crossthreaded

I just finished my certification to teach English as a Foreign Language, and I’m pretty excited about having this skill now. For years, I volunteered as a conversation partner to refugees and immigrants, and now I know some more of the theory and practice behind it.

Refugee resettlement agencies are always looking for people to teach newcomers to the U.S. how to speak English. I’ve seen college students team up to teach several elementary-aged children once a week in one refugee family’s apartment, and volunteers who are cultural mentors for one family that teach English as they go through day-to-day activities they do with their families.

Being a volunteer that teaches English to refuges is one of the most rewarding and important jobs there is. Refugees are ready to learn the language, for the most part, and it’s just good fun to laugh together as they learn English and as the volunteer tries to learn the refugee’s language!

Check with your local resettlement agency to find out more about the needs of your area’s refugees. You could teach a formal, structured class, or maybe just work with one person to help improve his or her English skills.

For a listing of resettlment offices of one agency, check out the International Rescue Committe’s website at www.theirc.org, and look for the local office contacts on the bottom right of the page.

Another great resource: http://www.transitionsabroad.com/publications/magazine/0111/refugee_work_at_home.shtml

It’s definitely that time of year again. The summer’s winding down, and kids are trying to prepare themselves for the un-fun thought of heading back to school for another year of school.

For many refugee kids who arrived in the United States this summer, though, this might be the first time they have set foot in school, due possibly to their young age, or maybe to the fact that they’ve not had the resources to go. Supplies and uniforms are expensive; maybe the camp they were in only sporadically had a teacher or two for dozens of kids; violence may have interrupted their education one or more times as well. Now, it’s different. They are safe, and school is required.

Many of them love going to school and look forward to it. However, with the severe cut backs that many resettlement agencies are seeing in funding, it is not possible to purchase school supplies for the kids they resettle. They are not required by law to do so, but it’s a nice extra that they might normally be able to handle. If the resettlement agency doesn’t supply them, then the schools have to. They don’t necessarily have the money or the donations of supplies to handle supplying every item for every new refugee child either.

So, as you’re buying school supplies for your own children, consider, picking up an extra bottle of glue or box of crayons. See if you can get other parents to do the same and prepare a box of donated school supplies to donate to your local refugee resettlement agency. Call them first to see what the numbers, ages, and genders of kids going to school for the first time this year are, and maybe you can organize a donation drive where a person sponsors one child and buys school supplies for that child.

The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigration sent out an e-mail early this week to notify the people on its mailing list that Mtabila refugee camp in Tanzania is to remain open through the end of September.

Lavinia Límon of USCRI stated:

“The Home Affairs Minister [of Tanzania] has even given assurances that no refugee will be forcibly returned and reaffirmed that his government’s commitment to upholding international laws and standards established to protect refugees.”

It seems a lot of people spoke out, and Burundians in Mtabila will have a bit more time to decide how best to proceed, whether to return to Burundi or find another viable option.

The International Rescue Committee is calling for a close examination and overhaul of the U.S. refugee resettlement program, especially as it pertains to Iraqi refugees.

 The program is underfunded, especially in this economic climate. Jobs are hard to find, and families are struggling to make ends meet when their short-term assistance resettlement assistance ends. 

Iraqis are a special set of refugees, and many families are headed by a war widow with little to no work experience. The men in their families often were killed assisting the U.S. military. Many Iraqis are very highly educated and skilled, but jobs in their field, much less entry level jobs in another arena, are difficult to find.

Check this report summary out for more information:

http://www.theirc.org/news/irc-iraqi-refugees-us-refugee-admissions0616.html

Someone asked what suggestions I would have for the situation in Mtabila/Tanzania.

I don’t have any.

My main goal was to inform myself a little about the situation, so I wrote about it, too. I am not a policy maker, and I have not been on the ground in the country at all. Ever. I am definitely not the person to make any sort of suggestions. I don’t know the complications, the culture, or anything else that would impact the repatriation to Burundi.

The only side of it I’ve seen is the resettlement in a third country, not the side where it all began.

To the volunteer in Tanzania, God bless you and your efforts. I know your life will impact others around you. I’d definitely be interested in what you have to say concerning what you’re seeing and your thoughts on the matter, if you’re inclined to share.

