आईपी अधिकारी
- शासक उही हुन् अनि शासित पनि, परिवर्तन आयो त केवल सरकार बनाउने तरिकामा । हालै जर्मनीबाट भुटान भ्रमणमा आएका संविधानविदसँग प्रधानमन्त्री जिग्मे थिन्लेले स्वीकार गरेझैं वास्तवमा भुटानको परिवर्तन देख्नका लागिमात्र छ । शासकमा मानसिक रूपमा परिवर्तन नआएसम्म सर्वसाधारणले परिवर्तनको महसुस गर्ने लालसा दिवास्वप्ना हुनसक्छ । काम गर्ने शैली हिजो जस्तो थियो, आज पनि उस्तै छ । सन् १९९१ देखि सुरु भएको दमनकारी कर्मचारी र सैनिक/प्रहरी अधिकृतलाई प्रोत्साहन दिने क्रम आज पनि रोकिएको छैन । पछिल्लो उदाहरण बनेका छन्- प्रहरी प्रमुख किप्चु नाम्ग्येल ।
प्रजातन्त्र आए पनि कार्यकारी अधिकार राजाले नै प्रयोग गरिरहेका छन् । खासगरी दमन र मानवअधिकार हननका लागि हिजो ज-जसले काम गरेका थिए, आज राजाले तिनैलाई निणर्ायक तहमा पुर्याएका छन् । जुलुस निकालेर वा पत्रिकामा लेखेरै विरोध गर्ने क्षमता त्यहाँका वासिन्दाले अहिलेसम्म गर्नसकेका छैनन् । यद्यपि यस्तो परिपाटीले विस्तारै निर्वाचित सरकार र राजपरिवारप्रतिको आस्थामा कमी आउने निश्चित छ ।
राजा जिग्मे खेसरले प्रहरी प्रमुख किप्चु नाम्ग्येलको पदोन्नति गरेर बि्रगेडियर बनाएका छन् । यो ओहदा पाउने किप्चु नाम्ग्येल पहिलो प्रहरी अधिकृत हुन् । यस अघिका सबै प्रहरी प्रमुखले कर्णेल पदमात्र पाएका थिए । किप्चु नाम्ग्येलको पदोन्नति सरकारको निर्णय नभई राजाको निगाह हो । देशका सबै सुरक्षा अंगका प्रमुख रहेका राजाले आफूखुसी प्रहरी, सैनिक र राजकीय सुरक्षा गार्डको बढुवा गर्छन् ।
किप्चु नाम्ग्येलको पदोन्नति प्रक्रिया कानुनका हिसाबले जति विवादित देखिन्छ, उनी व्यक्तिगत हिसाबमा त्यति नै विवादित छन् । पश्चिम-उत्तर भुटान पारोमा जन्मिएका किप्चु नाम्ग्येल राजपरिवारका अति नजिकका र घनिष्ट सहयोगी मानिन्छन् । खासगरी यिनले पूर्वराजा जिग्मे सिंगेका काका नाम्ग्येल वाङछुकमार्फत दरबारबाट पाउने सम्पूर्ण सुविधा र फाइदा लिएका छन् । सन् १९८० को सुरुतिर प्रहरी सेवामा प्रवेश गरेका किप्चु नाम्ग्येलको आधारभूत तालिम दक्षिण भुटानको सर्भाङ -हाल नाम परिवर्तन गरी सर्पाङ बनाइएको) जिल्लामा सम्पन्न भएको थियो । तालिमको सिलसिलामा र तालिमपछि केही समय दक्षिणी जिल्लामा बसेर यिनले त्यहाँका मानिसमात्र चिनेनन्, भूगोलको पनि सूक्ष्म अध्ययन गरे । कालान्तरमा यो अध्ययन उनका लागि राजपरिवारको इच्छाअनुसार काम गर्न फलदायी भयो । दक्षिण भुटानको जानकार भएकै कारण तत्कालीन सरकारले सन् १९९० को दमनमा किप्चु नाम्ग्येलको भरमग्दुर प्रयोग गर्यो । किप्चु नाम्ग्येलले पनि आफ्नो स्वार्थका लागि आफूसँग भएको खुबी राम्रैसँग प्रयोग गर्ने मौका पाए ।
सन् १९९० ताका नेपाली मूलका मुख्य व्यक्तिहरू पक्रने अनि तिनलाई दिइने सजाय पनि आफैं तोक्ने मौका पाएका किप्चु नाम्ग्येलको दरबारसितको सम्बन्ध यसै समयदेखि बढेको हो । राजाका तत्कालीन सल्लाहकार टेकनाथ रिजालले आफूमाथि भ्रष्टाचार गरेको अभियोगसहितको प्रतिवेदन राजालाई बुझाएपछि रुष्ट नाम्ग्येल वाङछुकले किप्चु नाम्ग्येलमा त्यसको बदला लिने राम्रो मित्र भेट्टाए । दमनको सिलसिला सुरु भएको केही महिनामै उनी मेजर पदमा बढुवा भए ।
सन् १९९० देखि १९९२ सम्म यिनले गरेको हत्कण्डाको कथा जान्नेहरू यिनलाई मानव मान्दैनन्, केवल मानव स्वरूपमात्र मान्छन् । यसबीच उनी पटक-पटक थिम्पु र दक्षिण भुटानबीच ओहोर-दोहोर गरिरहे । दक्षिण भुटानबाट मानिस पक्राउ गर्ने र थिम्पुका जेलमा लगेर चरम यातना दिने काममा यिनको नेतृत्वदायी भूमिका छ । नयाँ-नयाँ यातना र दमनका शैली अपनाउन सक्ने खुबी भएको थाहा पाएपछि राजाले उनलाई गुप्तचर विभाग प्रमुखको जिम्मेवारी दिए । उनको बढुवासँगै जेलका बन्दीमाथि हुने यातना र अमानवीय व्यवहारमा दिन दुई गुणा, रात चौगुणाले वृद्धि भयो । भुटानको जेलमा १० वर्षको कठोर जीवन बिताएका नेता टेकनाथ रिजालले पनि उनको पछिल्लो पुस्तक 'टर्चर ः किलिङ मि सफ्टली'मा किप्चु नाम्ग्येलका कुकृत्यका बारे थोरै चर्चा गरेका छन् । किप्चुको मुख्य कार्य क्षेत्र थिम्पु र रबुना जेलका बन्दीलाई यातना दिनु र जबर्जस्ती थोपारिएको आरोप स्वीकार गर्न लगाउनु थियो ।
किप्चु नाम्ग्येलले यहाँका अधिकांश बन्दीहरूलाई उच्च प्रहरी र सैनिक अधिकृतका घरमा काम गर्न पठाउँथे । यसबापत उनले खुबै स्यावासीमात्र होइन, यातनाका कुनै पनि तरिका अपनाउने अधिकार पाए ।
बन्दीलाई आरोप स्वीकार गर्न लगाउन उनी खप्पिस थिए । उदाहरणका लागि लामीडाँडाका ठकबहादुर राईले अदालतमा सरकारी आरोप अस्वीकार गरेपछि किप्चु नाम्ग्येलले राईका बाबुलाई पक्रेर अदालत पुर्याए, जहाँ बाबुले छोरो सानैदेखि खुब बदमास थियो भनी गवाही दिएका थिए । अदालतमा जति पनि बन्दीका मुद्दा दर्ता हुन्थे, ती सबै किप्चु नाम्ग्येलमार्फत हुन्थे भने अदालतमा बहसका क्रममा प्रहरीका तर्फबाट प्रमाण पेस गर्ने अधिकारी उनै हुन्थे । कतिपय बन्दीका मुद्दाहरूमा यिनले राजाको आदेश भनेर अदालतलाई निर्णय गर्न नदिई आफूखुसी गरेका छन् ।
