U.S., Canada will share refugee fingerprints

CBC News

The United States says it will join Canada, Australia and Britain in sharing fingerprints and other data to help authorities discern people's true identities in cracking down on asylum shopping and unlawful immigration.

The program would allow governments to ferret out fraudulent refugee claimants by using fingerprinting and other methods to get details about identity, nationality, travel and immigration history.

Canada and the U.S. conducted a trial run two years ago in which authorities exchanged fingerprints on 343 refugee claimants.

One-third had applied to live in both countries and five per cent had a criminal history in the United States. U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said such data sharing is effective.

"Biometrics continues to be a powerful tool to prevent terrorists and criminals from crossing our shared border and preventing identity theft and asylum fraud."

While David Fraser, a privacy lawyer in Halifax, has no problems with how international authorities intend to use the biometric information, he said they must ensure they stick to using the information properly.

"Once information goes into a large database it's very attractive to use it for other purposes and so it takes a lot of discipline, policy and procedure to make sure its use is confined to the only identified purpose."

Prints will be destroyed

Authorities in Canada say further personal information such as a passport number will be shared only when there is a fingerprint match and all fingerprints will be destroyed once people become successful refugee claimants or Canadian citizens.

Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan said Canadians have no reason to fear their personal information will be shared with U.S. officials, because the program is aimed primarily at refugee claimants.

"The biometric information sharing is relating to refugee claimants and the refugee situation and some removals — it's more immigration-related," said Van Loan, flanked by Napolitano after a top-level meeting about border security attended by both the U.S. and Canadian ambassadors in Washington.

The biometrics announcement was one of a series of moves both countries are making to tackle common threats, Napolitano and Van Loan said.

Key measures include enhanced information sharing between the U.S. and Canada, the expansion of joint law enforcement operations and improved co-ordination during emergencies.

Napolitano skirted the question when asked if U.S. concerns about the Canadian border were escalating after two recent high-profile terrorism arrests in the United States with Canadian connections.

Tahawwur Rana, a Pakistani-Canadian who lives in the U.S., was arrested last month along with another Chicago resident, David Coleman Headley, on accusations of plotting to attack on a Danish newspaper for publishing cartoons in 2005 depicting the Prophet Muhammad.

The FBI has since alleged that Rana, 48, and Headley, 49, were in contact with the Pakistani group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which the Indian government blames for last November's terrorist attacks in Mumbai that left 166 dead and 308 wounded.

In September, Najibullah Zazi, 24, was arrested in Denver and accused of plotting to blow up targets in New York in what has been billed as biggest U.S. terrorist attack since 9-11. Zazi, who has family living near Toronto, travelled twice to Canada in the months before his arrest.

Refugees pay $40,000 to come by plane

THE AUSTRALIAN

ASYLUM-seekers are arriving in Australia by air in numbers that dwarf boat arrivals, after paying people-smugglers up to $US40,000, for a package that includes airfares, false passports and forged Australian visas.

The racket has been revealed by a Sri Lankan refugee who was granted a protection visa after arriving in Australia in April on false travel documents supplied by a professional people-smuggler in Malaysia.

Figures from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship show the number of asylum-seekers who arrive by plane dwarfs the numbers who arrive by boat. A DIAC spokesman said that, in 2008-09, 206 people were granted protection visas after arriving in Australia by boat, while 2172 received protection after arriving by plane.

The total number of plane arrivals who applied for refugee status in that period was 5076. A far smaller proportion of those who arrive by air are ultimately found to be genuine refugees. The Refugee Council of Australia says typically 45 per cent of applicants who come by plane end up being granted protection, compared with 90 to 95 per cent of those who come by boat.

The 23-year-old Tamil man, who revealed the racket, asked to be identified only as "Sanjay". He fled his home on Sri Lanka's Jaffna Peninsula in 2007 at the height of the conflict between the Sri Lankan armed forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Sanjay, who claims to have no LTTE connections, told The Australian he was detained in 2007 for 20 days, during which time he was kept blindfolded and handcuffed to a pillar, beaten with rifle butts and batons and burned with cigarettes.

He fled Sri Lanka in mid-2007 for Malaysia. Early this year, he says, he was introduced to a Malaysian Tamil people-smuggler. Sanjay was told the fee to travel by boat was $US15,000, while the cost to travel by air was more than double that.

