Burmese newcomers not refugees, but America's new immigrants

http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081007/EDITORIAL/810070329

Recently, there have been some concerns about the influx of Burmese newcomers who are scheduled to come to Fort Wayne. Because of its scale, the local media and people have their eyes on this group.

The Burmese community is not a new face in Fort Wayne; it actually has been here since the early 1990s. For years, there has been very minimal assistance for the newcomers, but their resilience, friends and families have helped them to start living in this new country, providing translation, transportation, job search, food and more. Typical Burmese work 12/7 to build their lives and would continue to do well if many area factories would not have closed. For years, the Burmese have contributed to Fort Wayne’s economy. They are taxpayers, homeowners, college students and voters.

But now there are concerns regarding health care issues that strain the city and county resources. Questions asked include: Is it true that they bring disease with them? Will they become a burden on public assistance? How can they work if they cannot speak English? Who are these people? How can we afford to help them when we have no funding? The lack of knowledge about the group has created many misunderstandings and stereotyping.



The confusion, unclear messages and news coverage about the Burmese newcomers have not only caught the attention of local residents, but also become the center of discussion at various social events in the Burmese community itself. Many are questioning how the news articles impact the Burmese community as a whole. They are asking themselves: Who are those “refugees” they’re talking about? Why do they call us refugees? Are there really refugees on American soil? Do my fellow citizens understand the term and definition of the word “refugee”? Do they really have correct information when talking to reporters? Are they aware that a complete health screen is an important step in obtaining a U.S. visa?

Many of my fellow countrymen have been left behind because of the health concern. Do they believe that commercial airlines would let TB patients get on board? Please realize how much damage can happen when these allegations are made toward many innocent people. The people of Fort Wayne deserve the right to hear the truth that will help bring the community together. This knowledge will help to clear all the doubts about Burmese newcomers so the community can actually open its arms to welcome them and help the group to become productive citizens and get on their feet.

The Burmese are here to start new lives. Being dependent on government assistance won’t give them the lives they want (i.e. house, car, job and education for their children). They know hard work will make it happen; many others have already set the example. They have spent many years in refugee camps and depend upon the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee (UNHCR) services. They didn’t know what tomorrow would bring them. A refugee’s world is a life with not much hope, no opportunity, no certainty and no country. We have been called “displaced persons.”

It was a hard life, but many have no choice. The life in Burma was even harder. In the dark of night, Burmese soldiers raged through the villages and raped the girls and women, killed the men and the elderly and took the boys away, training them to be “child soliders.” In Burma, the poor get poorer, and if you relate to the regime you will always be rich. Even now people are jailed in their own country. There is no freedom.

There are not many Burmese who make it to the United States, and those who do make it do not want to forget their refugee memories. They will certainly pass their stories on to their children so they will appreciate this great nation and feel that they are blessed to live in a democratic society. Now the question is, should one continue calling them Burmese refugees? Is it fair to label all Burmese refugees? Isn’t it offensive? America is the land of the free; there are no refugees here. She has welcomed immigrants from everywhere around the world and let them pursue the happiness of freedom. Do the Burmese deserve the same opportunity? Some say, “In America, we’re all immigrants.” The Burmese newcomers are the new immigrants.

“It upsets me when people call me a refugee; it seems like they put me down,” said Ma So Nilar Aung, who left Burma in the early 1990s and lived in Japan 13 years before she won a lottery visa to the United States in 2005.

“I don’t like it,” said Zaw Naing Win Han. He spent 15 years working in Japan. He was granted permanent residence in this country through marriage.

“I’ve never been a refugee in my life. I am an immigrant,” said Tin Tin Pyone Win, a mother of two who shared that her husband visited Burma and met and married her. She left Burma for America in 2000 on an American spouse visa. Both their children were born here. She spent only one night at the Thai airport for her transit flight to the United States. “I was one of the many,” she added. “There are many mothers, fathers, wives, sisters and brothers who got here on a family visa.”

Their U.S. family members had to work for years to save money for reunion expenses such as passports, plane tickets and travel.

“I don’t think they have the right to call all Burmese refugees, especially the children. They are American-born kids,” Win said.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kyaw T. Soe is a graduate student and founder and coordinator of the IPFW New Immigrant Literacy Program at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. He immigrated to Fort Wayne from Burma in 1993.