यस्ता विवादित व्यक्तिको पदोन्नति प्रक्रिया त्रुटिपूर्ण छ । संसदको पछिल्लो अधिवेशनले पारित गरेको प्रहरी ऐनअनुसार प्रहरी गृह मन्त्रालय अन्तर्गत रहनेछ । यसको परिचालन र रेखदेख सरकारले गर्छ । उता संविधानले भने प्रहरीको सर्वोच्च कमाण्डर राजालाई तोकेको छ । यसले प्रहरी सरकार अन्तर्गत हो वा राजपरिवार अन्तर्गत भन्ने अन्योल बढाएको छ । सरकारको दैनिक कामकाजमा सघाउने प्रहरीमा राजाबाट किप्चु नाम्ग्येलजस्ता आफूप्रति वफादारलाई मात्र प्रोत्साहन दिएपछि प्रहरी नेतृत्व सरकार र जनताप्रति भन्दा पनि राजाप्रति बढी नजिक रहने भयो । यसले सरकारलाई शान्तिसुरक्षा स्थापनामा असहयोग त हुने नै भयो, त्यसभन्दा पनि बढ्ता निर्वाचित र कार्यकारी भनिएको सरकार कति अधिकारसम्पन्न छ भनेर पनि प्रस्ट पार्यो ।
भुटानमा मानवअधिकार रक्षाका कुनै अंग छैनन् भने यसबारे बोल्ने कुनै संस्थाहरू पनि छैनन् । जसको फलस्वरूप मानवअधिकार उल्लंघनमा संलग्न किप्चु जस्ताको पदोन्नति हुँदासम्म सब चुपचाप छन् । अन्य देशमा मानवअधिकारको खुब वकालत गर्ने संयुक्त राष्ट्रसंघ पनि मूकदर्शक बनेर बसेको छ । प्रजातन्त्रपछि भुटान मानवअधिकारका सवालमा एक कदम पनि अघि बढेन, बरु मानवअधिकार हननमा मुछिएकालाई बढुवा गरेर दण्डहीनतालाई थप प्रश्रय दिइरहेकोे छ । समयमै निर्वाचित सरकारले ध्यान दिएन भने कालान्तरमा भुटानको छविलाई यस्ता घटनाले धुमिल्याउनेछन् ।
Source: http://www.ekantipur.com/kantipur/news/news-detail.php?news_id=2332
The Sorry Saga of Bhutan's North
Click over the map to know the differences
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Bhutanese thangka hangs in Texas
Written by Sonam Pelvar
A hand-sewn Bhutanese thangka (Buddhist banner or tapestry) has been added to the collection of Bhutanese artifacts at the University of Texas at El Paso.
Sonam Wangmo, a Bhutanese student currently a first semester student in the university brought the thangka from Bhutan. It was sent to UTEP as a gift because of the relationship the university had built with Bhutan. The ‘Thuenpa-Puen-Zhi (four harmonious friends)’ thangka depicts a popular folk tale of a partridge, a rabbit, a monkey and elephant, who worked together toward the common goal of obtaining fruits from a tree.
The thangka measures 23 feet in length, 16 feet wide at the bottom and 15 feet wide at the top, and it hangs on the wall above the Bhutanese altar at the University Library's lobby.
The El Paso university of Texas is world famous for its Bhutanese architecture.
UNEMPLOYMENT
About 9,000 seekers for 287 jobs
“By the end of January 2010, about 20,217 youth will be seeking jobs”
7th National Job Fair 12 October, 2009 - Of the 91 graduates, who applied for the posts of assistant manager in the food corporation of Bhutan (FCB), two were selected on the spot in the seventh national job fair held yesterday in Thimphu. There were about 9,000 youth looking for jobs.
There were about 9,000 youth looking for jobs.
On offer were 287 job opportunities, in which 21 private companies, six government agencies and 14 corporations participated.
“For the first time, government agencies like the royal university of Bhutan (RUB), royal civil service commission and department of human resources participated in the fair,” said the chief program officer of department of employment (DoE), Tandin Dorji. The agencies are mostly there to provide information and counsel job seekers.
For the employers, the one-day job fair was a great chance. “This is an opportunity for us to select the best,” said FCB’s administrative officer, Pema Wangchuk.
Labour minister, Lyonpo Dorji Wangdi, who inaugurated the fair, said Bhutan’s unemployment rate of 4 percent was a major concern for the government. “By the end of January 2010, about 20,217 youth will be seeking jobs,” he said.
There are 12,900 unemployed youth today and about 70 percent of them are between 15 to 24 years, of which twice as many are female.
“The government is committed in creating sufficient job opportunities for all,” the labour minister said, adding, “We don’t believe in providing jobs for the sake of employment but to provide productive and gainful employment.”
The government plans to create at least 75,000 jobs in the next several years. They will be created in tourism, information and technology, hydropower, construction, financial services, horticulture and manufacturing.
Lyonpo Dorji Wangdi also encouraged job seekers to take temporary employment to gain experiences and make a better-informed choice for long-term employment.
By Tashi Dema
Kuensel
Two RBA soldiers injured in Sarpang blast
Kuensel Reports:
Breaking News: 12 October, 2009 - Two Royal Bhutan Army (RBA) soldiers were injured after an improvised explosive device planted in a bunker in Gaden village, Umling, Sarpang, exploded around 6:40 am today.
