ms. Nuam were married. Their marriage was arranged by their parents. After careful planning, they saved enough money to pay an organization to traffic them into Malaysia. Mr. Khai and his wife decided that it was best for him to go first and when it was safe, bring her into the country. The government form of punishment would be to torture or beat to death any man and rape and beat any woman if they were caught.
On December 15, 2003, Mr. Khai left and started his journey. He met with the organization and was informed of what he had to do. He would have to hide in a car and when they arrived to checkpoints, he needed to transfer over to other vehicles. The trip would take an entire week, traveling from Burma to Thailand, and then from Thailand to Malaysia.
When Mr. Khai arrived in Malaysia, he was taken to his friend’s safe house, which provided shelter for refugees. There were many different safe houses where he had to live. He stayed at these safe houses for free, but in exchange, he cooked and performed other chores around the house. He stayed there for one year and six months until he encountered the Malaysian government. When they caught him, they asked him for his documents. Mr. Khai informed them that he did not have any. They placed him in prison and two months later deported him back to Thailand.
Once he was back in Thailand, he paid the organization once again to sneak him back into Malaysia. By the time he was back in Malaysia, it was year 2006 and his wife was already there waiting for him at the safe house. They went to the UN and informed them of their situation and requested for an interview to be eligible for refugee status to the USA. After the interview, they were accepted as refugees and completed the required paperwork to come to the US.
During the whole process, the refugees informed the UN of their cousin that lived in the US. He agreed to sponsor them and be their anchor. With that agreement, the refugee couple had an anchor and could resettle in the US. According to the Dept. of State’s requirement, an anchor’s responsibility is to help the refugees to resettle and provide assistance when needed. Everything was going as planned until the cousin changed his mind and did not want to be an anchor to them anymore. With that denial, Catholic Charities took them on as a “free case” and became the agency responsible for their resettlement.
With less than a week before their arrival date, Catholic Charities had to find housing, provide the basic necessities and furnishings for the couple as well as anything else they need. The staff quickly sent out emails pleading for donations and assistance from the community. A great number of parishes responded and offered donations of a variety of items. These parishes include Little Flower Catholic Church, Our Lady Queen of Martyrs, Nativity of our Lord, St. Paul, St. Joseph, St. Anne in Bellview, St. Ann in Gulf Breeze, and Christ Episcopal Church. There were other donors such as St. Vincent De Paul, Alpha Center, United Way, and many private donors who replied and donated items they needed. There were also wonderful volunteers who also donated their time to help this family adjust to the US and transported them to places like the Social Security Administration for their social security cards and the Health Department for various programs there. With a great outpour of donations and volunteers, we were able to collect various items that are needed and useful to not only our couple and their baby, but also other Burmese refugees in the community.
A few days before their arrival to the USA, the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee informed our office that they have a house that our refugee could us as a transitional home until we find them a permanent home. We were ecstatic to hear the wonderful news. Now we just need to gather enough volunteers and staff members to clean and furnish the house according to the US Department of State’s requirement. It was very challenging for us in a short time frame, but we accomplished it just in time for their arrival.
On February 20, 2009, our refugees arrived and were picked up at the Pensacola Regional Airport. With them speaking very little English, we communicated through body language and gestures. They were then taken to their new house and a Burmese volunteer was there to help translate. To welcome them to the USA, Tu-Do Restaurant donated enough food for them for a couple of days.
Because everything was foreign to them, we showed them how to use all of the appliances in the house, went over all safety procedures, and discussed many various issues we took for granted, but it was foreign to them.
Since their arrival, we have worked closely with them to help them assimilate to the American culture. Our goal is to help them become self sufficient. That journey started for them on Monday, February 23, 2009 and it is still ongoing.
The family is doing very well and seems very content and happy. When asked how they felt about being here in the US they said, “We are so happy to be here. We found peace and are away from the military junta. We are starting a new life here and don’t know what’s to come of us. We are hopeful to find a job in Pensacola and settle here permanently. We trust Kim and thank her, Catholic Charities of NW Florida and everybody who donated and assisted us since our arrival. Thank you on the bottom of our hearts!”