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Refugees Make Their Own Decisions

By on July 31st, 2009

Day 11

The plan and reality did not quite mesh today.  There is a great lesson in this.  Every refugee family is led by at least one adult.  Adults are allowed to make their own decisions.

What happened, you ask?  The intention for today was to get the family out to sign a lease for their housing.  Normally this is not a choice as we generally procure housing before they arrive.  We look for low cost housing so that they will be able to afford it on their own as soon as possible.

But this was not a usual situation.  The family arrived too soon relative to our commitment to resettle.  We had no opportunity to find housing in advance.  In previous situations we have had families stay in our own house until we solved the problem.

This time, our refugee family had relatives in Milwaukee.  So they moved in with their relatives.  The risk, which we understood, was that they might want to continue to live nearby and not move out to Waukesha.  Though not real far apart, the 25 miles one way, is a difficult distance to handle for sponsors.  Plus, in this case, they are living in Milwaukee County while we are in, and familiar with, Waukesha County.

Today that risk was made real.  We had two drivers on the way to pick up the eight family members and bring them out to see their home and sign the lease.  While they were driving in one of our team co-chairs spoke to the LSS caseworker who met with the family at the covert :) orientation meeting yesterday.  Apparently the family was adamant that they would stay in Milwaukee.

Since the drivers were already en route we decided to continue on course to bring them to Waukesha to see the place we had picked out for them.  We were also able to get an interpreter to have some discussion about their future.

Our minds were made up.  If they chose to stay in Milwaukee, we would cancel our resettlement commitment with LSS and take on a new family.  Families are arriving in the area every few days so it would not be a problem to get another family.  It would just be tough for the current family to continue without a sponsor.  It’s not something we would like to do, but carrying on the resettlement with a 50-mile roundtrip per visit, and often a need for 2 drivers, would burn our team out too quickly.  That would not benefit anyone.

The drivers arrived with the family and came into our church.  The family saw their own picture on the wall along with the sign-up sheet for furniture and other donations.  Perhaps that had an impression.  After that we walked to the house they would be living in.

In contrast to the 13 people stuffed into a two-bedroom apartment in Milwaukee they will be living with 8 people in a three-bedroom house in Waukesha.  I think when they saw how much space they would have, along with a nice bathroom, excellent kitchen, various appliances in the house, and a large backyard for the children, they were swayed.  (At least with my cultural bias these are things that would sway my opinion.  Whether these are things they found important, I do not really know at this point.)

In just a few minutes of light conversation one of the family members spoke up that they would move out to Waukesha.  We offered to give them the night to think about it further and talk about it with their relatives.  We did not want to push them to a decision.  We do not want them to make a decision they might regret later.

They confirmed their decision.  We walked back to a park that is next to church and let the children play while we chatted a little bit more.  After that they signed the lease. 

It was clearly valuable that the family be exposed to all of the available information, not just the emotion of the original conversation.  Once they could see, in a tangible reality, where they would live, and that 25 miles from their relatives is not across the country, and that they will probably get a car someday, and that their relatives can visit, and that there is a Burmese community just a few blocks from their place, it’s not all that bad.  In fact, it’s pretty darn good.

Whew!  In the end nothing changed or everything changed, twice.

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Refugee Camps and Orientation Meeting

By on July 30th, 2009

Here’s some background information on the refugee camps in Thailand for the displaced people of Burma, www.tbbc.org.  The Burmese refugees that are settled in our community come from the Mae La, Umpiem Mai, Nu Po, Tham Hin, and Ban Mai Nai Soi camp.

Things still moving forward, but slowly so I have combined two days into a single entry.

Day 9

We made appointments for the family at the Waukesha Public Health Department.  This is a necessary for every arriving refugee family. Typically everyone needs TB tests.  Sometimes blood tests are also required.  It’s good to get these appointments in as soon as possible.

Day 10

A case worker at Lutheran Social Services conducted an orientation with the family today.  The orientation is designed to be very informational for the family, explaining the process they are going through.  An interpreter must be present to make sure communication is clear.

Although not a requirement, we recommend that the cosponsor be present at this meeting.  In fact we insist on being present because we want to  understand what the family is being told so that we can support that perspective and answer questions relative to that understanding. 

Furthermore, with an interpreter present the family can ask questions of the cosponsor and the cosponsor can ask questions of the family.  This creates a great opportunity to build a stronger trusting relationship.

Oops, we weren’t invited to this meeting and only learned about it after the fact.   That’s too bad since we always enjoy having this opportunity.

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Grocery Shopping and House Discussion

By on July 28th, 2009

Day 8

When I started this blog I expected to be writing about a lot of good details.  Afterall, the refugee resettlement process normally starts with a flurry of activity, hundreds of volunteer hours in the first few weeks.

It seems strange how relaxed we’ve been able to be this time around.  I’m sure that part of this is due to the experience of our co-chairpersons as well as the nature of this resettlement.