Afraid to send their only son on the perilous sea voyage, Sanjay's family, who owned a transport business in Jaffna, sold their fleet of vehicles to raise the money for his escape to Australia. The $US35,000 ($38,000) was paid directly to the agent.

Sanjay was handed a one-way airline ticket to Australia and a false Canadian passport containing a forged Australian visa.

He flew to Australia on April 12. Having been told by the people-smuggler that he would be immediately deported if caught with false documents, he tore up his passport on the plane and flushed it down the lavatory.

Sanjay presented himself at the immigration desk at Perth airport and announced, "I am a Sri Lankan refugee". He spent six months in Villawood detention centre before being released with permanent residency a few weeks ago.

Hatoyama Calls For UNHCR To Support Plan To Accept Myanmar Refugees

BERNAMA

TOKYO, Nov 20 (Bernama)-- Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Thursday called on the United Nations refugee agency to support Japan's plan to accept Myanmar refugees from fiscal 2010, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported quoting the Japanese Foreign Ministry as saying.

During the meeting with U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres, Hatoyama was quoted as saying that Japan needs the agency's continued cooperation for it to make a ''success'' of its acceptance of Myanmar refugees under a third-country resettlement program starting in the next fiscal year from April 2010.

Japan is set to accept about 30 refugees, who have fled the suppression of human rights by Myanmar's military government and currently live in border camps in Thailand, each year for three years from fiscal 2010 under the resettlement programme, according to ministry officials.

If realised, Japan will be the first Asian country to introduce the programme, which is designed to help people who have fled to nearby states because of conflict in their home countries but find it hard to settle there or return home.

In the half-hour meeting at the prime minister's office, Guterres responded that Japan's foreign policy and the UNHCR's support are heading toward the same goal and that Japan can expect continued support from the agency, according to the ministry.

The government will examine the outcome of the programme after the three years and decide whether to continue it, the officials said.

The introduction of the programme is apparently aimed at fending off criticism in the international community that Japan is not doing enough in the area of refugee support.

Where Education Matters Most For Refugee Children

By Melati Mohd Ariff

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 19 (Bernama) -- According to the statistics issued by UNHCR Malaysia, as of last Sept 30, there were 63,600 refugees and asylum-seekers registered with the UN Refugee Agency.

From this figure, 58,000 were from Myanmar comprising some 27,700 Chins, 15,900 Rohingyas, 3,800 Myanmar Muslims, 2,300 Kachins and the remaining being other ethnic minorities from that country.

There were also some 5,600 refugees and asylum-seekers from other countries, including 2,700 Sri Lankans, 760 Somalis, 530 Iraqis and 530 Afghans.

Based on the available statistics, 51 per cent of the refugees and asylum-seekers were men while women made up 49 per cent. There were 14,600 children below the age of 18.

UNHCR Malaysia said there were also a large number of persons of concern to the agency who remained unregistered and the figure was said to be around 30,000.

GENERATION OF BEGGARS

For Zin Oo Ko, who is from Myanmar and whose family migrated to Malaysia in the late 80s, only education would take the refugee children off the streets and prevent them from becoming a generation of beggars apart from being dragged into being part of the 'bad hats'.

Zin said there were two groups of Rohingya refugee children who took to the streets as beggars in Malaysia.

On one side, the children were in the clutches of a triad from their own ethnic group and local gangs who paid some money to the parents of the children and the children themselves before sending them out to the streets to beg.

"The other group are those who have no choice but to beg and begging is the easiest form of earning a livelihood," he said.

Zin then related the story of Abdul Rahim who is Anwar Begum's (the Rohingya refugee child mentioned in the first part of this article) older brother who had to 'beg' to support his family.

"He was actually selling religious books but this is also considered like begging because there is no fixed amount for the books. It is up to the people to give him whatever amount they thought suitable.

"The family is ashamed to allow Abdul Rahim to do this but they have no choice and the boy is also too young to get a job. The father used to go round collecting metal scraps and recycled items but later he became too ill and became bedridden," said zin.

The young boy then started to mix with the bad elements and was later picked up by the authorities. After some considerations by the relevant authorities, they decided to send him to a reform school in Kelantan.

TEACH THEM HOW TO FISH

Zin said poverty, particularly for the refugees, served not only as the breeding ground for crimes but also for the refugees to rapidly 'multiply' in their number as were ignorant of family planning.

