Today as we approached the camp, we saw a big group of people milling around a large bus. This was the day many had been waiting for. They were beginning their journey to a new home somewhere in the world.
A half hour later as we stopped at the Karen Women's organizationm we encountered the more somber side of the day. We met a man who had just bade farewell to his wife and children who were among those leaving today and, thereby, facing separation for an indeterminate time. The day the UN came through registering people for processing he was away from the camp. Now he watches and waits.
We loaded back into the van for our visit to the International Organization for Migration which has the contract with the Department for Homeland Security (DHS)for processing refugee applicants for their security interview by DHS and medical checkups. The major medical concern is TB. DHS has a separate area swathed in wire with little metal shacks where they interview. The rate of rejection for applicants in Mae La is 6-7%.
Those rejected return to the camp where they can request processing for resettlement or remain in the camp with an uncertain future.
This center is new and serves the camps further away than Mae Sot. It processes for America.
The OIM orientation team works to teach English, cultural orientation, etc. Of course rumors abound about what is expected and required in America. Cultural orientation is 5 days. Five days to orient a person to life in America! Housing, airplane travel, child discipline mores, living in a modern urban environment, etc all have to be covered. It is hard imagining anything sticking!
As we sat having our orientation, I noticed a pair of birds desperately trying to build a nest in the metal rafters of the processing center. As they tried to build, the straws and twigs kept falling down off the rafter. Time and again they swooped down refusing to be thwarted in building a new home. May the Karen and other tribal peoples forced from Burma be as persistent in seeking to build their new lives.
I am grateful for the ABC Taskforce and for those congregations reaching out in love to serve these who have walked with us since the days of Adoniram and Ann Judson.
A half hour later as we stopped at the Karen Women's organizationm we encountered the more somber side of the day. We met a man who had just bade farewell to his wife and children who were among those leaving today and, thereby, facing separation for an indeterminate time. The day the UN came through registering people for processing he was away from the camp. Now he watches and waits.
We loaded back into the van for our visit to the International Organization for Migration which has the contract with the Department for Homeland Security (DHS)for processing refugee applicants for their security interview by DHS and medical checkups. The major medical concern is TB. DHS has a separate area swathed in wire with little metal shacks where they interview. The rate of rejection for applicants in Mae La is 6-7%.
Those rejected return to the camp where they can request processing for resettlement or remain in the camp with an uncertain future.
This center is new and serves the camps further away than Mae Sot. It processes for America.
The OIM orientation team works to teach English, cultural orientation, etc. Of course rumors abound about what is expected and required in America. Cultural orientation is 5 days. Five days to orient a person to life in America! Housing, airplane travel, child discipline mores, living in a modern urban environment, etc all have to be covered. It is hard imagining anything sticking!
As we sat having our orientation, I noticed a pair of birds desperately trying to build a nest in the metal rafters of the processing center. As they tried to build, the straws and twigs kept falling down off the rafter. Time and again they swooped down refusing to be thwarted in building a new home. May the Karen and other tribal peoples forced from Burma be as persistent in seeking to build their new lives.
I am grateful for the ABC Taskforce and for those congregations reaching out in love to serve these who have walked with us since the days of Adoniram and Ann Judson.
No comments:
Post a Comment