Today Bryn took the family grocery shopping again.  With a family of 8 and storage space shared with other families, they can’t get too much at once.  The family really enjoys shopping at the Asian food store even though there’s a typical grocery store nearby.  With another $80 or so spent, we’ve kicked in nearly $500 in the past week.  Considering the number of people in the family, that’s not too bad.

Bryn showed the family a picture of “their” house today.  They did not have a strong reaction, but Bryn senses an eagerness to get into their own place.  They asked if other Karenni people would live near them.  Unfortunately the answer is no, but many other Burmese and Karen live just a few blocks away.

They will visit the house in person on Friday and sign the lease.  Then, if all goes well, they’ll be able to move in about a week later.

The house is already clean and ready to move in – except for one thing.  There is a free standing metal wood burning stove in the living room that needs to be removed.  The stove, and the brick platform it’s on, should come out to make more floor space in the living room as well as to help avoid problems in the future.

Our refugee team will assist with the removal to help accelerate the move-in process.

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Karenni Cultural Information

By on July 27th, 2009

Day 7

We picked up a copy of the house lease today with the hopes that the family will sign it tomorrow.  Then we can begin to firm up move in plans.

One member of our refugee resettlement team has worked with Burmese refugees for nine years.  She got started at a different church before joining our church and our resettlement team.  Where many of us on the team have worked with refugees from several different countries, she has worked just within the various Burmese communities.  This has helped her tie in quite closely and have several solid relationships.

Here’s some information she put together for our team (thanks Jo) which I have paraphrased:

Nine years ago our community welcomed Burmans from Burma, two years ago we welcomed Karen people from Burma, now we welcome Karenni people from Burma.  These are different ethnic groups with largely the same problems, all related to the repressive military government in Burma.

Examples of the problems include:  religious persecution, human rights abuses, burned out villages, theft of food, and forced labor, among others.

Our newest refugee family is from the Karenni tribe.  Karenni are a break off of the Karen ethnic group.  This break happened many generations, centuries ago.  Since that time they settled in an area of northeastern Burma and have developed their own language.  The Karenni refugees are generally from a refugee camp in northern Thailand.

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Signup to Donate Furnishings

By on July 26th, 2009

Day 6

Today was the first Sunday opportunity to “advertise” our new refugee family to our church congregation.  We’re looking for donations of furniture and household goods, things that we can use to turn an empty house into a comfortable home.

A member of our team put together a complete list of furnishings and household items required for a family of eight.  For some items we just need one per family.  For other items we need one per person.  The complete list is posted on the wall at church.

We also had a list of needed items included in the church bulletin.  This way people were already thinking before they walked out of church and saw the sign-up sheet.

By having a couple team members available near the sign-up sheets we were able to answer questions and encourage further contributions. 

Some of the items on the sign-up sheet are required to meet obligations to the U.S. State Department.  These requirements protect the refugees, ensuring that they have met a basic standard of living and are not just being dumped into tough conditions in a new country.

We strive to have all items covered by the time the refugee family moves into their own place.  In this case that means this coming weekend or the following when we will have a “move in day.”

We also took a picture of the house they are going to be moving into.  We want them to see it so they can start get excited about moving out on their own.  Normally we’ve found that the refugee families just want to get settled down.  In this case that settling down moves them away from relatives, so we have to be a little more careful about feelings.

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Grocery Shopping, Medical, and Surprise

By on July 25th, 2009

Day 5

One member of our resettlement team took 3 members of our refugee families to a grocery store again today.  Rather than being a typical American grocery store it was an Oriental food mart.  This way they could get some foods that are more familiar to them.

They also went to Pick n Save as most of the meat and vegetables that were bought on Thursday were already gone.  Finally they took a quick stop at Kohl’s for a pair of flip flops, then a quick visit to their relatives apartment for ice cream and cookies.

Medical appointments for arrival exams are now scheduled for all eight family members.  The 8 appointments are scattered across 5 different dates with 15 days from the first to the last appointment.  This will keep our transportation and medical teams active.

The surprise?  It turns out that a woman family member, who was believed to be single, living with her parents, is actually married.  Apparently her husband was resettled in the U.S. a month ago in Nebraska.  Perhaps they will be able to reunite at some point.  We’re not sure of the implications right now.

Also made some progress on  housing today.  Our church has purchased a house in the hopes that someday the property can be used as part of church expansion.  In the meantime, it will be rented.  We committed to place our refugees in this 3 bedroom home for the near future. 

Of course they will be paying rent like any other family.  They will get experience taking care of a house and paying bills for services.   They will get an understanding of the responsibilities that go with renting.

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Not a Normal Resettlement

By on July 24th, 2009

Day 4

Normally the first week is rather intense, but every refugee resettlement case is a different situation.  Sometimes, apparently, radically different.  By accepting two resettlement cases, via an extended family of 8, we expected more work than usual.  Yet, we have less work.

The reason behind this unusual situation is two-fold.  First the families are currently living with relatives who are taking care of many of their basic needs until we get them into more permanent housing within the next couple weeks.  Second, they’re living about 25 miles away.

In a normal resettlement members of our team would be visiting the family every day to make sure that all is well and to keep planning the next steps. 