"To me, the only way to get these people out from the clutches of poverty is through education. We can give them rice, a packet or two or give them money but money is never enough.

"We need to empower them, especially the children, teach them how to fish, not just giving them the fish so they can stand on their own two feet. What if one day I am not here anymore and also the people who are helping them?

"What would happen to them then? Would they go back to their old lives? In a way I am a bit worried," Zin said in an interview with Bernama here recently. Zin who can also speak fluent Bahasa Malaysia said he had taken onto himself to teach some of the Rohingya children including Anwar Begum and her siblings. The students are between five and 23 years old.

VERY REWARDING

According to the 30-year-old Zin, he started teaching the children around end of 2005 until recently where he decided to temporarily stop pending getting a proper place to conduct the classes.

"I was going from house to house, teaching Bahasa Malaysia, English, some Mathematics and religious studies. The children were great, very responsive and excited to learn.

It is satisfying to see the glow on their faces as they respond to my teaching. They also love drawings.

"Anwar Begum for example. She can now read. Three years ago she knows nothing. She can also listen to the Malay news and translate them for her parents," said Zin who has a Malaysian Permanent Resident (PR) status.

Zin himself has no experience in teaching but after asking around from his friends who are teachers and lecturers, he begins to develop his own syllabus to teach the children.

"I feel privileged that I can assist them. We are not in their situation, we are the lucky ones and if we compare our lives to theirs and also our every day problems, it is nothing compared to what they are going through.

"They are practically living with no hope, no dreams, no tomorrow, nothing. I am helping them straight from my heart. My goal is, let's say out of 100 students, if I can get one into university, this is already very rewarding. This will take some time but I am willing to do this forever.

"At the same time for those who cannot study, I want to give them vocational training like that in wiring, house renovations, auto mechanics and handicrafts. This is my long-term plan," said Zin.

-- BERNAMA

US President Obama Sets New Myanmar Policy in Motion

Soure: RGE Monitor

President Obama's meeting with Southeast Asian leaders—including Myanmar's prime minister—on Sunday will reflect the new U.S. stance on countries with unsavory human rights practices: pursuing engagement rather than isolation. On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton explained the change, acknowledging that sanctions without diplomacy had not accomplished U.S. policy goals in Myanmar, like swaying the military regime to free political prisoners and pursuing peace with ethnic minorities. She revealed the most novel aspects of the administration's new approach, however, at this week's APEC meetings in Singapore when she asked for help from China, India and Thailand—three of Myanmar's key economic partners—to pressure the military regime to allow free elections in 2010.

Countries with sanctions against Myanmar—including the U.S., EU, Canada and Australia—say that Myanmar’s investment and trade ties with China and other regional partners undermine the effectiveness of punitive trade restrictions. The construction of a multibillion dollar pipeline that will provide China with oil and natural gas and Myanmar's military regime with badly needed revenue stands to further minimize the sanctions' efficacy, and could also lead to further human rights violations through land confiscations or forced labor.

Instead of protesting the plan and other investment projects supporting Myanmar's ruling junta, however, the Obama administration has chosen to focus on the common goals of all of the key players in the region. Clinton told the APEC conference participants that fostering stability in the region is in all of their interests and argued that countries with investments in Myanmar would be best served if Myanmar moved toward democracy "and the kind of stability that democracy creates." With her statements and Obama's presence at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting this weekend, the administration is expressing interest in participating in a more cooperative approach to the region's affairs that acknowledges the varying priorities of the countries involved. Still, the U.S. and EU have pledged to keep sanctions in place until they see clear evidence of human rights progress, and regional economic partners of the resource-rich state have little motivation to curtail their business relations, so the measurable effects of the diplomatic shift stand to be limited.

Baby Steps, at Best

A departure from President George W. Bush's strategy of refusing to hold direct talks with Myanmar has been in the works since February, when Clinton called for a policy review. Obama's visit this weekend, which might include a one-on-one meeting with Myanmar's prime minister, Gen. Thein Sein, will mark the highest-level meeting between the two countries since President Lyndon Johnson met with Prime Minister Ne Win in Washington in 1966. Though finding clear resolution in Myanmar will likely be an arduous process, there have been a few promising signs. The military regime allowed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to meet with Sen. James Webb of Virginia in August; then, last week, it let her leave the confines of her home and a nearby government guesthouse for the first time in years to meet with assistant secretary of State for East Asia Kurt Campbell and his deputy, Scot Marciel. In September, Sein became Myanmar's most senior official to address the UN General Assembly in 15 years. He called for increased aid after Cyclone Nargis and argued that sanctions against his country were "unjust" and "a form of violence."

