Taking part in a movement

Earlier this year, Calling All Crows Volunteer Dylan Landay joined over six hundred other activists from around the Northeast for the annual Amnesty International Northeastern Regional Conference. He shares his story and pictures below.

CAC is dedicated to sharing information about and providing opportunities for volunteers to learn and explore social justice issues so that they can fully participate in a growing community of activists who have the power to change the world.

Being a part of Calling All Crows had been by far one of the most beneficial decisions of my life. Not only for the experiences, but the opportunities passed on through them. This is how I first heard of the Regional Amnesty International Conference. I jumped on this opportunity instantly. Arriving I figured it would be mainly adults, but to my surprise it was largely college students roughly my age. The conference consisted of organized panels and two open slot panels of which you could choose. My day consisted of learning about topics ranging from gun violence, to women’s rights, to the media's influence on societal views.

My most memorable moment during the conference was during the panel that addressed gun violence. While the session was wrapping up they asked if any questions would like to be asked to the panel. I leapt up and joined the line. I was second to go asking a question in a room of probably 300. My voice quivered a little as I asked my question about media’s role in gun violence. A woman roughly my age who was from Sandyhook, CT on the panel answered. She discussed the many ways other organizations are helping and great affiliates to link up with. I was thanked and returned to my seat. What I realized though, is if not for Calling All Crows I would not have had the courage to get up and ask my question.  

Refugee Camps

This year’s “Forced to Flee” tour is dedicated to bringing awareness to refugee issues throughout the world and promoting activism among the Calling All Crows community. The Crows’ Nest blog will feature articles by Trish Becker-Hafnor discussing the complex elements of the refugee experience, from conflicts affecting communities across the globe, to the challenges of living in a foreign country after resettlement. You can read previous installments here and here.

As the Forced to Flee Tour carries on, Calling All Crows continues to explore the various elements of the refugee experience from worldwide conflict to the challenges that face those that choose to resettle.  Refugees have 3 possible solutions to displacement: repatriation (returning to their country of origin), integration into the community to which they have fled, or resettlement into a third country.  The journeys of refugees vary widely, but the refugee camp is an experience that is shared by many.

There are nearly 40 million people currently living in refugee camps in 125 countries.  This is according to official numbers from the UN High Commissioner of Refugees and doesn’t include the countless makeshift, unofficial camps that line the borders of conflict-ridden nations.  Nor does it include the estimated 26.4 million internally displaced persons, or the millions more that live “illegally” in host communities in neighboring countries.  

Refugee camps vary in size, style and permanency.  In newly established or growing camps, families gather under tents stamped with the UNHCR logo, as war rarely allows time for permanent home building.  In countries where conflict has persisted for generations, refugee camps can seem more like villages with wooden homes, restaurants and bustling markets.  This was the case with Umpiem, the camp that I lived in for two years on the Thai-Burma border.

The civil war in Burma has lasted for over 60 years, and ethnic minority groups have been living in camps in Thailand for the duration of this time.  Umpiem is home to 20,000 people and is the second largest camp on the Thai-Burma border.  For some perspective, Hagadera Camp in Kenya is the world’s largest refugee camp with 138,000 people.  Because it has existed for so long, Umpiem resembles a small city with hundreds of shops and restaurants, 2 high schools and 2 junior colleges and several internet cafes.  The homes are made of bamboo and concrete and, at times, have multiple levels.  When I first arrived in Umpiem, I was struck by the beautiful gardens surrounding the homes, a sobering indicator of the permanency of the camp, and of the refugee status itself.

Umpiem is unique in many ways, but is also a representative image of many camps throughout the world.  Like most camps, it has a governing body of local residents.  Unfortunately, the local governments are often tied to militia groups who offer protection in exchange for fees or a portion of refugees’ rations.  Refugee camps are typically home to schools, places of worship and community centers, but are also characterized by rumors, uncertainty and an inability to escape.  In Umpiem, security was especially strict, as Thailand wanted to ensure that refugees from Burma were contained within the camps, and not working or finding refuge in border towns.  Refugees often face such discrimination and violence within the country that they’ve escaped to, as racism and nationalism influence policies and local attitudes.

The Refugee Camp is only one element of the refugee experience, but it is a crucial one.  For many, it represents safety and shelter after traumatic experiences, violence and war.  For others, it may be yet another challenging obstacle on the journey to a safe and fulfilling life.  However, it is an experience shared by many of the refugees that belong to our local communities, and for that reason, it is an experience to be honored and shared.

