STANDING IN SUPPORT. Participants at the Footsteps to Freedom event, which commemorated World Refugee Day and raised funds for several organizations offering assistance to asylum seekers and refugees, pose for a group photo during the 5K walk. (AR Photo/Ian Blazina)

From The Asian Reporter, V18, #26 (July 1, 2008), page 9 & 11.

By Ian Blazina
The Asian Reporter

A small crowd of displaced Burmese, Sri Lankan, Lao, Somali, Burundian, and other peoples — as well as supporters of refugees and a few incidental bystanders out for a Saturday stroll — gathered recently in Portland’s South Park Blocks to commemorate World Refugee Day with a 5K walk and resource fair. Footsteps to Freedom benefitted the refugee and immigrant programs of Lutheran Community Services Northwest (LCSNW), Catholic Charities of Oregon, and Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon’s Sponsors Organized to Assist Refugees (EMO-SOAR), and honored the nearly 10 million refugees worldwide recognized by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

"We are former refugees living here in freedom; we feel for people who are not free in other countries, people living futureless lives," said Thar Nge, a political dissident from Burma who arrived in the United States four years ago. "People come here to escape racism, genocide, religious pressure, ethnic conflict. But the feelings are the same — without freedom there is no safety."

Nge was active in the democratic movement in Burma from 1988 until he was forced to flee the country for fear of his life. He wears scars on his forearms where he was beaten with the butt of a rifle by junta soldiers, and has understandably harsh feelings toward the military government ruling Burma, also known as Myanmar — a name which many Burmese refugees, especially those who were active in the pro-democracy movement, generally reject as being illegitimately handed down by the unelected military government. Nge now works as a quality control inspector for an electric company and runs a website, <www.peoplemediavoice.com>, which is a platform for Burmese throughout the world to share news about the country and the democratic movement.

Moses Rain, another Burmese refugee who arrived in the United States two weeks prior to the event, spoke of his experience living in a refugee camp on the Thai-Burma border and the gratefulness he feels toward the organizations helping him transition to a new life. Rain lived in a camp near Mae Sot, Thailand since 2000, and left family members in Thailand and Burma to make the move to Portland. While he appreciated the relative security of the camp and the assistance of non-governmental organizations, he laments the lack of opportunity in the place he called home for so many years.

"Refugee camps provide only food and shelter, no freedom," said Rain. "We live behind bars and receive food rations."

Rain receives assistance from the EMO-SOAR program, and spoke to the audience at the resource fair of the impact the organization has had on his life, from guiding him through the maze of the resettlement process to meeting basic needs in his new home.

King Mang Zam, pastor of the Burmese fellowship at the City Bible Church, also praised the work of the sponsoring organizations, drawing an analogy between the towering maples in the South Park Blocks and the network of support from earlier-arrived refugees and the LCSNW, Catholic Charities, and EMO-SOAR programs: "I am very grateful that someone planted these trees so we can enjoy this shade."

The UNHCR designated June 20 as World Refugee Day in 2000. The day is intended to focus attention on refugees’ fundamental need of protection and serve as a global call to action to tangibly improve the lives of forcibly displaced people.

According to UNHCR, a refugee is someone who "owing to 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 nationality and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country."

Falling within this definition are more than 4.6 million people in Asia and Oceania, 2.6 million Africans, 1.6 million Europeans, and more than a million people in the Americas. The agency also helps three quarters of a million asylum seekers (those who have applied for asylum but have not been approved by the asylum sys- tem and been formally recognized as refugees), nearly 13 million internally-displaced persons (those who have not crossed a border), 2.6 million returnees (refugees who have been repatriated to their home countries), and 5.8 million stateless people (those who are not considered nationals of any state, or those who do not enjoy the fundamental rights other nationals enjoy in their home state).

During 2006, there were approximately 740,000 pending cases in the asylum system, and only 196,000 asylum seekers were granted refugee status or a similar form of protection. The rest wait in refugee camps, in hiding, in limbo, for their cases to be resolved, or have been rejected and face deportation. Based on constructed family histories and personal interviews like the immigration process, the asylum system is subject to bureaucratic and personal prejudices that can determine the direction of a person’s existence. Fortunately, there are organizations with the resources to advocate for these people who so badly need protection.

Lutheran Community Services Northwest is a nonprofit human-services agency serving communities throughout Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. The group is involved in refugee resettlement, adoption services, mental-health counselling, disaster response, multicultural counselling, and much more. For more information, call (503) 231-7480 or visit <www.lcsnw.org>.

Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon’s Sponsors Organized to Assist Refugees program provides comprehensive resettlement services, case management, immigration and asylum counselling, legal services, and other services related to refugee and immigrant issues. To learn more, call (503) 284-3002 or visit <www.emoregon.org/soar.php>.

Catholic Charities of Oregon’s Immigration Legal Services provides immigration legal services to low-income immigrants and refugees, and engages in public education, training, and community outreach in order to promote justice for newcomers. They can be reached at (503) 231-4866 or online at <www.catholiccharitiesoregon.org>.