But this time, our main activity is more pre-arrival type activity.  We’re still working on arrangements for local housing, while the relatives see to the day-to-day issues.

It feels strange to be so relaxed this early in the process.  I am sure that within a few weeks, when the family moves in locally, there will be greater issues.

One thing that did happen today was a conversation with the local public assistance case worker.  Actually the conversation was with a substitute for the pre-screener. 

The conversation did not go well because the refugees are currently living in the next county, thus not considered the concern of the local office.  We’re trying to get a jump on things, but “the system,” or the entrenched government workers, appear to be against us on this point.  Of course, we’ll get it to work out in the end.

The key take-away from this lesson is that when talking to government employees, don’t say anything outside of that which would be expected or that doesn’t follow their script exactly.  Exceptions are not received well.

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Background Tasks

By on July 23rd, 2009

Day 3

Not much happening today.  For one of our refugees, an eye doctor appointment was scheduled yesterday for a visit today.  Upon seeing him today our medical team concluded his situation was improved enough that the visit would not be necessary.

In fact, all family members look and feel fine at this point.  We’ll check up on them again in a couple days.

Meanwhile, we are preparing to move the family into their own housing.  At the moment they are sharing some space with some relatives and the relatives neighbor.

We’ve got a potential house rental that may become available within the next week or two.  While we’re waiting for that situation to firm up, our furnishings team has been busy getting the word out as to what we need to fill their house or apartment.

We work off a list of requirements plus several other things we’ve found to be useful over the years.  A signup sheet is at church.  Other friends and family of our resettlement team as well as friends of friends are notified of our needs.

In most cases we try to have people hold onto big stuff (like beds and couches) until our “move in day.”  In some cases we need to get the furnishings in advance.  By “move in day” we will have every required item and some of the bonus items.

We didn’t know the family size for sure until Sunday and by then it was too late to get a signup sheet in church for that day.  So, we are a bit behind at this point.  We’re just lucky that temporary housing was available to buy us some time.

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Social Security Office and Groceries

By on July 22nd, 2009

Day 2 – (First Full Day)

A couple members of our resettlement team ventured out this morning to pick up the 8 family members and take them to the social security office so they could all apply for social security numbers.  It’s necessary to get these applications in as soon as possible.

As it usually happens the SS office doesn’t want to just take a pile of paperwork to process, rather they prefer to handle one person and one application at a time.  No reason to speed through the day when there’s so much work to do!

It turns out we had a bit of a snafu with regard to places of birth.  The information was pointed out with the interpreter last night, but the message was not properly relayed.  Oh well, we’ll deal with the consequences as they arise in the future.

Having had a good night sleep in the presence of relatives the families were rather happy today, smiling, relaxed, and trusting.  All good traits to see this early in the process.

After completing the chore of social security the refugee family was whisked away to the grocery store.  We spent about $206 on groceries, diapers, and feminine products.  That’s a bit low compared to some families, but in this case they are not stocking empty shelves, but rather supplementing their relatives shelves.

A member of our medical needs committee had a chance to review their medical paperwork and observe the family members looking for other issues that may be present.  Other than some apparent eye trouble (redness) in the father of the youngest children, immediate needs appear to be minimal.  (Due to HIPAA requirements I will not elaborate with detailed medical information for issues that arise.)

One bit of good news, there seems to be greater comprehension of English than we had been led to believe.

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Picking Up at the Airport

By on July 21st, 2009

Day 1

We showed up at the airport about 10 minutes prior to the arrival of our refugee families.  It didn’t take long before we spotted several people carrying IOM bags proceding down the concourse.

IOM – check.  Ethnicity – check.  Number of family members – ???.  Yikes!?  There are too many people!  We agreed to take two families at once, since they are closely related.  But we were told there would be eight people total, two families of four.  It looked like at least 12 people were headed our way.

OK, one woman was an escort.  She accompanied the families half way around the world to make sure they would arrive in the right place at the right time.  Now she turns around and goes back.

An LSS case worker arrived and explained that, indeed, there were three families arriving, our two families and another that LSS was taking care of.  Phew!

We sorted out the families.  LSS had also brought an interpreter to help explain some of the details surrounding the next few days.  With the interpreter present we also took time to get Social Security paperwork filled out.  Asking for mother’s maiden name and place of birth is always a challenge, made slightly easier with someone who speaks their language.

Once the paperwork was completed we loaded up their luggage in a couple vans and drove them to temporary housing.  They have other relatives that arrived a few months ago living in Milwaukee.  They will share their apartment, and the apartment of a neighbor, for a couple weeks until we have space available for them.

The risk is that they decide they want to continue living with their relatives.  The certainly seemed happy to be reunited.  Our hope is that they realize that cramming 8 people into a single apartment is just too much.  But coming from a refugee camp where they lived for years, it might be all the space they need.

It’s after 10 pm.  The families started their journey more than 27 hours before.  They are with relatives now.  They are tired, but happy.  We leave them alone for the night as the rush begins tomorrow.  Our journey of creating productive, contributing members of our society has just begun.