I wrote last time about refugee families who have settled in the Lehigh Valley, the challenges they've overcome and the rewards for volunteers who are working to help them succeed.
But when I read a Christmas message from Will Miller, refugee resettlement director at Catholic Charities of the Allentown Diocese , I realized his words took the story to another level.
So I'm sharing his message, slightly abridged for space and to protect one family from potential reprisals back home.
''As I reflect upon another year gone by,'' Miller wrote, '' I think about how very lucky I am to every day see and meet people from such far off lands and places that we only read about in books and magazines. Places such as Burma, Iraq, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan or Vietnam. And all of a sudden I feel blessed again knowing that but for the grace of God I could have been one of them.
'' 'One of them' … What does it mean to be 'one of them'?
''For one Iraqi family of four, being 'one of them' meant that since insurgents believed that the mother, who spoke English very well, was working with coalition forces, their home was hit by rocket-propelled grenades and later she was dragged from her business into the street and beaten mercilessly, leaving her almost dead. The family fled into Syria.
''For a Vietnamese man of 74 years, being 'one of them' meant prison and torture for fighting with American forces. When I asked him why at 74 years of age he had made the long trek to America to start life anew, he said he wanted to lay the groundwork to bring his children and grandchildren so they might live in freedom.
''I remember a Burmese family of seven arriving in May. At our first meeting I asked the father why they had to flee Burma. He told me he was a simple farmer living in a small village in Burma. No plumbing or electricity in his three-room hut. He told me that he had erected a cross on a nearby mountain. The army came to his home the next day and gave him 30 days to take it down.
''With tears in his eyes, this 39-year-old father of five told me he did not take down the cross. And 30 days later the army came back, handcuffed him, dragged him from his home and beat him in the town square. He was in the hospital for one month, after which he fled to Malaysia, only to return two years later to smuggle his wife and children out of the country.
'' I told the father that day that while he would learn much from us about America and the ways of life here, he had already taught us much more then we'd ever be able to teach him. It became clearer what it was like being 'one of them.'
''I remember a very late July night when I brought a Burmese couple and their 3-month-old daughter to their apartment in Allentown. Even though all were so very tired after their three-day trip, the husband and wife both marveled at their very modest one-bedroom apartment. They grabbed my hands and formed a circle in their small living room, bowed their heads and began to pray. Although I knew not the words they were speaking, I surely knew the meaning behind them. The meaning of being 'one of them.'
''And so this Christmas season, as we celebrate the birth of another refugee and I think of the 116 refugees we resettled this year from eight different countries, I thank you, all of our precious volunteers, supporters, friends and family of Catholic Charities' refugee program.
''Through the first three quarters of this year, over 100 of you have given over 5,000 hours of volunteer time and over $85,000 in cash and in-kind donations for our families. You have found furnishings, household items and all the necessary items to start 27 apartments. You have taken refugees to hundreds of doctor, dentist, eye doctor, specialist, PennDOT, Social Security, job interview and school enrollment appointments and meetings. You have made hundreds of Sunday morning trips to get refugees back and forth to church services and then have paid their way as you have taken them to lunch and shopping for clothing.
''You have had them at your homes for holidays, birthdays and just everyday dinners. You have visited them in their triumphs of learning to drive, births, new jobs, graduations and long-awaited family reunions. You have laughed with them and you have cried with them.
''There really are no words to thank you for your time, your treasure and most of all your love that you have poured out upon our refugees. It has been all of you who have brought America, their new country, to life. It has been all of you who have given the outstretched hand, the smile and the warmth of heart. It has been all of you who have taken and assimilated our families into the very fabric of American life.
''It has been all of you who have turned being 'one of them' into being 'one of us.' ''
To discuss how you can help turn ''one of them'' into one of us, call Will Miller at 610-435-1541, extension 302.
bill.white@mcall.com 610-820-6105
Bill White's commentary appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
But when I read a Christmas message from Will Miller, refugee resettlement director at Catholic Charities of the Allentown Diocese , I realized his words took the story to another level.
So I'm sharing his message, slightly abridged for space and to protect one family from potential reprisals back home.
''As I reflect upon another year gone by,'' Miller wrote, '' I think about how very lucky I am to every day see and meet people from such far off lands and places that we only read about in books and magazines. Places such as Burma, Iraq, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan or Vietnam. And all of a sudden I feel blessed again knowing that but for the grace of God I could have been one of them.
'' 'One of them' … What does it mean to be 'one of them'?
''For one Iraqi family of four, being 'one of them' meant that since insurgents believed that the mother, who spoke English very well, was working with coalition forces, their home was hit by rocket-propelled grenades and later she was dragged from her business into the street and beaten mercilessly, leaving her almost dead. The family fled into Syria.
''For a Vietnamese man of 74 years, being 'one of them' meant prison and torture for fighting with American forces. When I asked him why at 74 years of age he had made the long trek to America to start life anew, he said he wanted to lay the groundwork to bring his children and grandchildren so they might live in freedom.
''I remember a Burmese family of seven arriving in May. At our first meeting I asked the father why they had to flee Burma. He told me he was a simple farmer living in a small village in Burma. No plumbing or electricity in his three-room hut. He told me that he had erected a cross on a nearby mountain. The army came to his home the next day and gave him 30 days to take it down.
''With tears in his eyes, this 39-year-old father of five told me he did not take down the cross. And 30 days later the army came back, handcuffed him, dragged him from his home and beat him in the town square. He was in the hospital for one month, after which he fled to Malaysia, only to return two years later to smuggle his wife and children out of the country.
'' I told the father that day that while he would learn much from us about America and the ways of life here, he had already taught us much more then we'd ever be able to teach him. It became clearer what it was like being 'one of them.'
''I remember a very late July night when I brought a Burmese couple and their 3-month-old daughter to their apartment in Allentown. Even though all were so very tired after their three-day trip, the husband and wife both marveled at their very modest one-bedroom apartment. They grabbed my hands and formed a circle in their small living room, bowed their heads and began to pray. Although I knew not the words they were speaking, I surely knew the meaning behind them. The meaning of being 'one of them.'
''And so this Christmas season, as we celebrate the birth of another refugee and I think of the 116 refugees we resettled this year from eight different countries, I thank you, all of our precious volunteers, supporters, friends and family of Catholic Charities' refugee program.
''Through the first three quarters of this year, over 100 of you have given over 5,000 hours of volunteer time and over $85,000 in cash and in-kind donations for our families. You have found furnishings, household items and all the necessary items to start 27 apartments. You have taken refugees to hundreds of doctor, dentist, eye doctor, specialist, PennDOT, Social Security, job interview and school enrollment appointments and meetings. You have made hundreds of Sunday morning trips to get refugees back and forth to church services and then have paid their way as you have taken them to lunch and shopping for clothing.
''You have had them at your homes for holidays, birthdays and just everyday dinners. You have visited them in their triumphs of learning to drive, births, new jobs, graduations and long-awaited family reunions. You have laughed with them and you have cried with them.
''There really are no words to thank you for your time, your treasure and most of all your love that you have poured out upon our refugees. It has been all of you who have brought America, their new country, to life. It has been all of you who have given the outstretched hand, the smile and the warmth of heart. It has been all of you who have taken and assimilated our families into the very fabric of American life.
''It has been all of you who have turned being 'one of them' into being 'one of us.' ''
To discuss how you can help turn ''one of them'' into one of us, call Will Miller at 610-435-1541, extension 302.
bill.white@mcall.com 610-820-6105
Bill White's commentary appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
No comments:
Post a Comment