The bunker is manned only during the day from the RBA outpost at Umling said a RBA spokesperson. He said the explosive device could have been planted at night.
Villagers saw some men running towards the border after the explosion. The militants took away two rifles carried by the soldiers according to the RBA spokesperson.
“The attack is suspected to be carried out by Maoist militants from the camps in Nepal,” said the spokesperson.
The two injured RBA soldiers are receiving treatment at the Gelephu hospital.
................................
BHUTAN OBSERVER:
RBA bunker attacked, 12 October 2009
On October 12 2009 at 6:40 am two RBA soldiers were injuried when and improvised explosive device planted in a bunker ezploded at Gaden village under Umling gewog in Sarpang Dzongkhag. the militants also took tow rifles carried by the RBA soldiers.The bukker is manned only during the day from the RBA outpost at Umling. tyhe militants had planted the explosive device at Night. the villagers saw some men running towards the border after explosion. the tow injuried RBA soldiers are being tr4eatd in Gelephu Hospital.A Spokesman of the Royal Bhutan Army said that the attack on the RBA soldiers is suspected to be carried out by the Maiost militants from, the camps in Nepal
..........................
BBS
Two RBA soldiers injured in an explosion in Sarpang
October 12: (BREAKING NEWS) Early this morning, two Royal Bhutan Army (RBA) soldiers were injured in an explosion at Gaden village under Umling Geog in Sarpang.
According to a news release from the RBA, the improvised explosive device which was planted in a bunker went off at around 6.40 am.
The bunker is manned only during the day by personnel from the RBA outpost at Umling. The militants had planted the explosive device at night.
The militants who planted the device have taken away two rifles.
Villagers had seen some men running away towards the border after the explosion. The two injured RBA soldiers are being treated in the Gelephu hospital.
A spokesman from the Royal Bhutan Army said the attack is suspected to be carried out by Maoist militants from the camps in Nepal.
Breaking News: 12 October, 2009 - Two Royal Bhutan Army (RBA) soldiers were injured after an improvised explosive device planted in a bunker in Gaden village, Umling, Sarpang, exploded around 6:40 am today.
The bunker is manned only during the day from the RBA outpost at Umling said a RBA spokesperson. He said the explosive device could have been planted at night.
Villagers saw some men running towards the border after the explosion. The militants took away two rifles carried by the soldiers according to the RBA spokesperson.
“The attack is suspected to be carried out by Maoist militants from the camps in Nepal,” said the spokesperson.
The two injured RBA soldiers are receiving treatment at the Gelephu hospital.
................................
BHUTAN OBSERVER:
RBA bunker attacked, 12 October 2009
On October 12 2009 at 6:40 am two RBA soldiers were injuried when and improvised explosive device planted in a bunker ezploded at Gaden village under Umling gewog in Sarpang Dzongkhag. the militants also took tow rifles carried by the RBA soldiers.The bukker is manned only during the day from the RBA outpost at Umling. tyhe militants had planted the explosive device at Night. the villagers saw some men running towards the border after explosion. the tow injuried RBA soldiers are being tr4eatd in Gelephu Hospital.A Spokesman of the Royal Bhutan Army said that the attack on the RBA soldiers is suspected to be carried out by the Maiost militants from, the camps in Nepal
..........................
BBS
Two RBA soldiers injured in an explosion in Sarpang
October 12: (BREAKING NEWS) Early this morning, two Royal Bhutan Army (RBA) soldiers were injured in an explosion at Gaden village under Umling Geog in Sarpang.
According to a news release from the RBA, the improvised explosive device which was planted in a bunker went off at around 6.40 am.
The bunker is manned only during the day by personnel from the RBA outpost at Umling. The militants had planted the explosive device at night.
The militants who planted the device have taken away two rifles.
Villagers had seen some men running away towards the border after the explosion. The two injured RBA soldiers are being treated in the Gelephu hospital.
A spokesman from the Royal Bhutan Army said the attack is suspected to be carried out by Maoist militants from the camps in Nepal.
The new economics of the environment
Besides funds for past conservation efforts, end-users may pay for ecological resources
12 October, 2009 - In the not too distant future, Bhutan could get rewards in the form of funds from international environment organisations for protecting its forests and water.
Inside Bhutan, that idea is being stoked around and officials are already warming up to the practicality of collecting funds from end users of environment resources like hydropower projects. The ultimate plan is to plough back the funds into the source of these resources, like watershed and bio-diversity, so that they become sustainable in the long run.
As regards international funds: in the past, it was only through clean development mechanism, which was essentially employment of clean technology to restrict emission, under which a country could earn carbon points and thus the funding for its conservation efforts.
Carbon points were not given for preservation of environment or forests under the Kyoto protocol, said a food and agricultural organisation (FAO) official, who is in Bhutan to study ‘payment for environment services’ (PES) with the ministry of agriculture’s watershed division.
But that could very well change in the coming months.
“Bhutan’s strongest potential in getting carbon points is its existing forests because, in the upcoming climate change talks in Copenhagen, there will definitely be an international agreement to reward countries for protecting existing forests,” said FAO consultant and environmental scientist, Bernardete Vitorino Das Neves. This, she added, will be possible under REDD or reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation framework supported by UNDP and UNEP.
The Copenhagen climate change meeting from December 6-18 will decide on the next set of targets for countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Kyoto protocol, which set the first emission reduction targets, will end shortly.
“The storage of carbon by the forests is a service in itself since, by not cutting down the trees, the country or the local farmers are losing out on timber and food crops,” said Bernardete Vitorino Das Neves.
Under the PES system, Bhutan could get funds from carbon trading for watershed management, conserving Bhutan’s forest and biodiversity and improving food security. PES views environment as provider of services like clean water, air, food, fuel, recreation, natural disaster protection, and hydropower. It is also of the opinion that there has to be some kind of voluntary payment made for environmental protection so that these services remain sustainable.
For instance, under PES, Tala and Chukha hydro projects can pay to protect their watershed areas so that there is less sedimentation, or people of Thimphu can pay to conserve their drinking water sources so that taps don’t run dry. However, the plan is that the entire PES plan be voluntary.
“Environmental services like fresh water are not free and also depend on watershed conservation of water sources by farmers living upstream and so, if the end users like hydroprojects and people can pay, then the farmers will get benefits and have an incentive to protect the source,” said chief forest officer, Karma Tshering. He added that donors funded most of Bhutan’s environmental programs, which was not sustainable in the long run.
Eco-tourism is another area whereby tourists can pay more for new trekking routes and improved services and infrastructure, and the money would go to preserving the environment under PES.
