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Episcopal Church Agencies Extend Helping Hands to Kosovo Refugees

Episcopal News Service. May 7, 1999 [99-056]

(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.