I hope Oh Mar and San Win got shoes to get through the harsh winters here.
And so did Mar Met and his wife and his little kids.
It is their first winter here and they have no idea what they are in for. Today, the first big storm hit us.
Sometimes I wonder how it is like for them to see the snow the first time ever in their lives, how would it be to touch it and then watch it fall from the window...and then dread it.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Thursday, December 13, 2007
without a voice
some voices are just lost in translation. so true for those who have come to a country that promised so much to them. but often promises are in a language they don't understand.
and it frustrates me that i can't do anything to help out except document it here. today, I met two Somali Bantu women, who came to Utica as part of the U.S. resettlement program for refugees. both can't speak English and were talking to me through an interpreter, Ali Juma.
one has three kids who she thought were lost or killed in the war. But now she has word they are alive and in a refugee camp at Kenya. And as any mother would, she wants to bring them here.
the problem is she does not know how to. she can't understand the system.
she went to the refugee center in utica but they told her the cases for somali sponsorships are closed, she said.
and she asked me to help. and i don't know how to. i could ask around, even get her the forms but this points out to a bigger problem.
it is not about bringing the refugees here. it is about helping them to adapt, to understand the new country and to help them navigate the system.
with limited or no knowledge of English, it is difficult.
the ESL classes help but they need help with the system too. many agencies here have no translation services. isn't this about the access to basic human services?
many had to run around with letters from the DSS, the schools and housing agencies stuck in their boots, in their coat pockets, looking for that one person who can help make sense of the new world and what it involves.
often it is too late till they find help. of course the resettlement agency helps out in the first six months but what happens later ... are those six months enough for them to go on without any problems ...
In time, they will contribute and pay taxes and resurrect the cities that are have been abandoned ... like they did in utica long ago
and it frustrates me that i can't do anything to help out except document it here. today, I met two Somali Bantu women, who came to Utica as part of the U.S. resettlement program for refugees. both can't speak English and were talking to me through an interpreter, Ali Juma.
one has three kids who she thought were lost or killed in the war. But now she has word they are alive and in a refugee camp at Kenya. And as any mother would, she wants to bring them here.
the problem is she does not know how to. she can't understand the system.
she went to the refugee center in utica but they told her the cases for somali sponsorships are closed, she said.
and she asked me to help. and i don't know how to. i could ask around, even get her the forms but this points out to a bigger problem.
it is not about bringing the refugees here. it is about helping them to adapt, to understand the new country and to help them navigate the system.
with limited or no knowledge of English, it is difficult.
the ESL classes help but they need help with the system too. many agencies here have no translation services. isn't this about the access to basic human services?
many had to run around with letters from the DSS, the schools and housing agencies stuck in their boots, in their coat pockets, looking for that one person who can help make sense of the new world and what it involves.
often it is too late till they find help. of course the resettlement agency helps out in the first six months but what happens later ... are those six months enough for them to go on without any problems ...
In time, they will contribute and pay taxes and resurrect the cities that are have been abandoned ... like they did in utica long ago
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