“An important component of eco tourism will be where local communities will be able to benefit for the eco services in ensuring better protection of the environment and also equitable distribution of the benefits of eco-tourism,” said FAO’s Bernardete Vitorino Das Neves.
Another area is biodiversity conservation, she said: “An example here is human-wildlife conflict whereby payments could be sued to compensate farmers or help them to come up with defenses so that wildlife remain protected and farmers can have a good income.”
By Tenzing Lamsang
Source: http://www.kuenselonline.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=13677 (Kuensel)
12 October, 2009 - In the not too distant future, Bhutan could get rewards in the form of funds from international environment organisations for protecting its forests and water.
Inside Bhutan, that idea is being stoked around and officials are already warming up to the practicality of collecting funds from end users of environment resources like hydropower projects. The ultimate plan is to plough back the funds into the source of these resources, like watershed and bio-diversity, so that they become sustainable in the long run.
As regards international funds: in the past, it was only through clean development mechanism, which was essentially employment of clean technology to restrict emission, under which a country could earn carbon points and thus the funding for its conservation efforts.
Carbon points were not given for preservation of environment or forests under the Kyoto protocol, said a food and agricultural organisation (FAO) official, who is in Bhutan to study ‘payment for environment services’ (PES) with the ministry of agriculture’s watershed division.
But that could very well change in the coming months.
“Bhutan’s strongest potential in getting carbon points is its existing forests because, in the upcoming climate change talks in Copenhagen, there will definitely be an international agreement to reward countries for protecting existing forests,” said FAO consultant and environmental scientist, Bernardete Vitorino Das Neves. This, she added, will be possible under REDD or reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation framework supported by UNDP and UNEP.
The Copenhagen climate change meeting from December 6-18 will decide on the next set of targets for countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Kyoto protocol, which set the first emission reduction targets, will end shortly.
“The storage of carbon by the forests is a service in itself since, by not cutting down the trees, the country or the local farmers are losing out on timber and food crops,” said Bernardete Vitorino Das Neves.
Under the PES system, Bhutan could get funds from carbon trading for watershed management, conserving Bhutan’s forest and biodiversity and improving food security. PES views environment as provider of services like clean water, air, food, fuel, recreation, natural disaster protection, and hydropower. It is also of the opinion that there has to be some kind of voluntary payment made for environmental protection so that these services remain sustainable.
For instance, under PES, Tala and Chukha hydro projects can pay to protect their watershed areas so that there is less sedimentation, or people of Thimphu can pay to conserve their drinking water sources so that taps don’t run dry. However, the plan is that the entire PES plan be voluntary.
“Environmental services like fresh water are not free and also depend on watershed conservation of water sources by farmers living upstream and so, if the end users like hydroprojects and people can pay, then the farmers will get benefits and have an incentive to protect the source,” said chief forest officer, Karma Tshering. He added that donors funded most of Bhutan’s environmental programs, which was not sustainable in the long run.
Eco-tourism is another area whereby tourists can pay more for new trekking routes and improved services and infrastructure, and the money would go to preserving the environment under PES.
“An important component of eco tourism will be where local communities will be able to benefit for the eco services in ensuring better protection of the environment and also equitable distribution of the benefits of eco-tourism,” said FAO’s Bernardete Vitorino Das Neves.
Another area is biodiversity conservation, she said: “An example here is human-wildlife conflict whereby payments could be sued to compensate farmers or help them to come up with defenses so that wildlife remain protected and farmers can have a good income.”
By Tenzing Lamsang
Source: http://www.kuenselonline.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=13677 (Kuensel)
The new economics of the environment
Besides funds for past conservation efforts, end-users may pay for ecological resources
12 October, 2009 - In the not too distant future, Bhutan could get rewards in the form of funds from international environment organisations for protecting its forests and water.
Inside Bhutan, that idea is being stoked around and officials are already warming up to the practicality of collecting funds from end users of environment resources like hydropower projects. The ultimate plan is to plough back the funds into the source of these resources, like watershed and bio-diversity, so that they become sustainable in the long run.
As regards international funds: in the past, it was only through clean development mechanism, which was essentially employment of clean technology to restrict emission, under which a country could earn carbon points and thus the funding for its conservation efforts.
Carbon points were not given for preservation of environment or forests under the Kyoto protocol, said a food and agricultural organisation (FAO) official, who is in Bhutan to study ‘payment for environment services’ (PES) with the ministry of agriculture’s watershed division.
But that could very well change in the coming months.
“Bhutan’s strongest potential in getting carbon points is its existing forests because, in the upcoming climate change talks in Copenhagen, there will definitely be an international agreement to reward countries for protecting existing forests,” said FAO consultant and environmental scientist, Bernardete Vitorino Das Neves. This, she added, will be possible under REDD or reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation framework supported by UNDP and UNEP.
The Copenhagen climate change meeting from December 6-18 will decide on the next set of targets for countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Kyoto protocol, which set the first emission reduction targets, will end shortly.
“The storage of carbon by the forests is a service in itself since, by not cutting down the trees, the country or the local farmers are losing out on timber and food crops,” said Bernardete Vitorino Das Neves.
Under the PES system, Bhutan could get funds from carbon trading for watershed management, conserving Bhutan’s forest and biodiversity and improving food security. PES views environment as provider of services like clean water, air, food, fuel, recreation, natural disaster protection, and hydropower. It is also of the opinion that there has to be some kind of voluntary payment made for environmental protection so that these services remain sustainable.
For instance, under PES, Tala and Chukha hydro projects can pay to protect their watershed areas so that there is less sedimentation, or people of Thimphu can pay to conserve their drinking water sources so that taps don’t run dry. However, the plan is that the entire PES plan be voluntary.
“Environmental services like fresh water are not free and also depend on watershed conservation of water sources by farmers living upstream and so, if the end users like hydroprojects and people can pay, then the farmers will get benefits and have an incentive to protect the source,” said chief forest officer, Karma Tshering. He added that donors funded most of Bhutan’s environmental programs, which was not sustainable in the long run.
Eco-tourism is another area whereby tourists can pay more for new trekking routes and improved services and infrastructure, and the money would go to preserving the environment under PES.
“An important component of eco tourism will be where local communities will be able to benefit for the eco services in ensuring better protection of the environment and also equitable distribution of the benefits of eco-tourism,” said FAO’s Bernardete Vitorino Das Neves.
Another area is biodiversity conservation, she said: “An example here is human-wildlife conflict whereby payments could be sued to compensate farmers or help them to come up with defenses so that wildlife remain protected and farmers can have a good income.”
