Guilford Refugee Advisory Council Announces a Panel Discussion: Refugees from Burma

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The event on February 23rd will cover the refugee crisis in Burma (aka Myanmar) and the culture and experiences of refugees from Burma living in Guilford County.
Greensboro – As part of the ongoing Refugee Information Series, the Guilford Refugee Advisory Council announces a panel discussion on February 23rd to discuss the growing diverse population of refugees from Burma living here in Guilford County. This is the second installment in an ongoing series of discussions meant to provide residents of Guilford County with the opportunity to learn more about the hundred of refugees who have been resettled in Triad communities over the last several years. Each presentation will feature background information about the refugee crisis in a highlighted region as well as refugees from that country residing locally who come to share their experiences and answer questions.
February’s panel discussion will highlight the ongoing military violence that has plagued the country of Burma (aka Myanmar) for the last five decades, forcing hundreds of thousands of the region’s ethnic minorities out of their homelands and into overcrowded refugee camps along the borders of Thailand and Malaysia. Most of these refugees spend decades and even entire lifetimes languishing in unstable conditions hoping for peace to return to their home country. In 2005, the United States increased their commitment to providing a stable solution for the most vulnerable of these and has since resettled close to 60,000 refugees from this war torn country across the United States. Several hundred of these have made a home in the Triad, two of which will be speaking about their experiences and answering your questions at Tuesday’s presentation.
The Burma event will take place on Tuesday, February 23rd 2010 at 6:30pm at the J. Edward Kitchen Center’s Lake Townsend Room located at the city Fire and Water building at 2602 S. Elm-Eugene Street in Greensboro. Speakers will include resettled refugees from Burma living in Greensboro, Pastor Bryan Presson, a long-time missionary to Thailand who currently works locally with resettled refugees from Burma, and Sarah Ivory, Director of the Church World Service Refugee Program in Greensboro, who will share her experiences working in the region.
This event is part of an ongoing series on the Triad’s diverse ethnic communities presented by the Guilford Refugee Advisory Council, a collaboration of Church World Service, Lutheran Family Services, African Services Coalition, Faith Action International House, and the UNC-G Center for New North Carolinians. Future presentation will take place at the J. Edward Kitchen Center at 6:30pm on the following dates: March 30th (Vietnam); April 27th (Democratic Republic of Congo); May 25th (Bhutan). 
For more information, email guilfordrefugee@gmail.com or call 336-617-0381.