Meeting on Bhutanese: from Sristi blog

The meeting
I attended a meeting at the University Of Paxton in Oakland. The meeting was held by the Oakland police department. The meeting was held because many of the new Bhutanese refugees were being harasses and robbed by gang members and others in Oakland and Fruitvale areas. Two of the new Bhutanese refugee boys were beaten and robbed and several were pointed gun at and robbed. The Bhutanese social organization was concerned about the new refugees and had contacted the Oakland police department to do something about the problem.


At the meeting some of them complained that they felt threatened and unsafe walking even in daylight to the police officers. At the meeting I heard the police telling the audience that police are their friends and that they should report. He said to Report! Report! Report! He told the refugees that if something seems suspicious they should report immediately. He also asked them to not to stare at the robber or the “bad” guy but instead try to remember what he looks like or what kind of cloths he is wearing. He said to note details such as what kind of hair, skin color, hair color, what kind and color of shoes, what color of stitching on the jeans etc... about the robber.

I thought that the meeting was good very useful and the Oakland police department responded and reacted to the problem promptly and also they were organized and just. They were able to win the confidence of the Bhutanese people and also assure them that there was help available. The information they provided were useful and everybody attending the meeting benefited in some way. They were able to gather a group of people who are very new to the country and teach them about the system of the police and crimes in Oakland. It was a wonderfully done job the Oakland police department