By Tenzing Lamsang
Source: http://www.kuenselonline.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=13677 (Kuensel)
Monday, September 21, 2009
Roofing fund for 64 families
21 September, 2009 - Unable to provide the collateral for obtaining rural micro credit loans, or even qualifying for any government social services, 64 households in Bhutan’s poorest dzongkhag, Zhemgang, faced this year’s monsoon without adequate shelter.
In an effort to prevent this situation from recurring, HRH Ashi Kesang Wangmo Wangchuck, recently donated aNu 3m for households unable to obtain rural scheme loans. Village communities identified and selected 64 households that are in most need of the funds. HRH Ashi Kesang Wangmo Wangchuck also personally met with all 64 households during a recent tour of the dzongkhag.
As a result of the meetings, the funds will be used to replace the roofs of 64 houses in four gewogs in the upper Kheng region, with corrugated galvanised iron (CGI). The Nu 3m fund will cover procurement, transport, labour and construction phases of the initiative.
Member of parliament (MP) for Zhemgang, Tshering Dorji, said, adequate housing for many financially disadvantaged families is a severe curtailing factor. “Food and clothing are usually at a satisfactory level for families in the dzongkhag, but proper housing is not,” said the MP. Most houses in the dzongkhag use banana tree leaves, tarpaulin sheets, plastic or bamboo mats, for roofing their houses.
“By providing a proper roof over their heads, it’s also a move towards poverty alleviation,” said MP Tshering Dorji. “Men and women can go out to earn their living with the knowledge that their families, their children, will be safe and secure,” added the MP.
Installation of the CGI roofs is already underway and roofing of all 64 houses is expected to be completed within three months.
By Gyalsten K Dorji
Chicago: Gateway to the ends of the earth
Posted on Sep 8, 2009 | by Mark Kelly
GLEN ELLYN, Ill. (BP)--Cody Lorance doesn't knock. He just pushes the door open and ambles into the apartment. A little girl runs to hug him and the rest of her family filters into the room to greet their guest.
They give each other a traditional South Asian greeting -- the palms of their hands pressed together in front of them -- but what they say in Nepali is anything but traditional: "Jay Masih," which means "Victory to the Messiah."
Lorance is a church planter in Chicago. Since 2005, he and a five-member team have been working among immigrants in the city. Since they started meeting as a house church four years ago, they have seen the Lord pull together congregations among Nepali, Ethiopian and Karen people who live in rundown little apartment buildings scattered around Chicago's western suburbs.
Lorance makes himself at home, dropping casually onto the couch and peppering family members with questions in their heart language. He asks how jobs are going, talks about plans for a block party, and learns a family member has bought a car that may not have had all the appropriate paperwork to go with it. A young woman brings him a steaming glass of tea that gives off an aroma of cardamom, and Lorance sips it appreciatively. He will sit and chat with the family for hours.
He may be a pastor making a ministry visit, but he's also part of the family.
Back on the street outside, Lorance gestures at the nearby businesses and homes.
"This is a white, upper-middle-class neighborhood, but these little apartment buildings are chock-full of refugees," he points out. "So many church people pass by every day and have no idea what's going on here."
The refugees come from all over the world, and some churches are reaching out to them in ministry. Most of the visitors, however, don't spend the time necessary to develop a real relationship with the refugees.
"This is not a superficial, drive-by ministry. You've got to be willing to move beyond the American 30-minute visit," Lorance said. "You've got to get past the first cup of tea and eat a couple of meals with them. It takes three-hour, six-hour visits. You have to get to the point where you run out of the Nepali phrases you know and they run out of English -- and you still stay with them. You become more a part of their lives -- a fixture, a part of the family."
'GATEWAY TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH'
"Chicagoland" is a gateway to the ends of the earth, Lorance said. Its 9.6 million residents speak a couple of hundred languages -- 147 officially documented by the public schools -- and many of those are the heart languages of overseas people groups that have never heard the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ.
The work Lorance and his team are doing is helping forge a new path for North American missions -- a path that leads directly into unreached people groups overseas, said Keith Draper, executive director of the Chicago Metropolitan Baptist Association.
"When the International Mission Board tells us the first church among an unreached people of the world could begin in Chicago, we are overjoyed and looking for partners," Draper said. "Cody is doing that kind of groundbreaking work."
What began as a house church in 2005 was followed by an Ethiopian congregation in 2006 and an English As A Second Language ministry and Karen congregation in 2007. The Ethiopian group spun off a daughter church back in Ethiopia and the Karen from a daughter church in Rockford, Ill.
The Nepali congregation began meeting earlier in 2009. They have baptized 18 so far this year, including 12 reflecting rare instances of high-caste Hindus publicly declaring their faith in Jesus alone as Savior.
UNEXPECTED OPEN DOORS
Lorance sees the Lord opening doors with refugees in the most unexpected ways.
He was working in partnership with Exodus World Service, a refugee ministry based in Bloomingdale, Ill., to help refugees from Burma's Karen people group. The first family he met had been commissioned by their refugee-camp church to start a church in the United States when they arrived.
"We have prayed a lot and ... started a home Bible study two years ago and have gone from house to house as others arrived," Lorance recounted. "We had the first worship service here in December 2007 and a few months later helped start a church among Karen refugees in Rockford that had 300 in attendance for their first anniversary service."
One Wednesday evening, Lorance walked into a Karen home to lead a Bible study and found four people waiting who were definitely not Karen. Two Karen teenage girls had met some new neighbors and invited them to the Bible study. The neighbors, who were Nepalis from Bhutan, came even though they wouldn't understand what was being said.
Lorance, however, had focused on Hinduism during his graduate studies and was working at the time with the South Asia Friendship Center in Chicago's Little India. He was able to greet the visitors in Hindi.
"I had been preaching to the Karen church about missions. They have neighbors from all over the world and I had been locating people for them on a map," Lorance said. "The two girls invited their new neighbors and from that simple act of reaching out we now have a congregation of 70 Nepalis, many of them new believers. It started with a simple invitation."
That Nepali congregation is the only organization in the city for Bhutanese Nepalis, Lorance added. When a new family arrives at the airport, the Nepali congregation picks them up and takes them to a home where they enjoy a Nepali meal. They help them get moved into an apartment, work with them on getting the necessities of life in America, and the next Sunday members of that new family usually are in the congregation's service.
"It's amazing," Lorance said. "Eighty percent of the Bhutanese Nepalis in our county are in church with us on Sunday, even if they are Hindu."
In a city the size of Chicago, with its millions of lost souls, the opportunities are boundless to see God replicate the kind of Kingdom advance Lorance and his team are experiencing, said Charles Campbell, who directs church planting initiatives for the Illinois Baptist State Association.
