Something to read over the holidays......

 If you are looking for something to read over the holidays, here are a few great books about refugees and their experiences coming to the United States:

What is the What  by Dave Eggers

This is a novel written by Dave Eggers and drawn from the real-life story of Valentino Achak Deng, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan. The title comes from a local story about the reward of choosing what’s known over what’s unknown. What is the What describes the interminable walking, the militia and bombs, starvation and disease, lions and crocodiles that kill countless young boys as they attempt to find refuge in Ethiopia and Kenya. Eventually many of the Lost Boys gain entry to the United States, and they form a vibrant community displaced across the country but constantly in touch by cell phone. Valentino ends up in Atlanta, adjusting to the fact that America offers its own evils and injustices.

Remix: Conversations with Immigrant Teenagers by Marina Budhos

In fourteen interviews with new Americans from Latin America, Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean, Marina Budhos found many remarkable stories. Muslim girls in New York struggling between rigid home rules and high school pressures. Russians in L.A. testing out the strangeness of American teenage customs. Hmong boys in Wisconsin trying to be true to two unfamiliar cultures. But when she met young people whose experience matched her Guyanese father's, Budhos changed from being a reporter to being a fellow traveler between worlds. Remix faces two ways: it exposes the too-often hidden world of immigrants, and it also reveals, through their insightful eyes, what it means to be a teenager in America.

The Immigrant Advantage: What We Can Learn from Newcomers to America about Health, Happiness and Hope by Claudia Kolker

Each chapter in this book focuses on a specific cultural tradition that has made an immigrant group stronger and/or healthier than their American counterparts. These include descriptions of South-Asian lending groups that have led to economic prosperity among Vietnamese refugees, sheltering of extended family members by west-Indians in multi-generational homes, neighborhood social cohesion in Latino communities that lead to better health, and strong education traditions in Korean and Chinese homes. This book identifies strengths in traditional immigrant cultures that can benefit several generations of families after their arrival in the United States.

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures  by Anne Fadiman 

This book chronicles the struggles of a Hmong refugee family and their interactions with the health care system in Merced, California. On the most basic level, the book tells the story of the family's second youngest and favored daughter, Lia Lee who is diagnosed with severe epilepsy, and the culture conflict that obstructs her treatment. Through miscommunications about medical dosages and parental refusal to give certain medicines due to mistrust and misunderstandings, and the inability of the doctors to have more empathy toward the traditional Hmong lifestyle or try to learn more about the Hmong culture, Lia's condition worsens. The dichotomy between the Hmong's perceived spiritual factors and the Americans' perceived scientific factors comprises the overall theme of the book.

The Middle of Everywhere by Mary Pipher 

Transformation of Lincoln, Nebraska after US Office of Refugee Resettlement decided it was a “preferred community for newly-arrived refugees.” Through a series of short stories Mary Pipher explores the experiences of different refugee groups in her home town of Lincoln.

ZooZoo at the Imago Theater!

Erin, Sarah and all of the kids pose in front of the theater doors

Three Karen boys show us how to "keep it
real" during intermission

         The Imago Theater hosted an event--'Kid's fest'--for underprivileged kids in the Portland area and they saved 15 tickets for Catholic Charities Refugee Resettlement. We brought our elementary-aged kids to the theater for a productions of "ZooZoo." Frogs, hippos, penguins and more danced across the stage (and occasionally through the audience--a polar bear sat on one of our Burmese girls, she was delighted). ZooZoo was particularly wonderful for these kids because it relied exclusively on dance and movement--there were no words so even the newest kids with minimal English could follow along.

Nyibol told me that her favorite  animals
in the show were the cats.

When we first picked up the kids I don't think they had a clue where we were going--they were pretty surprised when the first hippo in pajamas came out on stage. By the end of the performance the kids were laughing out loud and waving at the penguins playing musical chairs. Thanks again to the Imago theater for inviting us to this fantastic show and for giving these kids a chance to just have fun!!!

Thank You!