Though Myanmar's junta and Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi, who has been detained for 14 of the past 20 years, have praised the new U.S. policy, some are less supportive. Critics voice concern that U.S. engagement will legitimize the military regime and give the junta confidence to violate international human rights norms even more egregiously.The regime has shown no indication of any intention to implement democratic and electoral reforms before the 2010 elections or to release Suu Kyi, who was dealt another 18 months of house arrest in August after an uninvited American came to her home. The junta granted 7,000 prisoners amnesty in September, but human rights groups estimate that the regime still holds 2,200 political prisoners. Given that Myanmar's new constitution—approved in 2008 by a suspicion-inducing 92% of the electorate—includes provisions barring Suu Kyi from holding office and giving the military 25% of the parliamentary seats, it is unlikely that the 2010 elections will be a political watershed. Writing in the WSJ, Georgetown Associate Professor Michael J. Green, a senior advisor and Japan chair with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, says the junta has been behaving as badly as ever since the U.S. changed its tune: In early November, officials detained 50 students, journalists and political activists.

Balancing Powers

Clinton's statements at the APEC summit suggest the U.S. policy shift has broader and longer-term goals than pressuring Myanmar's military regime on human rights. Over the past decade, as Bush kept Myanmar at arm's length, Asian players were happy to step in and expand ties, and perhaps not only in the economic realm. After the U.S. Navy tracked a North Korean ship heading toward Myanmar in June, speculation that the ship may have been carrying weapons prompted fears of growing military ties between the two countries.

China and India, meanwhile, have pursued investment opportunities from Myanmar's wealth of natural gas, which currently supplies 20% of Thailand's power (as parts of Myanmar face daily outages). A pipeline project­­ underway will supply China with natural gas from off Myanmar's coast and more direct access to Middle Eastern and African oil, potentially broadening Myanmar’s power as a regional energy hub. Analysts estimate that over 30 years the project will provide Myanmar's government with at least US$1 billion in revenues, about one-third of the country's current FX reserves, the WSJ says. Daewoo and the China National Petroleum Corp. are two of the major participants in the project, in addition to Myanmar Oil & Gas Enterprise, Korea Gas Corp., Oil & Natural Gas Corp. of India and GAIL (India) Ltd. China, South Korea and Japan also have accrued political and economic leverage in the region through the ASEAN+3 group, the provision of aid and investment and the expansion of the Chiang Mai Initiative, a liquidity facility.

For many Asian countries, the potential gains from natural resources, tourism and related investment are considered more vital than the pat on the back they would earn from the U.S. and EU for condemning Myanmar's human rights violations. Though ASEAN says Myanmar's inclusion in the group has allowed it to influence the ruling junta—notably after Cyclone Nargis in 2008, when ASEAN pushed Myanmar to allow the entry of aid workers—the ASEAN tag also has given member states something of an excuse to maintain trade and investment relations with their misbehaving neighbor. Though opinion on Myanmar varies within ASEAN, the veto of a single country can stall action, since the group moves only with consensus. At the ASEAN summit in October, the launch of the Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, a key component of the charter the group signed in 2008, fizzled when Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines and Singapore refused to participate.

By joining the region's conversation, the Obama administration acknowledges the complexity of dealing with a country that has valuable natural resources, a strategically important location and a military regime that crushes dissent. The participation of Clinton and Obama at this week's meetings lends credibility to the president's statement at the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue in July that "the pursuit of power among nations must no longer be seen as a zero-sum game." All the same, though diplomatically important, the administration's policy shift is unlikely to translate into significant economic rewiring—or free elections in Myanmar—anytime soon.

Illegal immigrant found in car boot

asiaone NEWS

Half an hour past midnight, a grey Proton Waja drove through the Woodlands Checkpoint on November 3.

Although nothing seemed amiss, Immigrations & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers signaled the driver to stop for checks at the secondary check area.

The officers discovered a Chinese man in his early 20s in the car boot.