"We need more Codys to come to Chicago," Campbell said. "My prayer is that as people see what he is doing, they will catch a vision for coming to Chicago and joining Illinois Baptists in the work there."
--30--
Mark Kelly is an assistant editor with Baptist Press. You can learn more about the mission of the Chicago Metropolitan Baptist Association at their website, www.chicagobaptist.com.
GLEN ELLYN, Ill. (BP)--Cody Lorance doesn't knock. He just pushes the door open and ambles into the apartment. A little girl runs to hug him and the rest of her family filters into the room to greet their guest.
They give each other a traditional South Asian greeting -- the palms of their hands pressed together in front of them -- but what they say in Nepali is anything but traditional: "Jay Masih," which means "Victory to the Messiah."
Lorance is a church planter in Chicago. Since 2005, he and a five-member team have been working among immigrants in the city. Since they started meeting as a house church four years ago, they have seen the Lord pull together congregations among Nepali, Ethiopian and Karen people who live in rundown little apartment buildings scattered around Chicago's western suburbs.
Lorance makes himself at home, dropping casually onto the couch and peppering family members with questions in their heart language. He asks how jobs are going, talks about plans for a block party, and learns a family member has bought a car that may not have had all the appropriate paperwork to go with it. A young woman brings him a steaming glass of tea that gives off an aroma of cardamom, and Lorance sips it appreciatively. He will sit and chat with the family for hours.
He may be a pastor making a ministry visit, but he's also part of the family.
Back on the street outside, Lorance gestures at the nearby businesses and homes.
"This is a white, upper-middle-class neighborhood, but these little apartment buildings are chock-full of refugees," he points out. "So many church people pass by every day and have no idea what's going on here."
The refugees come from all over the world, and some churches are reaching out to them in ministry. Most of the visitors, however, don't spend the time necessary to develop a real relationship with the refugees.
"This is not a superficial, drive-by ministry. You've got to be willing to move beyond the American 30-minute visit," Lorance said. "You've got to get past the first cup of tea and eat a couple of meals with them. It takes three-hour, six-hour visits. You have to get to the point where you run out of the Nepali phrases you know and they run out of English -- and you still stay with them. You become more a part of their lives -- a fixture, a part of the family."
'GATEWAY TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH'
"Chicagoland" is a gateway to the ends of the earth, Lorance said. Its 9.6 million residents speak a couple of hundred languages -- 147 officially documented by the public schools -- and many of those are the heart languages of overseas people groups that have never heard the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ.
The work Lorance and his team are doing is helping forge a new path for North American missions -- a path that leads directly into unreached people groups overseas, said Keith Draper, executive director of the Chicago Metropolitan Baptist Association.
"When the International Mission Board tells us the first church among an unreached people of the world could begin in Chicago, we are overjoyed and looking for partners," Draper said. "Cody is doing that kind of groundbreaking work."
What began as a house church in 2005 was followed by an Ethiopian congregation in 2006 and an English As A Second Language ministry and Karen congregation in 2007. The Ethiopian group spun off a daughter church back in Ethiopia and the Karen from a daughter church in Rockford, Ill.
The Nepali congregation began meeting earlier in 2009. They have baptized 18 so far this year, including 12 reflecting rare instances of high-caste Hindus publicly declaring their faith in Jesus alone as Savior.
UNEXPECTED OPEN DOORS
Lorance sees the Lord opening doors with refugees in the most unexpected ways.
He was working in partnership with Exodus World Service, a refugee ministry based in Bloomingdale, Ill., to help refugees from Burma's Karen people group. The first family he met had been commissioned by their refugee-camp church to start a church in the United States when they arrived.
"We have prayed a lot and ... started a home Bible study two years ago and have gone from house to house as others arrived," Lorance recounted. "We had the first worship service here in December 2007 and a few months later helped start a church among Karen refugees in Rockford that had 300 in attendance for their first anniversary service."
One Wednesday evening, Lorance walked into a Karen home to lead a Bible study and found four people waiting who were definitely not Karen. Two Karen teenage girls had met some new neighbors and invited them to the Bible study. The neighbors, who were Nepalis from Bhutan, came even though they wouldn't understand what was being said.
Lorance, however, had focused on Hinduism during his graduate studies and was working at the time with the South Asia Friendship Center in Chicago's Little India. He was able to greet the visitors in Hindi.
"I had been preaching to the Karen church about missions. They have neighbors from all over the world and I had been locating people for them on a map," Lorance said. "The two girls invited their new neighbors and from that simple act of reaching out we now have a congregation of 70 Nepalis, many of them new believers. It started with a simple invitation."
That Nepali congregation is the only organization in the city for Bhutanese Nepalis, Lorance added. When a new family arrives at the airport, the Nepali congregation picks them up and takes them to a home where they enjoy a Nepali meal. They help them get moved into an apartment, work with them on getting the necessities of life in America, and the next Sunday members of that new family usually are in the congregation's service.
"It's amazing," Lorance said. "Eighty percent of the Bhutanese Nepalis in our county are in church with us on Sunday, even if they are Hindu."
In a city the size of Chicago, with its millions of lost souls, the opportunities are boundless to see God replicate the kind of Kingdom advance Lorance and his team are experiencing, said Charles Campbell, who directs church planting initiatives for the Illinois Baptist State Association.
"We need more Codys to come to Chicago," Campbell said. "My prayer is that as people see what he is doing, they will catch a vision for coming to Chicago and joining Illinois Baptists in the work there."
--30--
Mark Kelly is an assistant editor with Baptist Press. You can learn more about the mission of the Chicago Metropolitan Baptist Association at their website, www.chicagobaptist.com.
Humanities lecture series explores current events
September 24, 2009 : 6 p.m.
Guest lecturers will discuss and explore sex trafficking, the Holocaust and worldwide refugee situations in ASU’s School of Letters and Sciences Humanities Lecture Series at the Downtown Phoenix campus.
Katie Resendiz’s “Sex Trafficking in the US and Arizona” will commence the Fall 2009 Humanities Lecture Series, which is in its second year. The two-hour presentation starts at 6 p.m., Sept. 24 at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, 555 N. Central Ave., Room 122.
The lecture series is open to the general public and is free.
“The Humanities Lecture Series provides us with opportunities to analyze, discuss and interpret current events. We look forward to public discussions that help us understand and appreciate various points of view on political, social and cultural issues,” says Frederick C. Corey, director of ASU’s School of Letters and Sciences and dean of University College.
