wfn.org | Refugee Resettlement Recognition

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

CONTACT: 	Linda Bloom
(10-21-71B){164}
		New York (212) 870-3803			 March 19, 1998

Refugee program receives
top ranking by State Department

	NEW YORK (UMNS) -- The Church World Service Immigration and
Refugee Program -- in which United Methodists play an active role -- has
been ranked No. 1 among the 10 national agencies involved in refugee
resettlement.
	It is the first such recognition for the program, according to
Elizabeth Ferris, director. In 1997, the CWS program helped resettle
5,073 refugees in U.S. communities.
In a March 17 interview, Lilia Fernandez, refugee coordinator for the
United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), said the credit belongs to
all who have been involved in the CWS program.
"The partnership that we have is working very well among the
denominations, the local (refugee) projects and the churches," she
explained.
The U.S. State Department ranking looks at such criteria as a low rate
of "outmigration," which refers to a move to another community because
of an unsuccessful first placement, and a high repayment rate for the
refugees' travel loans.
More important, according to Ferris, is job placement for refugees whom
the State Department considers employable and who are not supported by
relatives living in the United States. Last year, more than 90 percent
of the CWS-resettled refugees in this category found jobs within six
months of arrival.
A number of local United Methodist churches have been involved in the
effort. "Congregational sponsorship is the best way to resettle
refugees," Fernandez said.
The cases in which refugees have no relatives living in the United
States "are the most difficult because the church has to step in and be
everything for that family," she added.
But, Fernandez pointed out, once a local church has decided to make such
a commitment, the success rate is high.
The numbers of refugees and their countries of origin vary each year
based on the government's criteria for entry. Most recently, UMCOR has
helped resettle refugees from Liberia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, the former
Zaire, Bosnia, Croatia, Russia, Moldova, Ukraine, Cuba, Haiti, Iran and
Iraq.
United Methodists seeking more information about how to become involved
in refugee and immigration issues can write Fernandez at 475 Riverside
Drive, Room 330, New York, NY 10115 or call (212) 870-3805.

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