                       
Our program has been blessed recently with wonderful holiday donations from local parishes and churches.  Joan Goebel Holmgren of St. Pius organized a coat drive that produced twenty bags of gently used coats and three large boxes of brand new children’s coats.  Gail Kingsley of St. Mary’s Cathedral spear-headed the annual drive to put together twenty-eight baskets overflowing with household items, all wrapped in the softest blankets imaginable.  Dana Regan of First Unitarian Church’s youth group coordinated the creation of seven large Thanksgiving boxes bulging with traditional American treats. 

Equally important, Warner Pacific College and the Door of Hope church have pledged to help our refugee clients on an on-going basis.  Warner Pacific students studying with Dr. Cassie Trentaz are fulfilling their service requirement by helping us collect donations, set up apartments for new arrivals, straighten out our always-messy storage unit and, in some cases, helping new families learn English.  The Door of Hope has already donated a Welcome Kit, an immense box filled with almost everything a family needs to get started in their new home, and they’ve agreed to gather other donations as needed.

Helping hands like these not only provide our newly arrived families with basic items like food and clothes, but also send a resounding welcome to men, women and children who may not have felt welcomed anywhere in the world.

Message from Jeanne Toal

Many refugees coming to the United States have endured war, hardships and struggles before arriving.  The path to becoming a refugee is a hard one, one that almost always starts in a moment of crisis.

I spoke with a college volunteer today whose mother was a refugee from Ethiopia.  This young man, a star basketball player and one of the founders of a non-profit that collects athletic shoes for children, told me how he’d first met his older sister when he was eight.  “My mother had to leave her behind,” he said.  “She couldn’t carry her and a baby.  She hid my sister in the bushes in Ethiopia, with my great grandmother.”  It took years for his mother to arrange for his sister to come to the United States, and he still remembers meeting her for the first time at the airport.  “My mother still has a hard time when she thinks about leaving her little daughter behind.  She still feels guilty, even though there was nothing else she could do.”

We, staff and volunteers alike, are aware of the challenges facing newly-arrived refugees. We know that adjusting to a new culture and a new life can be overwhelming.  What we don’t, and maybe can’t, understand is how hard it was just getting here.

Becoming a refugee starts when someone has a “well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his/her nationality, and is unable to, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail him/her self of the protection of that country.”  That’s the legal definition of a refugee.  It means that to be declared a refugee, a person or family has to flee intolerable conditions in their home country and find safety in nearby country.  The United Nations High Command for Refugees (UNHCR) then interviews them to decide whether they should be granted refugee status and qualify for UNHCR protection.

The UNHCR also seeks a ‘durable solution for any refugee situation.’ There are three durable solutions: voluntary repatriation to the home country, integration into the country of asylum, and resettlement in a third country.  Only about 1% of all refugees are referred for resettlement in a third country.  The United States, one of a handful of countries with resettlement programs, is the top resettlement country in the world.

Refugees referred to the United States for resettlement are interviewed by an officer of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (CIS), who decides if a person qualifies as a refugee under U.S. law.  After this, a non-governmental agency known as an OPE gets additional information about the family, including the names and addresses of any relatives in the United States.  The International Organization for Migration (IOM) generally arranges transportation to this country, though refugees are expected to repay the cost of their plane ticket.  Before leaving for the U.S., refugees receive cultural orientation , where they learn about life in the U.S.

A refugee can be resettled anywhere in the country, but refugees with close relatives already here will probably be resettled in their town.  However, the availability of housing, employment, services and other factors determine exact placement.

At Catholic Charities, seven employees provide services to refugees when they finally arrive in Portland.  They speak Bosnian, Burmese, Croatian, Hakha, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Ukranian and Zomi.  Last year the Refugee Resettlement Program worked with 334 refugees, and in the first seven months of this year provided services to 92 people, primarily Burmese, Bhutanese, Congolese and Somali.

Those numbers are interesting, but it’s the faces and the stories that stir your heart.  Stay tuned for our upcoming interview with a Sudanese mother who arrived in Portland nearly a year ago with her seven children.  Her story, like so many others, will amaze you with the courage and perseverance it took to get to Portland, where a whole new set of challenges waited.

Volunteer Training

On October 19^th, Jeanne hosted a volunteer training for both new and experienced volunteers.  Our guest speaker was Sue Winegar, a recently-retired Public Health Nurse who worked primarily with refugees.  She shared her hared-earned wisdom about the need for better-trained medical translators, about how often recently-arrived refugees misunderstand their health care providers’ instructions, how challenging it is for new families to learn who their primary health provider is and how to contact him or her, and, above all, how important it is for family volunteers to understand what kind of health care is available to their families and to know how to help them access it.