The School of Letters and Sciences provides students across ASU with the knowledge and skills to comprehend and effectively engage the changing world of the 21st century at local, national and global levels. Theory, creativity and applied learning are integrated as students build entrepreneurial opportunities both inside the university and in their communities.
Resendiz, a trafficking training coordinator with the Arizona League to End Regional Trafficking (ALERT), said each year tens of thousands of men, women and children are illegally brought to the United States and Arizona from all parts of the world.
“Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery and is the world’s most rapidly growing crime. They are forced to work in a variety of labor-intensive jobs such as domestic servitude, manufacturing, construction, agricultural work, hotels, restaurants and forced prostitution,” Resendiz says. “This session will serve as an introduction to the issue of human trafficking, while exploring the intricacies of this horrendous crime.”
The US State Department has identified Arizona to be in the top five states for human-trafficking activity.
The lecture series schedule includes:
• “Personal Reflections on Surviving the Holocaust and Life After” presented by Holocaust survivor Bernard Scheer, noon, Oct. 8, University Center, 411 N. Central Ave., room 286, Phoenix.
• “Refugee Situations in Arizona, Burma, Iraq and Bhutan” presented by Joanne Morales, director of Refugee Programs for Catholic Charities. The presentation takes place at 6:30 p.m., Nov. 12 at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, 555 N. Central Ave., room 125, Phoenix.
Marshall Terrill, Marshall.Terrill@asu.edu
(602) 496-1005
ASU Office of Public Affairs
Guest lecturers will discuss and explore sex trafficking, the Holocaust and worldwide refugee situations in ASU’s School of Letters and Sciences Humanities Lecture Series at the Downtown Phoenix campus.
Katie Resendiz’s “Sex Trafficking in the US and Arizona” will commence the Fall 2009 Humanities Lecture Series, which is in its second year. The two-hour presentation starts at 6 p.m., Sept. 24 at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, 555 N. Central Ave., Room 122.
The lecture series is open to the general public and is free.
“The Humanities Lecture Series provides us with opportunities to analyze, discuss and interpret current events. We look forward to public discussions that help us understand and appreciate various points of view on political, social and cultural issues,” says Frederick C. Corey, director of ASU’s School of Letters and Sciences and dean of University College.
The School of Letters and Sciences provides students across ASU with the knowledge and skills to comprehend and effectively engage the changing world of the 21st century at local, national and global levels. Theory, creativity and applied learning are integrated as students build entrepreneurial opportunities both inside the university and in their communities.
Resendiz, a trafficking training coordinator with the Arizona League to End Regional Trafficking (ALERT), said each year tens of thousands of men, women and children are illegally brought to the United States and Arizona from all parts of the world.
“Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery and is the world’s most rapidly growing crime. They are forced to work in a variety of labor-intensive jobs such as domestic servitude, manufacturing, construction, agricultural work, hotels, restaurants and forced prostitution,” Resendiz says. “This session will serve as an introduction to the issue of human trafficking, while exploring the intricacies of this horrendous crime.”
The US State Department has identified Arizona to be in the top five states for human-trafficking activity.
The lecture series schedule includes:
• “Personal Reflections on Surviving the Holocaust and Life After” presented by Holocaust survivor Bernard Scheer, noon, Oct. 8, University Center, 411 N. Central Ave., room 286, Phoenix.
• “Refugee Situations in Arizona, Burma, Iraq and Bhutan” presented by Joanne Morales, director of Refugee Programs for Catholic Charities. The presentation takes place at 6:30 p.m., Nov. 12 at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, 555 N. Central Ave., room 125, Phoenix.
Marshall Terrill, Marshall.Terrill@asu.edu
(602) 496-1005
ASU Office of Public Affairs
For refugees, Texas is among the best spots in a down economy
BY DIANE SMITH dianesmith@star-telegram.com
Posted Thursday, Sep. 10, 2009
FORT WORTH — Keshab Adhikari, 23, has been fleeing persecution in Bhutan since he was 6.
Adhikari’s family was a target in its native South Asian homeland, where he said armed forces patrolled villages and arrested farmers who practiced Hinduism. Adhikari dreamed of a better life in the United States, hoping to work and prosper.
"The life will be beautiful if we are dutiful," Adhikari said.
Adhikari is learning America’s ways quickly since moving from a refugee camp in Nepal to Fort Worth about six months ago. He learned to drive, got a part-time job and worked on polishing his English. He also joined the ranks of Americans anxious for better days.
"Barack Obama, he has said the economic recovery will be good after 2009," Adhikari said, quoting news reports he hopes will help fellow refugees struggling to find work while resettling in a new homeland. "People are suffering."
The nation’s recession has hindered efforts to help refugees trying to start anew in the United States. The goal of people fleeing persecution in their homelands is not only to be free, but also to become self-sufficient through employment.
U.S. efforts to help refugees slowed after 9-11, when scrutiny of people entering and leaving the country stalled resettlement for many, refugee advocates said. Then, just as the resettlement process began moving again, the economy tumbled, making the American dream more difficult to attain.
Catholic Charities Diocese of Fort Worth is trying to help sister agencies by resettling refugees in Texas, where the recession hasn’t been as bad as in states such as Indiana, Michigan or California. Catholic Charities’ Fort Worth operation is helping resettle 650 refugees this year, up from 450 last year. More than 400 refugees had already been resettled as of late August.
"Those areas that were hard-hit began saying, 'We can’t take any more refugees,’ " said Tory Cheatham, director of immigration and refugee services with Catholic Charities in Fort Worth. "We do want to be there to meet the need."
'A very tough time’
Tucked in America’s Rust Belt sits Fort Wayne, Ind., which in recent years has become the new home for refugees — mostly Burmese — whom Catholic Charities helped resettle. Last year 837 refugees called Fort Wayne their new home, up from 632 in 2007.
But the recession has hit Indiana so hard that refugee advocates there said they can’t help as many people.
"It is very difficult to find employment for arriving refugees," said Nyein Chan, resettlement director for Catholic Charities’ refugee services in Fort Wayne. "We still want to resettle. We support family reunification."
Chan said the agency is helping 300 refugees resettle this year, primarily the spouses, parents, children and grandchildren of refugees who are already living there.
Fort Wayne depended on manufacturing and auto industry jobs lost to the recession, Chan said. The best opportunities for refugees are at a meatpacking company about 76 miles away.
Chan said some of the refugees who moved to Fort Wayne are searching for work outside Indiana, where the unemployment rate was 10.6 percent in July. These breadwinners go to other states — typically Alabama, West Virginia and Texas — to work and send the money back to their families in Fort Wayne. Texas’ unemployment for July was 7.9 percent.