The driver, a 32-year-old Malaysian Chinese man, and the illegal immigrant were immediately arrested.

Investigations revealed that the illegal immigrant was a 24-year old Malaysian.

He said that he was assisting in unpacking duty unpaid cigarettes but fled the scene during a police raid. He said he lost his passport when he fled, and made arrangements to leave the country illegally.

The driver claimed that he was paid RM300 (S$122.65) to send the man out of Singapore.

Both the driver and the immigration offender are currently under investigation for their offences.

The vehicle used in the commission of this offence has been detained and is liable for forfeiture.

ICA takes a serious view of attempts by foreigners to overstay, enter or depart Singapore illegally.

Under the Immigration Act (Cap 133), the penalties for overstaying or illegal entry are a jail term of up to six months plus a minimum of three strokes of the cane, while the penalties for illegal departure is a fine of up to $2,000, a jail term of up to six months, or both.

The vehicle used in the smuggling of the illegal immigrants will also be seized and liable for forfeiture.

More than 100 Burmese refugees relocated to Western Mass. to escape reported abuse in Myanmar

masslive.com

Sugar Moon, 22, left, whose father is Thai and mother Burmese, is a translator at the Lutheran Social Services in West Springfield. She is talking here with recent immigrants San Naing Chaw, 35, middle, and Lae Way, 46.

The refugees have moved with the help of Jewish Family Services of Springfield and Lutheran Social Services in West Springfield.

Sugarmoon doesn’t have a last name. No one in her tribe does, but in the United States first and last names are required, so now her name is Sugar Moon.

“It’s very strange to separate my name that way,” the 22-year-old says.

Home for Sugarmoon until just a year ago was a Burmese refugee camp in Thailand.

Sugarmoon is part of the Karen tribe, a group of Burmese people who fled their country, now called Myanmar, seeking refuge from reported abuse by the ruling government.

Many were forced to work in labor camps and were physically and sexually abused by military personnel, said Duane Binkley, an agricultural missionary who has worked extensively with Burmese refugees in the United States. Most of those who fled first went to refugee camps in Thailand and Malaysia.

Over the past year-and-a-half, more than 100 Burmese refugees have been placed in Western Massachusetts with the help of Jewish Family Services of Springfield and Lutheran Social Services in West Springfield.

Both organizations help hundreds of refugees from around the globe resettle here each year. The agencies help find housing, transportation, jobs and enroll children in schools, said Misha Gregorian, of Lutheran Social Services, who works with the Burmese refugees when they arrive.

Sugarmoon is among the lucky few who arrived here with a grasp of the English language.

“Language is the most serious barrier for Karen people,” Gregorian said, explaining how most refugees struggle for months to learn English.

Language is one of the three basic things he cites as necessary for the refugees to prosper here; the others are work and transportation. He has helped place the Karen children in schools where they are completely immersed in studies in English and also enrolls as many adults as he can in English classes.

Many of the refugees have also found a kind of home-away-from-home at Agawam’s First Baptist Church.

“It is such a blessing to have them here with us,” said the pastor, the Rev. Thomas N. Rice.

The newest members of Rice’s flock began arriving earlier this year.

“They are learning from us, but we are al

so learning from them, about their traditions and their way of worship,” Rice said.

Each Sunday, he encourages the refugees to read a passage of the Bible in their native language and sing a worship song to help immerse the American congregates into their culture and religious traditions.

Church member Darcy Davis finds it exciting to have the refugees in the congregation.

“It has been a learning experience for all of us,” she said. “It is wonderful to see the children running around the church and bringing a new life to it.”

Church members have also come together to provide clothing and other necessities to the refugee families, according to Edith Gottsche.

“They need shoes and warm clothes for the winter and car seats,” she said. “ We have gathered as much as we can to help them.”

Rice has an unusual connection with Burma as his parents were missionaries there in the 1940s and he was born there in 1947. “Having them here feels like a piece of my past,” he said. “It feels like the natural thing to do to help them and welcome them to our church.”

The Baptist faith has a long history with Burma. While Buddhism is still the primary belief system many Burmese have been Baptists since missionaries, including Adoniram Judson, first visited the country in the early 1800s.

“The Burmese government only accepts Buddhism as the national religion, and many of these refugees have been persecuted for their beliefs. We feel it is important for us to help them now,” Rice said.

