Sharing the Faith

   
 

God used my
wife Julie to tap me on the
shoulder.
And He used Ralph Starling
to tap her.

by Warren Pierce

An interview with Richmond's First Baptist Church Deacon Warren Pierce by Ministry Resident Lindsey McClintock. The interview took place during the worship services November 22, 2009.

Lindsey McClintock: Warren, when we say refugee ministry, what do we mean? Who are the refugees and what are we doing to help them?

Warren: They are Bhutanese refugees from Nepal. They have been persecuted for decades in their country - for religion, for political opinions, for their race, their nationality, any number of reasons. The United States Government has invited them asylum here. That’s the good part of the story. The rest of the story is more challenging in that they arrive from a distant land, unfamiliar with the language, often with a small bag of possessions, often with just the clothes on their backs.

Lindsey: How did God tap you on the shoulder to get you involved in this ministry?

Warren: Well, God used my wife Julie to tap me on the shoulder. And He used Ralph Starling to tap her. Ralph called one night, needing help setting up an apartment for a family that was coming in late one night. We helped him and were willing to help in any way that we could. From that, things evolved. I became involved in collecting donations. I also became involved in helping to renovate the Boulevard Church, the community outreach center, and then became personally involved with some of the refugees individually. Ralph asked if I would be willing to help a young man learn to drive. I didn’t realize it was going to involve his brother and a good friend. But once we were able to get everybody driving on the right side of the road, he was able to get his driver’s license, and from that he was able to get a car, and now he is able to help others in his community with transportation. But the few cars in that refugee community is no where close to the challenge that transportation still offers in getting to the store, finding jobs, getting to job interviews, and things of that nature.

... imagine putting yourself in the place of a refugee, arriving in the United States, a foreign land, the middle of the night, not knowing the language, not having friends.

Lindsey: Is it true that there are over 300 Refugee families in Richmond right now? Warren: Well, I think 300 families may have come in last year. But, yes, there are hundreds of not just Nepali, but other refugees as well. Lindsey: What can we do to help in this ministry. Warren: First thing people think of is just donating warm clothes because winter is on its way. And that’s a need. But if you can imagine putting yourself in the place of a refugee, arriving in the United States, a foreign land, the middle of the night, not knowing the language, not having friends. No job, no clothes, possibly with three children under the age of four, what would you need? Well, one of the biggest things is support. Having a family or an individual that would be able to guide them through our community, showing them how to get the bus, being a friend and an advocate for the many things that they still need, is a real big need.

Lindsey: And the language, it is uncomfortable trying to speak to someone who doesn’t speak your language?

Warren: A little uncomfortable, but smiles go a long way. The younger generation are pretty fluent in English. The older generation, the parents, not so much, but that is not a problem.

Lindsey: What’s the largest blessing that you’ve have received from working with these wonderful people?

Warren: Well, one of the best blessings that I’ve been able to achieve from all this is through a willingness to serve God through them. Each week, I see more and more people that are willing to step in and volunteer and they, too, allow God to work through them. I see people getting their driver’s licenses, I see children going to school, I see people learning computers, lots and lots of good things are happening. But I still see refugees, Pakistani, Afghani, Sudanese refugees, that don’t have the opportunity or benefit of having a church like First Baptist Church helping them. So there’s still a tremendous need for workers.

   

Dear readers this is an example of a couple who spends their weekends and all the free time for Bhutanese in Richmond Virginia and other refugees  sharing the faith of god; helping every prospectus. Bhutanese are being helped a lot through FBC   in new culture and land.Let their help grow up like a fame of rose.

     Dadi Ram Antim- Blogger and Richmond Bhutanese.