Ask your family, Sue said, who their doctor is.  Ask them if they know how to call their doctor.  If they know how to order medication refills.  If they know the difference between a routine health issue and an emergency health problem.  Keep asking, she suggested.  Write down the information for your family.  If the family wishes, go with them to their doctor and dentist appointments, at least once.  It makes a huge difference if a new family has an advocate with them.

At the end of the meeting, we talked about volunteers becoming health buddies for one or more families.  This led to a discussion about creating teams of volunteers for each family, instead of assigning one volunteer to one family.  Each team would consist of a language teacher, a homework helper, a health buddy, a recreation guide, and a case manager.

We also talked about developing volunteer-run wellness programs for refugees who are newly-arrived and for those who have been here for awhile.  We now have four active volunteers with extensive medical experience, and they are meeting soon to brainstorm how to create an effective program.

Stay tuned for further developments.

Interview with Jeanne Toal

How did you start working at Catholic Charities?

I moved to Portland four years ago, after spending twenty years working with homeless, mentally and physically ill, and elderly individuals in California.  Those years were an endless journey of discovery, one that I wanted to continue in Oregon.  Early on, I embraced the Dalai Lama’s phrase, ‘ selfish altruism’ as  my own.  In volunteering, then working, with people living on the margins of our society, I received so much more than I was ever able to give.  I also realized that , once my son was grown, I was in a position to accept only jobs that I would be willing to do on a volunteer basis.  All that figured into the equation when I was offered a position at Catholic Charities as a Resident Services Coordinator for disabled and elderly individuals living in low-income housing.  Two years later, I moved from the Housing Program to Refugee Resettlement.

What is your current position there, and what does it entail?

I’ve been working with refugees for almost a year and a half now.  I’m the assistant program manager and, currently, the coordinator of the volunteer program.  Several months ago, budget cuts necessitated eliminating the position of volunteer coordinator, so I took on those responsibilities.  It’s turned out to be one of the most enjoyable, and exciting, parts of my day.  Meeting new volunteers, and connecting with those who have been around a lot longer than I have, is a consistent pleasure.  More challenging is finding new ways to utilize that wonderful volunteer energy to further help our refugee clients, and developing an on-going  inservice training program for volunteers. As assistant program manager, I do whatever is necessary to support Cecilia Baricevic, our program manager, and our three case managers:  Laura Starushok, Niang Cing, and Brendon Robar.  We also have a Resource Coordinator, Joshon Miller, a Jesuit Volunteer, Sarah Dupont, and a PSU intern, Mai Vang.  All of us work with newly-arrived refugees, and all of us complete a lot of documentation and reports.

Can you briefly explain the function of the Refugee Resettlement Program?

Our program is charged with helping new refugees become self-sufficient in the Portland area within eight months.   This means we find them affordable housing before they arrive, meet them at the airport and take them to their new homes, orient them to western housing and western ways of living, help them get Social Security cards, health insurance, medical care, and refugee cash benefits, a monthly income based on family size that continues for eight months.  Each refugee arriving in Portland is also allocated $900 to be spent on their immediate resettlement needs.  Despite this funding, every new refugee and refugee family struggles to make ends meet.  They attend English and job training classes five days a week, and actively seek work with the help of an organization called IRCO.   After eight months, our case management services end, and refugees are on their own…hopefully with a firm foundation and a good understanding of western life.

What has been the most rewarding experience for you in work with the RR Program?

The first time I met a refugee family at the airport just about knocked me over.  There is something so awesome about greeting people who have been flying for two days, who have  no real sense of where they are in the world, who own nothing but what they could put into one bag, and who are nonetheless excite d and grateful to be walking through an abandoned airport at midnight with a stranger whose every word has to be translated.

What do you like the most about working here?