"They still have to have employment to pay the bills and live in the United States," he said. "It is a very tough time."
Working with employers
Amanda Cowart networks with Tarrant County business owners and managers in a search for jobs refugees can fill.
"I think they all come with the American dream mentality: that they will have a home, that they will have a job and freedom," said Cowart, job developer for Catholic Charities’ refugee employment services in Fort Worth.
Cowart educates employers about refugees. To cut through the red tape, she meets with a CEO advisory committee that offers a heads-up about possible openings. She helps refugees find work within 180 days, the U.S. government’s deadline for self-sufficiency. She said refugees have been finding work by the deadline, but more slowly than in better times.
"It was getting difficult with the economy to get into businesses because so many people were applying for jobs that used to not be competitive," she said, citing jobs in housekeeping, dishwashing and assembly lines.
Cowart said that even though Texas is not suffering as much as other regions, she has to keep refugees encouraged during their job searches.
"All they want is a job to provide for their family just like they did in their country," she said. "Employment is where they find their dignity and self-respect."
Offering assistance
Catholic Charities’ local services have been helping refugees resettle in Tarrant County for many years. Refugees are defined by the federal government as people who are fleeing persecution in their homeland because of religion, race and nationality, political opinion or membership in a social group. Here is how many refugees the program has resettled in recent years. (After 9-11, entry-exit concerns stalled the process for many refugees.)
2009: 650 (committed)
2008: 450
2007: 217
2006: 88
2005: 80
2004: 43
2003: 60
2002: 51
2001: 276
2000: 166
Source: Catholic Charities Diocese of Fort Worth
A call for donations
Catholic Charities Diocese of Fort Worth is looking for donations to help furnish homes for refugees. The agency has received furniture from a partnership with Fort Hood but needs beds, dressers, kitchen tables, chairs and nightstands to set up apartments. To find out more about donations, call Amy Board at 817-920-7733.
Posted Thursday, Sep. 10, 2009
FORT WORTH — Keshab Adhikari, 23, has been fleeing persecution in Bhutan since he was 6.
Adhikari’s family was a target in its native South Asian homeland, where he said armed forces patrolled villages and arrested farmers who practiced Hinduism. Adhikari dreamed of a better life in the United States, hoping to work and prosper.
"The life will be beautiful if we are dutiful," Adhikari said.
Adhikari is learning America’s ways quickly since moving from a refugee camp in Nepal to Fort Worth about six months ago. He learned to drive, got a part-time job and worked on polishing his English. He also joined the ranks of Americans anxious for better days.
"Barack Obama, he has said the economic recovery will be good after 2009," Adhikari said, quoting news reports he hopes will help fellow refugees struggling to find work while resettling in a new homeland. "People are suffering."
The nation’s recession has hindered efforts to help refugees trying to start anew in the United States. The goal of people fleeing persecution in their homelands is not only to be free, but also to become self-sufficient through employment.
U.S. efforts to help refugees slowed after 9-11, when scrutiny of people entering and leaving the country stalled resettlement for many, refugee advocates said. Then, just as the resettlement process began moving again, the economy tumbled, making the American dream more difficult to attain.
Catholic Charities Diocese of Fort Worth is trying to help sister agencies by resettling refugees in Texas, where the recession hasn’t been as bad as in states such as Indiana, Michigan or California. Catholic Charities’ Fort Worth operation is helping resettle 650 refugees this year, up from 450 last year. More than 400 refugees had already been resettled as of late August.
"Those areas that were hard-hit began saying, 'We can’t take any more refugees,’ " said Tory Cheatham, director of immigration and refugee services with Catholic Charities in Fort Worth. "We do want to be there to meet the need."
'A very tough time’
Tucked in America’s Rust Belt sits Fort Wayne, Ind., which in recent years has become the new home for refugees — mostly Burmese — whom Catholic Charities helped resettle. Last year 837 refugees called Fort Wayne their new home, up from 632 in 2007.
But the recession has hit Indiana so hard that refugee advocates there said they can’t help as many people.
"It is very difficult to find employment for arriving refugees," said Nyein Chan, resettlement director for Catholic Charities’ refugee services in Fort Wayne. "We still want to resettle. We support family reunification."
Chan said the agency is helping 300 refugees resettle this year, primarily the spouses, parents, children and grandchildren of refugees who are already living there.
Fort Wayne depended on manufacturing and auto industry jobs lost to the recession, Chan said. The best opportunities for refugees are at a meatpacking company about 76 miles away.
Chan said some of the refugees who moved to Fort Wayne are searching for work outside Indiana, where the unemployment rate was 10.6 percent in July. These breadwinners go to other states — typically Alabama, West Virginia and Texas — to work and send the money back to their families in Fort Wayne. Texas’ unemployment for July was 7.9 percent.
"They still have to have employment to pay the bills and live in the United States," he said. "It is a very tough time."
Working with employers
Amanda Cowart networks with Tarrant County business owners and managers in a search for jobs refugees can fill.
"I think they all come with the American dream mentality: that they will have a home, that they will have a job and freedom," said Cowart, job developer for Catholic Charities’ refugee employment services in Fort Worth.
Cowart educates employers about refugees. To cut through the red tape, she meets with a CEO advisory committee that offers a heads-up about possible openings. She helps refugees find work within 180 days, the U.S. government’s deadline for self-sufficiency. She said refugees have been finding work by the deadline, but more slowly than in better times.
"It was getting difficult with the economy to get into businesses because so many people were applying for jobs that used to not be competitive," she said, citing jobs in housekeeping, dishwashing and assembly lines.
Cowart said that even though Texas is not suffering as much as other regions, she has to keep refugees encouraged during their job searches.
"All they want is a job to provide for their family just like they did in their country," she said. "Employment is where they find their dignity and self-respect."
Offering assistance
Catholic Charities’ local services have been helping refugees resettle in Tarrant County for many years. Refugees are defined by the federal government as people who are fleeing persecution in their homeland because of religion, race and nationality, political opinion or membership in a social group. Here is how many refugees the program has resettled in recent years. (After 9-11, entry-exit concerns stalled the process for many refugees.)
2009: 650 (committed)
2008: 450
2007: 217
2006: 88
2005: 80
2004: 43
2003: 60
2002: 51
2001: 276
2000: 166
Source: Catholic Charities Diocese of Fort Worth
A call for donations
Catholic Charities Diocese of Fort Worth is looking for donations to help furnish homes for refugees. The agency has received furniture from a partnership with Fort Hood but needs beds, dressers, kitchen tables, chairs and nightstands to set up apartments. To find out more about donations, call Amy Board at 817-920-7733.
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