What I would want you to know about the refugee experience & what I've learned

Seattle Community Organizer Amie Shipley shares what she’s learned about refugee resettlement. Amie, along with Julie Carlson, helped organize and facilitate an afternoon of service at the Refugee Women's Alliance (ReWA), a non-profit, multi-ethnic organization that promotes inclusion, independence, personal leadership, and strong communities by providing refugee and immigrant women and their families with culturally and linguistically appropriate services. Volunteers helped out by sprucing up classrooms and the playground at ReWA. Scroll down to see pics from the day’s project!

Before & After…1

The Before: Refugees have been forced to flee their home based on direct persecution and threat. Most often, they flee within their own country and eventually end up in a camp in a second country. Conditions in camps are atrocious — rations are too small, health conditions are poor, and there is little to no opportunity to do anything meaningful with one’s life. Often, there is nothing to do but wait…waiting that can take YEARS. Each country has a very limited number of refugees that they will resettle each year, and the waiting lists are long. The decision to resettle is incredibly complex. They often have to leave behind family, jobs, or other community which complicates the decision even more. Typically, someone who is waiting hopes that the conflict will end and they can return to their home so they are hesitant to commit to being resettled overseas. People live in waiting in the camps for years and struggle with the decision, hanging on every new piece of news from their country, hoping for any sign that things would get better. Even with this hope, life in the camp is often unbearable, and many people choose to resettle as an opportunity to start over, or to reclaim their lives.

The After: While it may seem like this journey of resettlement brings people to a new country with seemingly boundless opportunities to start over, the refugee experience is far from complete when they arrive on American soil. Many peoples’ attitudes are, “Ok, you’re here now, it’s all better right?” and this is so far from the case. The support available to refugees is very limited, and expires just a few months after they arrive. After they’ve arrived, many refugees would actually give anything to go back, sometimes even if there is still war in their home country. Once they arrive, they have such limited support and face intense hatred and discrimination that they feel so unwelcome and alone here and can often regret their decision. Their lives as they knew it are literally over. By coming to the US, they are often separated from loved ones, have no connection to their culture, have educations and jobs that are not recognized here. For example, mothers are separated from their children because they were split up in the process. People of different religions are feared and hated. Further, refugees who are doctors, engineers and human rights activists come here and their work experience and expertise is trivialized. Doctors end up working as janitors.

In understanding the refugee experience and raising awareness about the issues they face, it is important for people to know that a refugee has been FORCED to flee their home, and likely spent years waiting to be resettled. They are given just months of support before being expected to fully acclimate and successfully function in the United States. Even when they do find work, refugees are more likely to be employed in positions with low-wages, limited hours and no benefits. This is all on top of facing racism and discrimination, having limited resources such as transportation, and not understanding a system which is too complex for even professionals to successfully navigate. Additionally, refugees have all experienced extreme trauma from war, abuse, rape, loss, and threat to their own safety. Huge percentages of resettled refugees have significant mental health disorders such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Depression and Anxiety and treatment for these disorders is so limited. Imagine navigating a new country, a new language, a new set of cultural customs, a new ways and places to take care of your needs from grocery shopping to health care to employment. Moreover, all this while dealing with the impacts of severely traumatic experiences from your home. 

The support refugees are provided in this country is not enough but it is important to know what people can do to become active in the cause. Involvement can range from volunteering at ESL classes, to lobbying for increased funding for refugee support, to volunteering for a local refugee resettlement agency, to rallying against (or for) US interventions abroad. Last month, we spent an afternoon working at ReWA, cleaning out their playground. We had a great day working with the staff and kids and made just as many new friends as we did warm memories. I encourage you to reach out to resettlement agencies in your own community and offer them a hand!

1. Thanks to my wonderful friend, Trish Becker-Hafnor, who has spent many years working with refugees, most recently on mental health counseling with women in the process of resettling, for her help with this article. Trish notes that it is very important to increase awareness of the refugee experience from both sides of the journey – before and after resettlement.  

Pics from ReWA

The Decision to Resettle

This year’s “Forced to Flee” tour is dedicated to bringing awareness to refugee issues throughout the world and promoting activism among the Calling All Crows community. The Crows’ Nest blog will feature articles by Trish Becker-Hafnor discussing the complex elements of the refugee experience, from conflicts affecting communities across the globe, to the challenges of living in a foreign country after resettlement. You can read the first installment here.

“I came here lonely,” he said, with a slow nod of the head.

“Do you mean you came here alone?” I ask, “You moved to this refugee camp without any family or friends?”

“Yes, I came here alone.”

The slip of the tongue is rare for Ko Aye,* a handsome 26 year-old with near perfect English (in addition to the five other languages in which he is fluent). Ko Aye is a refugee from Burma, living alone in Umpiem Camp as his family has either resettled or remains in Burma. He works in the camp as a translator for a resettlement organization and dreams of moving to the United States one day to be reunited with his family. He wants to be an engineer.