Memories:The days in refugee camp

The days which i passed is really the interesting to me.my proud land Nepal it is the place of god which i can't express by my single mouth,being refugee also i myself proud because of the great happiness among all my friend who touch my heart and the feeling.I my self recognize the day which i and others friends selflessly help to the people being volunteer.Its so pleasant to express this think by this sites.Hope like this you also enjoy.We are the same flowers of Garland for 19 years it is also the best to express.We together makes a Garland by having different races people in same.I still remember the day which we inter Nepal from Bhutan it is really a heartfelt conditions to all those who love there mother.But then also we are sweing our tearing heart day by day which should done due to of human natures.There is saying''if u need to change the world, u should start from u then only world will change''which is express by swami vikassananda.so by this thought i and the people they step towards the three way which is not yet got satisfactory reason to three way people.hope every people they reach to destination after few moments.The words of vikassananda still touch my heart now a days also.Every human beings should flow the way of god which is still unknown but most of the people got that.which is peace among all.So i myself also hope for peace and friendliness among all the races.now this world is challenging with the ca races discrimination so be careful weather you also running at the back of races.It is the bad thing to run after the races or the discrimination.

By : Kamal Pardhan ( Mr. Pardhan edits www.BhutaneseOhio.com)

A media vechile vandalized

A van belonging to weekly newspaper, The Journalist, published from Thimphu was vandalized by unknown attackers on mid night May 12.

The van was returning office after dropping home on of the paper’s IT staffs, when it was hit at around 12.45 pm, as it passed the road above the golf course area in Thimphu, near Royal Monetary Authority (RMA) building.

The scene of the vandalized van. Photo/Kuensel

Suspected to be hit by stone, vehicle’s left window at the back seat and the rear window are badly shattered, pieces of which fell inside the car. Driver and another staff in the car remain safe. They immediately informed the police for investigation.

Newspaper editor Gopilal Acharya, however, suspects a stray bullet might have hit the van though police say it is not.
Acharya is also the president of Journalists Association of Bhutan (JAB).

It is the first incident of attack on press in the country. The Journalist weekly is being published by the journalists who left Bhutan Times in mass last year alleging managerial interference into the editorial matters.

Meanwhile, the Association of Press Freedom Activist (APFA-Bhutan) has shown deep concern towards the incident. In a media statement issued by IP Adhikari, the president of APFA-Bhutan, it said that the attack would not only derail the morality of the journalists, but also curtails their safety and the right to information of the Bhutanese people.

“The government must investigate the incident thoroughly and punish those involved in the attack. The government must also ensure safety and security of the media persons,” reads the statement.
Source: www.bhutannewsservice.com

A continued history of Displacement in Beldangi-I

A fire that broke out in Beldangi-I on the May 7th resulted around 250 peoples’ displacement. 

The fire is said to be started from Sector-A/2 Hut No.202 which belongs to Padam Lal Biswakarma . But reasons behind the cause are yet to the knowledge of none. One of the family members of Biswakarma said that they noticed fire-break at once and were unaware of the actual cause behind it. 

CARITAS Nepal, The Lutheran World Federation, AMDA Nepal, UNHCR and many other aid agencies including major donors reached the spot to sympathize and help the fire victims the next morning. However, involvement of Youth friendly Center (YFC) was appreciable this time too. 

Besides estimated cash loss of around 20 lakh, refugees have losed their refugee identity cards issued by UNHCR and other important documents regarding ressettlement process. One of the Police personnels from camp based Armed Police Force attending the displaced said, “More than cash the victims have lost many things including their valuable documents”. 

For now, the displaced victims including around three dozens of school children are taking shelter at Green Vale Academy. Besides the donor agencies, the other refugee residents from the same camp are putting themselves together to help the victims way out with their food stuffs.

Source: www.mnbconnection.com

Editorial board declares closure of Bhutanusa.com

May 3,The editorial board of   popular ‘news blog’ producing news stuffs and articles for and by Bhutanese refugees, has declared the closure for indefinite period publishing a press release.

A release posted on the bhutanusa.com cited, what they call as “technical and managerial issues” as the reason to declare the closure of the site. 

