wfn.org | Episcopal Church helping Kosovo refugees

[Daphne Mack <dmack@dfms.org>]

For more information contact:
Kathryn McCormick
Episcopal News Service
Kmccormick@dfms.org
212/922-5383
http://www.ecusa.anglican.org/ens

99-056
Episcopal Church agencies extend
helping hands to Kosovo refugees
by Kathryn McCormick
(ENS) "Mirsevini ne Amerike"-"Welcome to America"-the big sign 
read as nearly 450 weary, traumatized Kosovo refugees arrived in New 
Jersey May 5 at the latest stop on the forced flight from their homes. 
Among the large contingent greeting them was Frances Tinsley of the 
Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM) staff, who was on hand to assist 
in processing the refugees.

EMM is one of 10 agencies designated by the U.S. State Department to 
resettle refugees in the United States, so it was not unusual that she
was 
part of a group at the arrival site at Ft. Dix whose expertise would be 
needed to collect a huge amount of required information from the
refugees 
without delay.

Tinsley, who is EMM's placement and processing manager, regularly 
consults with the State Department to help place refugees from many 
different countries. She is part of the church's response to the Kosovo 
situation. 

The Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief has sent $120,000 in relief

funds to help the refugees, said Sandra Swan, executive director of the
fund.
"We are working through an umbrella organization, Action by Churches 
Together (ACT)," she said, "since the Episcopal Church has no official 
presence in the area" around Kosovo.
A chance to heal
As for the refugees now being flown to the U.S., EMM Director Richard 
Parkins said, "At this point, we can't predict exactly how the process
will 
go because it is a bit different from what normally happens." Most
refugees 
who come to the U.S., he said, have been living in camps or temporary 
homes for as much as a year. 

During that time they have had a chance to heal a bit from the trauma of

being forced from their homes, perhaps learned some skills that could be

useful in a new job, learned how to speak basic English and maybe even 
learned something about life in the U.S. They also have been through
medical 
and security checks and been interviewed by the U.S. Immigration and 
Naturalization Service. Refugee agencies have specific requirements to 
meet in dealing with them and long experience has prepared them for 
problems that might arise.

In the case of the refugees from Kosovo, he explained, few of them have 
been touched by the process. 

"We are concerned about their mental well-being because they've come 
fairly quickly from trauma," he said. "These people will still be
feeling 
the impact."

That is why the refugee agencies, long accustomed to working together, 
have discussed how to see that counseling will be available not only at 
Ft. Dix but where the refugee families are eventually settled.

Parkins estimated that refugees would be at Ft. Dix for up to three
weeks 
for paperwork and clearances are completed. Then they will be able to
join 
their sponsors.

EMM has worked hard with its 38 diocesan affiliates to locate sponsors 
for Kosovar families, Parkins said. The United States has agreed to
accept 
a total of 20,000 Kosovars. Typically they have large families and "we
want 
to be culturally sensitive" in settling them, he added.

"We would expect to cluster these refugees in areas where there is
already 
an Albanian community or where other agencies are also resettling Kosovo

refugees so that an ethnic base for the refugees can be established," he
said, 
noting that this point is important for persons seeking to become
sponsors 
of Kosovo refugees.
Cultural support
While the response to the Kosovars' situation has been "wonderful," he
said,
EMM has tried to make sure that the refugees are settled where they will
have 
cultural support as well as services such as Albanian-speaking
counselors.

In some cases, he said, callers have been referred to other agencies
that might 
be resettling refugees at or near the callers' locations. EMM has been
trying 
particularly to connect parishes with local EMM affiliates or with
resettlement 
agencies working nearby. 

"We have, of course, encouraged all callers to contribute to the
Presiding 
Bishop's Fund for World Relief, which is also supporting this
resettlement 
effort," he said.

Swan noted that, while most of the Kosovars are Muslims, that should not

deter Episcopalians from helping them to "regain their balance" after 
suffering terrible emotional and spiritual trauma.

Editor's Note: Contributions may be sent to the Presiding Bishop's Fund 
for World Relief, P.O. Box 12043, Newark, NJ 07101. Designate checks 
for "Kosovo." Credit card donations may be made by calling 
(800) 334-7626, ext. 6025.
--Kathryn McCormick is associate director of the Office of News 
and Information of the Episcopal Church.