Ko Aye sits beside me at a dusty teashop in the heart of the refugee camp where I have been living and working for the past year. He patiently answers a barrage of questions about the resettlement process – a subject he knows like the back of his hand. He explains the history of refugees from Burma, and the sad realities that face the vast majority of those hoping to resettle. Because countries like the US only accept a limited numbers of refugees each year, refugee camps throughout the world are filled with people who have nothing to do but wait. Less than 1% of worldwide refugees are resettled to a third country, a result of limited funding coupled with sharply increasing numbers of displaced persons. 

But not every refugee wishes to resettle, and in fact it is a decision that tears families and communities apart. Refugee camps provide a temporary point of refuge for many families who have fled their homes, a place to wait out armed conflict and hope for peace in the near future. The wait is unpredictably long, and the uncertainty can be unbearable. In Umpiem Camp, where Ko Aye lives, refugees have been waiting for peace for over 60 years. Rumors constantly weave throughout the camp, giving families false hopes of democracy and repatriation, and prolonging their wait for a safe return home.  

For some, waiting is not a solution. Instead, they choose to apply for resettlement, a process that can take years. With a resettlement application, people often face stigma from their communities and are labeled as deserters. They place the futures of themselves and their families in the hands of a governing body whose rules and preferences fluctuate with the changing of political alliances. And even if resettlement is approved, families are often separated, lovers torn apart and communities dismantled. The decision to resettle is a challenging one, and this is before considering the struggles that await refugees in a third country.

Ko Aye, like many young refugees, dreams of attending university and building a livelihood for himself and the family he hopes to one day have. He is young, brilliant, educated and ambitious. For him, resettlement is his best option, as it will provide an opportunity for education, prosperity and a new life.  So here he waits – unchallenged and unfulfilled, but with hopes of a future free from violence, fear and being alone.

*Names and other identifying information have been changed to protect the individual’s privacy.

The Refugee Crisis

Trish Becker-Hafnor is a Colorado kid, who just completed her Masters in Social Work at the University of Washington. For two years, she lived and worked in a Burmese refugee camp in Thailand, coordinating a public health program, providing training, and fundraising for disaster relief. She has also worked in refugee mental health in the US, providing trauma-focused therapy for resettled refugees from around the world. She is passionate about social justice, positivity and the power of community to create change and will be sharing her expertise and experience on refugee issues with us during Forced to Flee.

This year’s “Forced to Flee” tour is dedicated to bringing awareness to refugee issues throughout the world and promoting activism among the Calling All Crows community. For the next five weeks, the Crows’ Nest blog will feature articles discussing the complex elements of the refugee experience, from conflicts affecting communities across the globe, to the challenges of living in a foreign country after resettlement. Please join CAC in our mission to create awareness by learning and sharing these blogs, joining us on the tour, and promoting justice and human rights for all.

Currently, there are over 51.2 million forcibly displaced people in countries throughout the world. The current conflict in Syria is the “biggest humanitarian emergency of our era,” and there is unprecedented need for global action to promote nonviolence and support for those who have been displaced. At this moment, nearly 16 million people wait in refugee camps around the world, 30 million seek refuge from violence within the borders of their own nations, and hundreds of thousands struggle to adapt to a life in a foreign country after being resettled. 

The statistics are staggering, but still must be placed within the context of the individual lives and experiences; collective stories of refuge and of resilience. Ahmed,* a policeman from Iraq who has lived in the US for five years, still jumps at the sound of passing trucks as it stirs vivid memories of being attacked in front of his home as his family watched from inside. Mu Paw, an 80-year-old widow in a rural Burmese village looks upon the ashes of what once was her home and all of her possessions, knowing that she has no resources to rebuild and no family to stand beside her amidst the rubble. And Esmeralda, a young female activist from Kenya spends her nights fearing footsteps beyond her locked door, as sexual violence plagues the unstable environments of war torn cities, refugee camps and border towns.

Calling All Crows encourages its supporters to become informed on the global refugee crisis, and to take action both locally and globally. The first step in activism is always to listen. We encourage you to seek out individuals in your local communities and learn about their experiences of being forced to flee. You can be involved, on a local level, by volunteering with resettlement organizations, refugee communities and ESL classes. You can continue to advocate for justice and human rights abroad with international human rights organizations, and by bringing awareness to your own networks. Finally, you can join Calling All Crows in our pre-show service projects and fundraising efforts for aid to Syrian refugees. Thank you, as always, for being a part of the movement.

For more information on the global refugee crisis, please visit www.unhcr.org. 

*Names and other identifying information have been changed to protect the individual’s privacy.