“The reasons arise out of the fact that the time period of the registration of this domain has run out and the web page designer (Himalayan Web Info. Pvt. Ltd, Kathmandu, Nepal) that was entrusted with the task of developing the site to its final form and hosting it with a different domain, globalbhutan.com, cheated us badly letting us not to blog about what we have been doing for nearly one and a half years.”

However Himalayan Web Info. Pvt. Ltd has not yet responded the issue.

Statement reads,” Back in 2008, we conceived the concept of having a place in the internet to blog about the tiny Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan and a vast majority of Bhutanese folks all around the globe. Well, we came up on the final day of December 2008 with the idea to have a web site on the issue, in fact the first of all diaspora sites for Bhutanese created over the past with different intellectual perspectives and scholastic efforts. We do not claim ourselves to be so scholastic and precisely perspective thinkers in regards to working with Butanusa.com but we did have a successful story in the past with an ever-increasing influx of visitors, viewers, well-wishers and above all, our advisors who, in some way served as beacon for our responsibility-laden ship to head its way surviving the Doldrums on a vast ocean of socio-political criticism and diverse ideological Tsunamis. In a nutshell, bhutanusa.com prospered well ever since it was conceived by resettled Bhutanese from third countries.”

Statement further reads,” Our thanks are due to our valued visitors, our senior Bhutanese reporters, Bhutanese intellectuals who supported us during hard times and above all, our team members, who, amidst the busy and hectic schedules of their daily living, worked devotedly to bring things updated on a regular and timely manner. Rationally speaking, we always stand hand in hand working together for a common cause of peace and happiness for people who are deprived of it. We still have a long way to go together and not to end with this.”

According to the statement, the site, Bhutanusa.com will be completely down from the mid-night of May 8.

Refugee sit-in demonstration demanding to raise issue in SAARC Submit

April 27,Demanding their issues to be raised on the 16th South Asian Association for Regional cooperation ( SAARC) submit going to be held in Bhutan on April 28 and 29, Bhutanese refugees has begun protest today. 

Protest lead by Bhutanese Refugee Repatriation Support Group (BRRSG), Bhutanese Elderly Refugee Repatriative Committee (BERRC) is organized at Beldangi and Khudunabari refugee camps. Refugees sit-in demonstrate in front of Refugee coordination Unit, Nepal government‘s representative office in camp.  

Coinciding the submit,support group has send a memorandum to Indian Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh requesting to mediate refugee issue through Indian embassy Kathmandu today. Similarly Bhutanese refugee leaders participated in a seminar on right to repatriation of Bhutanese refugees organized by south Asia Alliance for Poverty Eradication (SAAPE) and Bhutanese Elderly Refugee Repatriative Committee at Bitamode Jhapa. 

Whereas, six leaders among eight has reached to capital today, when one and half day left for submit.The first one to arrive in Thimphu was Sri Lankan president, Mahinda Rajapakse. Rajapakse, who reached here this Monday, remained busy like other leaders in bilateral meetings yesterday. 

Meanwhile, the fifth regional meet of South Asia Free Media Association ended in Paro yesterday. Altogether 174 journalists from SAARC countries took part in the regional gathering. Organizers responsible to provide logistics to media persons are finding tough to allocate seats for some 300 journalists since the media gallery in NA hall just contains 106 seats. When no seats are available, journalists will be allowed to enter the hall only when their leaders address the summit.

Long journey from Burma to United States - 1

Enough property, land and prestigious life of Kadel family in Burma (Myanmar) were always a source of jealous for his neighbors. Kewal R. Kadel’s mother was a self-learned spiritual jumping doctor (a woman who treats patient by praying and playing with the ghosts; believed in the conventional Nepali society). They earned a big cash and metallic wealth like gold, silver, brass, etc by treating sick people in their locality. This made kadel’s family miss the feeling of pains and sufferings while in Burma during 1940s.

But nobody can predict the future. History of Black days for Nepali ehnic people started in Myanmar, Burma. Suppression on Nepali ehnic Burmese during 1940s led a large number of Burmese leave their country. Kewal, his mother, elder brother and sister had to leave not only their land and property but their identity too.