Binkley spoke in Agawam this summer about the Karen tribe’s history in Myanmar and Thailand and the problems the refugees face today. Due to their fear of persecution many Burmese will not, in fact, admit that they are Baptist, so there is no accurate number of how many there are, Binkley said.

Binkley estimates more than 40,000 refugees have been moved to the U.S. in the past five years. Many come from separate camps in Thailand and Malaysia, he said, and their moves to the U.S. bring both opportunities and difficulties.

“They have to learn to pay utility bills and learn to speak English and learn how to use transportation all in a very short time period,” he said. “Many of the families rely on their children to learn English in school and translate for them.”

East Longmeadow High School teacher Ray Williams Jr., of Agawam, began teaching English for the refugees at the church on Sundays after the services.

“It’s really a very slow process, but they are the most hard working group of people I have ever met,” he said. “All of them have a willingness and a desire to learn even though it is incredibly difficult for them to construct even basic sentences,” he said, explaining how their language is monosyllabic, “so they have no concept of words with multiple syllables.”

Williams incorporates useful topics, like unit and sale prices and how to take a bus, into his teaching. Many of the families are still very isolated within neighborhoods of Springfield and West Springfield, he said.

“Some of them come to church on Sunday, and then they do not leave their house again until the next Sunday,” he said.

“There are many difficulties for us here,” acknowledged Ka Ba Aye, one of two Burmese ministers at the church. He is regarded as a spiritual leader for the group and conducts services in Burmese after the regular Sunday service in English.

“The biggest difference in our small service is the language,” he said through a translator, Aung Myo. “ We still worship the same God. We still read the same Bible.”

Ka Bay Ya is 59-years-old. He came to the United States less than a year ago with his wife and five children and says he’s found it a struggle to live a decent life.

“Many of our people do not have enough money to live every month,” Ya said. “We cannot find jobs, or, if we do, it is difficult to get transportation to the jobs.”

Currently only two members of the congregation have driver’s permits, Paw Htoo, a young father, and Myo, 21, who came to the U.S. a year ago and is a student at Springfield Technical Community College.

“They need to offer the permit in our language so that more of us can drive,” Myo said. “We also need a van because ours broke and it is difficult for people to get around.”

The congregation is desperately seeking a van to help transport families to and from church and work if they can find it.

“Right now several of us are taking three round-trips every Sunday to bring them to church,” Williams said. “They want to achieve some level of independence and being able to drive would be a great help.”

Rice said that while there are some problems to work out he is proud of the congregation for accepting the Karen people.

“ It has been an adjustment for all of us. The Karens have to adjust to a different climate, a different language and a different way of life. Our congregation has had to take on the challenge of helping them,” he said. “It is really our faith that has brought us all together and is transforming us into one community.”

Sugarmoon’s mother still lives in Thailand where she worked at a health clinic at the refugee camp and picked up English from British and Australian doctors and nurses. She taught English to Sugarmoon and her sister in hopes that they could move to the U.S. and attend college.

Sugarmoon is making her mother’s dream a reality. She is a student at Springfield Technical Community College, studying to be an engineer. She also works part time with Lutheran Family Services, translating for new refugees as they arrive.

“I am not an interpreter really,” she explained. “Some words I cannot translate, but I try to make them understand. The English language is very difficult especially for the older people who come because most do not have any schooling.”

At Lutheran Family Services, agriculturist Shemariah Blum-Evitts helped families start their own vegetable gardens this summer in Holyoke, West Springfield and Westfield. Most of the Karens are familiar with farming and requested certain gourds native to their home, according to Blum-Evitts.

“They are hard-working people, and they want to provide for their families. By helping them start their own gardens they can become more self sufficient,” she said.

Back home Ler Thaw owned a small market where he sold fruits and vegetables. He was also a Baptist minister. He arrived in January with two of his four children; the rest of his family remains in Thailand.

Through translation from Sugarmoon, Thaw said it has been difficult to live here without a job. “I want to work, but it is hard to find jobs here,” he said.

As for Sugarmoon, she hopes to bring her mother and sister here when she obtains citizenship, a process she said could take years. For now she is working on her English and adjusting to a new life.

“I still can’t believe that I am here in America. I sometimes wake up and I think I am back home,” she said. “But, then I remember I am here, and my mother’s dream is real for me.”