Our first family is a family of four from Cuba, a husband and wife, their son, and their son’s child.  Only the husband and wife were home when we made the visit.  Before coming to the United States, life was difficult for them.  When the wife was young, she and her family were political prisoners for a time because they refused to support the guerillas during the Cuban Revolution.  After the revolutionary government released them from prison, it forced them to live in isolation with the other political prisoners.  The government also denied them access to state programs such as scholarships for school.  This stigma also attached to the husband after he met his wife because of his association with her even though he was not a former political prisoner.  The husband and wife have been together now for over 40 years.  Their son has a job at a local hotel and their grandchild is in preschool.

 

Our second family is a family of six from Somalia, a husband, wife, and four children. The husband and wife met in a refugee camp in Ethiopia.  They spent 19 years there and had all four of their children in the camp.  One child is already in school and a second will start school in January.  The husband and wife were not home when we made the visit, but a neighbor and the wife’s mother were able to help us evaluate the family’s needs.  The wife’s mother stated that life was difficult in the refugee camp.  The family subsisted mostly on corn and some oil to cook the corn with.  When asked if she was happy to be in the United States, she replied, “Yes.  Wherever there is peace, we are happy.”

 

Our third family is a family of seven from Afghanistan, a mother and her six children.  They fled Afghanistan approximately 10 years ago after fighting broke out in their region.  The husband, who was a teacher in Afghanistan, was captured by a militia and hasn't been seen since.  The mother took her children to Iran, where they stayed for about 8 years.  Life was hard there because the government considered them illegal immigrants.  This meant that the older children could not enroll in the secondary school after they completed elementary school because the elementary school would not issue them graduation certificates.  After Iran, the family moved to Turkey where they lived for three or four years.  The oldest son was able to get a job working with computers there and the younger children were able to attend school.  The mother was not home when we visited because she recently underwent surgery and is still recovering at a local hospital.  The surgery was successful and the children are anxious for their mother to be released.  They are very happy to be in the United States and to finally be able to settle down and make a permanent home for themselves. 

Our first family is two young men, unrelated and unknown to each other until they were assigned to live together when they arrived here.  One young man spoke a bit of English and the other spoke no English. Both young men are from Burma and lived in farming villages. They are Chin, one of three large ethnic groups in Burma, and are Christian. They lamented the lack of religious freedom in their country and recounted the role of the military in their decision to leave their families and go to a refugee camp in Malaysia. The military would come into their village and commandeer the population to build roads or act as porters while the soldiers appropriated chickens or other food for themselves. One day, one of these young men was too sick to work and was kicked repeatedly for his lack of effort. The resulting fear prompted him to leave his family and go to the camp. Both men were in the camp in Malaysia for two years before coming to the States. While we visited, two other young men were in the room with them, also without family. Hopefully, the four will fill that role for each other. It’s hard to see young people without any family. As an aside, our translator is also a young Burmese man here on his own who studied in India for four years so has a good command of English. He would like to get a Spanish-English dictionary, knowing that if he can speak Spanish his chances for a job increase.

Our second family is Bhutanese, forced out of their country eighteen years ago by a repressive government. They had lived in a small village in Bhutan where the father farmed, but they have spent almost two decades at a refugee camp in Nepal where the three children learned English. The oldest, a daughter, is 28 and the two sons are 25 and 22. The parents arrived first a year ago with the younger son, and the other children arrived a month ago. The family seemed very cohesive and the older son, though a bit shy, impressed on us their eagerness to get a computer and look online for jobs. The son spoke for the parents in requesting warmer clothes. For all of them, the tight-knit Bhutanese community is a lifeline but even so, the father tends to get depressed.

Our third family is a married couple who are refugees from Cuba. Most folks come to the US from Cuba as the result of a US visa lottery but this couple came as refugees because of their relationship with their nephew who seems to have been “persona non grata” for the Cuban government. The nephew escaped by boat in 1986 but was caught, put in jail for many years and was fined.  Several years ago, he declared himself against the government, went to the office that handles special interests for the US and asked for a visa. His request was granted and he was allowed to bring 12 relatives. Unfortunately, the Cuban government requires a payment of $1200 US for each person leaving the country and since Cubans are paid in Cuban pesos, that amount was impossible for all but the two people whom we met. They left their home with only the smallest of suitcases and the barest minimum of their belongings, leaving everything else behind. They have a varied resume; he has been a butcher, chauffeur, construction worker, car mechanic and she has worked with the elderly, special needs children, styled hair and given massages. They have found a group from a church who are providing them with a lot of fellowship and emotional support.

Our fourth family: "There is no place for religion in a communist government", was what our interpreter told us. That was one of the many reasons the father of this family left his homeland. Although the family lived in Almaty, Kazakhstan, the father is originally from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR) in China. Before 1949, this area was called Eastern Turkestan, but was changed to XUAR when China took it over. In 1995, the father fled XUAR to Kazakhstan. There he met his wife and had 3 children. Because people from XUAR are not allowed to work in Kazakhstan, the dad worked at a restaurant and hid from the police. Soon after getting married they applied at the UN, but waited 9 years until the UN told them that they were accepted to go to the U.S. It would be another 1 and 1/2 years before they finally arrived in Phoenix. Among other things, the family could really use some warm clothing.

 

Our First family is from Burma and consists of a father, age 44, mother, age 39, son, age 19, and three daughters, ages 12, 11, and 8. The mother was not at home at the time of our visit. The father was there; however, he is hearing impaired, so we spoke with the son. He speaks Karen, and his grandmother, who speaks Burmese, was there.  They fled Burma to Thailand when he was a small child. The daughters were all born in the refugee camp.  The son is in high school was but was off for a doctor appointment.  They arrived in Phoenix in September.  When asked about life in the refugee camp he replied it was difficult. They could not go outside the camp because they were all considered illegal immigrants. They were not allowed to work there because of Thai law; however, they were allowed to go to school.

Our second family is from a refugee camp in Nepal.  They are a mother and father, both aged 43, and a son, age 15.  They welcomed us warmly and the cooking aromas were very nice.  They left Bhutan with their families at very early ages and have no memory of their homeland.  Their families were rice farmers.  They left because of religious and human rights reasons.  They are Hindu and the Bhutanese government was forcing them to become Buddhist.  They lived in the refugee camp in Nepal for 17 years.  While there, his father worked in construction.  Their son was able to go to school.  He is doing well in school here and especially loves math.  He needs a bike and bike lock to go to and from school since they do not have bus passes, and he walks a good distance.  He also would like to have a computer, CD player and other electronics popular with 15 year olds.  They arrived in Phoenix in mid-August and their neat, tidy, and clean apartment is sparse.  They will appreciate all WTAP can do for them and are looking forward to Dec. 12.  In particular they need a rice cooker, vacuum cleaner, and microwave.  The mother’s sister is here also with her husband and 7 year old son.  They have nothing for their new baby girl expected on Dec. 4.  We are hoping to have special items for the new baby too.  A cradle would be very nice.

Our third family is a brother and sister.  The sister is 31 and the brother is 24.  Their parents are also here with three younger siblings.  In addition, an older sister and her husband are in Phoenix.  This brother and sister have almost nothing but a bed each and a sofa.  They would very much appreciate a rice cooker, a TV, DVD player, and other forms of entertainment, in addition to the household items needed such as blankets, a microwave, dishes, etc.