And who knows all happiness is looted in no seconds. Sudden bomb blasts from the sky terrified the province people. Burma – Japan conflicts were on the horizon. Army fighters both in the sky and land were bombing and firing which marked a big question in the lives of thousands of Burmese people. All the bridges and entry-exit ways of the country were sealed. Kewal Ram and his family dug an ‘L’ shaped pit under the ground and stayed there for twelve months. But no signal of war conclusion was sensed.

They freed all their animals and fare welled all the home workers. They kept all their property under the ground. Tela Kadel, wife to Kewal Ram says, “Kewal Ram used to say; if I get chance to visit my birth place ever, I would take out all those properties”. 

With no transportation, a five year old child Kewal desperately joined a very long, painful and tiresome journey to India with his family by foot. The earth and the grass, the green water on the lake, the trees near and far off hills, and the rocks and mountains were their friends along their journey. It was a long way walk of two months to reach India. Along with the Kadel family, a large number of Nepali ehnic Burmese moved to somewhere, where they were themselves unknown of their destination.

Everyone’s legs were heavy. “But…”, Kewal’s eldest son Devi Charan says, “…my father used to say that they felt a sense of being together in a group sharing each others’ sorrows”. They inhaled peace slowly putting themselves together along their way.

However, there were, for Kewal, no other options to escape or avoid the unbearable pains of sharp pebbles and thorns on their way.

After all pain and sufferings, Kadel and many other families who arrived India were in halfway house to decide their final destination. As days passed some choosed to go to Assam, some to Megalaya, some to Sikkim and Manipur and many other states of India. Among them, a large group entered Nepal. Still a group of Burmese refugees are found in Kakarvitta, Jhapa Nepal.

During their six months stay in India, Kewal’s elder brother left mother and sister with him and vanished in Assam, India. The then, he never met his brother. “But.”, his eldest son Devi Charan stressed, “…he felt his brother’s affection when he met his sister inlaw in Nepal.

Kewal’s family then decided to spend rest of their life in Bhutan, a tiny Himalayan country in South East Asia. Again the same pain repeated, it took almost one whole month for their foot to reach Bhutan. They were relieved when they reached Dagana district in Bhutan; a place which they called their HOME.

Monarch – Tyrannical rule again ended up Kadel’s stay in Bhutan after five decades of their entry into Bhutan. Democratic movement in 1990 AD demanding Human Rights and democratic systems in the country led one lakh Nepali ethnic southern Bhutanese (Lhotshampas) migrate to Southern Nepal as refugees. Kewal Ram with his four sons and five daughters had to leave their mother (died) and sister (married) in Bhutan itself.

Miracles of his life sometimes may be distrust for somebody. When Kewal Ram’s family entered Timai refugee camp in Nepal, the other Burmese refugees were in Kakarvitta. (These two refugees are approximately in distance of 20 kilometers). With the flow of time Kewal and many other who entered Nepal had a number of sons and grandsons. He became old and was suffered by asthma and was in bed for almost one and a half decade. It was in July 2004 that his physical existence left the earth. He struggled throughout his life to have HOME but couldn’t. This credit is now left on his son’s shoulders.

Kadel family lived for around two decades in exile as refugees in Nepal. Finally, through resettlement program Kewal’s eldest son Devi Charan with his family immigrated to Richmond, Virginia state of USA in June 2008 followed by his other brothers. Devi Charan says, “ this long journey of migrating country to country for safe and home, will definitely end now because USA is believed to be a safe country where every people has equal rights and nobody suppresses no one”. After a long breath he again added, “We have a dignified life here”.

Devi Charan’s words are some of many sorrowful stories of refugees around the world struggling for a safe place called HOME where they can stay permanently with no pressures.

After a moment of thought for the concluding lines Devi Charan concludes, “…let no generations pass a refugee life as we did”.

By Dadi Ram Antim