That’s a tough one to answer.  I enjoy any interaction with our clients, no matter how long they’ve been here, or whether or not we can communicate in words.  Unfortunately, I’m not able to get out and meet people as often as I would like.  However ,the people I work with in the office are incredible.  Two of the case managers were refugees themselves, and the rest of the staff also have “a heart for refugees.”  They all have met extraordinary demands on their time and energy with grace and a willingness to do whatever is necessary to help our clients feel safe and settled in their new home.

What message would you like to give to the volunteers of the program?

I’d like to invite everyone to open themselves to new experiences, new ways of seeing things we take for granted.  I’d like to encourage us all to contemplate how we might go about offering help without making the person we’re helping a “helpee.”  I’d like to suggest we continue to look at the difference between sympathy and compassion, and to realize that everything we give away we are actually giving to ourselves.  No matter what one’s faith, volunteering can be a spiritual practice of the highest order.  And, it is fun!  Even in the most dire of situations there can be shared laughter as well as shared tears.  It’s simply a wonderful way to be in the world. 

Introduction

Hello, Catholic Charities Refugee Resettlement volunteers!

Because this is the first, this entry will simply be an introduction.  It is your introduction to me, the important work that Catholic Charities Refugee Resettlement Program does, and the general way in which this blog will operate.  So, we will start off with a quick introduction to me:

My name is Jordan Pahl, and I am a senior at St. Mary’s Academy in downtown Portland, Oregon.  Until this summer, I had never had any connection with a refugee.  I was awarded a fellowship by the State Department to participate in an exchange program hosted at George Mason University, with ten high school students from the United States, and thirty-five from South and Central Asia.  During the program two of us learned that one of the Pakistani students wanted to - needed to - seek asylum in the U.S.  His mother called him, telling him that it was unsafe to return to Pakistan, and he needed to do whatever it took to remain in the United States.  Joyce, the other US student, and I spent hours and hours on the phone, emailing, researching, and simply doing anything we could possibly think of to help him.  It was maddening to be told to call back in a month, when his visa expired in a fifteen days.  Our friend was lucky, he had two fiercely determined, though completely inexperienced, American students working the phones and navigating the system for him.  Currently, he is working through the asylum process, staying with the host family that he met through our summer program, and attending high school in Virginia.

This experience is why, after returning to Portland, it was important for me to get involved and help those in similar situations, but who don’t have Joyce and me on their team to make the phone calls and send the emails for them.  Just knowing that Joyce and I were able to get him to this point is such an empowering experience.  That is why I am volunteering here at Catholic Charities Refugee Resettlement.

Other tidbits about me: I am starting an internship at the Oregon Historical Society this fall, am captain of the mock trial team at St. Mary’s Academy, have attended Catholic school since the second grade, am in Model United Nations, and am the president of the SMA Politics without Borders Club.

Now that you are a little bit more familiar with me, we can move on to a little introduction of the program.

For those not familiar with the Refugee Resettlement branch of Catholic Charities, it is the program of Catholic Charities that helps refugees resettle to their new home here in America.  Many of these refugees come to this country with little to no money, few possessions, and even fewer resources, as well as working to reconcile their culture with American culture. Refugee Resettlement program does what they can to help these refugees.  For more information on the Oregon division, visit this link: http://www.catholiccharitiesoregon.org/services_refugee_resettlement.asp.

This blog is for CCRR volunteers and anyone else who would like to get to know this program better.  We will be interviewing refugee families, other volunteers, and caseworkers, as well as Catholic Charities staff.  This blog is also a great place to stay updated on things like workshops, free children’s events, etc.  I will be working closely with Jeanne Toal, Assistant Program Manager and Volunteer Coordinator for the Refugee Program.  Possible blog topics include (but are not limited to) the following:

- A family’s first week experience,

- Caseworker anecdotes,

- Tips from veteran volunteers,

- Worst case scenarios,

- Unexpected challenges,

- Any more you can think of!

If you have any stories or topics you feel should be included, please feel free to contact us.

A quick word about how the blog will function:

- This blog will be updated with a new entry approximately every two weeks.

- We are always looking for new stories to include.  If you have anything that you would like to see on the blog, please pass along any information you have.

- Our email is ccrrvolunteer@gmail.com

I am excited for the opportunity to write this blog, and to spread awareness about an issue that has become so near and dear to my heart.

That is all for this introductory entry.  Please check back soon for our first real entry!