I saw this Volkswagen Bug the other day that I can’t stop thinking about. It was one of the new ones, all silvery grey. This little car has adopted the best of the Honda racing world and that of muscle cars, or at least it tried.

I‘ve seen Civics with shopping cart handles and huge tailpipes that make them sound like mutant bumblebees. I’ve seen Chevelles and Camaros with dual exhaust and way bigger engines that, to me, just sound awesome. And then there was this little Bug with a big tailpipe. That is funny in and of itself. This isn’t some race Beetle from the ’70’s. This is a modern-day, bumblebee Bug.

The best part was the accompanying bumper sticker. All it said was Flowmasters. Perfect.

The 30 June deadline for the repatriation of Burundians living in the Mtabila refugee camp in Tanzania is coming up soon. Sanitation, markets, schools and more are being shut down in the transition of the camp from housing refugees to the Tanzanian army.

Processing of refugees is slow, so it is unclear if the 30 June date will hold fast. The camp is the last of its kind in Tanzania, several others having closed in the last few years. Many of the refugees in Mtabila were from the 1993/1994 group that fled during those years’ violence.

It is reported that some fear returning to Burundi for fear of reprisal killings that would result from supposed support of the opposition groups operating in Tanzania. The country has been declared safe to return to and live in since 2002.

A horrific outbreak of violence in 1972 has resulted in a lot of refugees today that were born outside Burundi and raised in refugee camps. They wonder what they have to return to in a country to which they’ve never been. Potential property disputes are another concern to individuals and families that left Burundi.

UNHCR and other international organizations are offering aid and some help to those being returned. Here are a couple of examples:

http://www.theirc.org/where/african_great_lakes_tanzania_programs.html

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/echo/12451530803.htm

I haven’t been able to find too much information regarding Burundians applying for Tanzanian citizenship. I’ve read that some have applied and are being considered, and also that most are not being allowed to apply, but are being made to repatriate to Burundi.

Here are another few sites related to the Mtabila closure and life in the camp.

http://web.unfpa.org/focus/tanzania/rape.htm

http://allafrica.com/stories/200905220170.html

(credit: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/echo/12451530803.htm)

Mtabila, a refugee camp in Tanzania that mainly houses 35,000 Burundians, may be on its way to closing on 30 June. Lavinia Limón, President of the United States Committee for Refugees and Immigration, sent out a newsletter last week describing the threatened forced repatriation of Burundian refugees in this camp back to Burundi, a small nearby country. Burundians have been the victims of horrible ethnic persecution, and I have worked with several of them personally who have been resettled in the United States.

According to Limón, the camp will be handed over to the Tanzanian government, and it will no longer be under UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) control. Camp conditions are supposedly being made worse and worse to further encourage Burundian residents to return to Burundi. 

Limón states that “Tanzania is a signatory to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the Organization of African Unity Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa and forced repatriation is a clear violation of both.” (her emphasis)

Here is a link to USCRI and it’s letter-writing campaign to stop this action:

https://secure2.convio.net/uscri/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=239&JServSessionIdr011=kpapprz0l1.app13a

I’m sure there’s more to this story. I’ll see what I can dig up and report back.

The Cultural Orientation Resource Center is full of great tools for domestic resettlement staff and volunteers who work with refugees. From explaining how to get health care to how to get a job in the United States, case managers, ESL teachers, volunteer cultural mentors, etc. can all benefit from this great resource of ideas and materials.

The Cultural Orientation Resource Center is also a great place to find translated documents and information for refugees. Karen and Kirundi are just two of the languages into which you will find publications with vital information for refugees being resettled in the United States translated. 

 Check them out at www.cal.org!

When an individual is declared a refugee and is selected for resettlement, who of his or her family is able to be resettled in the new country as well?

Usually, only unmarried children under 21 years of age and spouses may accompany the main refugee being resettled. It is possible that other family members can be resettled as well, if they meet the requirements of being a refugee themselves.

When a refugee is resettled in the United States, he or she can apply to have family members join him or her.  The process to apply to have family members join is long and tedious, but it is all worthwhile when a family can be reunited at the airport or new apartment after a long and arduous separation.