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Life in a Refugee Camp: A Story of Waiting

Diocesan Press Service. July 28, 1975 [75261]

Carolyne Aniba, Diocese of Washington

FT. INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. -- Southeast Asian refugees to the U.S., a total of 18, 000, are being funneled through Ft. Indiantown Gap, Pa., one of four camps in the States converted into bustling towns of resettlement activity. Old buildings that had been filled and used as storage at the State's National Guard base east of Harrisburg were emptied by U.S. Army on temporary duty only days before the first refugees arrived. Plywood partitions were thrown up, computer terminals and telephones installed, desks and bunkbeds appropriately situated, bilingual signs hung and a white tape strung from utility pole to utility pole marking city limits. Refugees must stay within.

Morale is very high among both Asians and American personnel, according to Army press guide Lt. Michael Morgan. The only long faces are on the Asian men, the only unemployed. Women are seen hanging wash, sweeping floors, herding children. Only the men lack for a purpose. Children play and laugh and run -- freely and in organized sports. A few men are fortunate enough to function as interpreters or information receptionists in the volunteer agency section of the administration building.

In the asphalt street are a curious mixture of Army trucks, jeeps, yellow school buses and pedestrians who stroll casually everywhere (there are no sidewalks) strangely unburdened of either mission or physical load.

The clothing is curious mixtures of outsized, off-season and inappropriate: men in women's fur, children in "pyjama suits," rain umbrellas shielding the sun. Some women, young and old, still wear the traditional dress.

In the mess hall, the food is good and plenty: ham, rice, cole slaw, fresh fruit, tea. LaChoy soy sauce joins ,the salt and pepper.

The July 4th decorations still hang gaily. Conversation hums. People smile effortlessly. Friction is not found. A boy and girl sit close under a bush by a door. A mother hangs her wet laundry. Father sits on a balcony, chin in palm, staring into space. Down the road, YMCA signs welcome ping-pong players. The Red Cross has a recreation center. The Salvation Army has a building full of new and used shoes for the asking. Near the administration building is a hut which is the refugee locator. The side of the small aged wood frame structure lifts as though a beach-side restaurant to reveal volumes of IBM printouts and boxes of computer cards. A Red Cross volunteer explains that names are so common the date of birth is needed to identify a person.

A sense of mission prevails among the Americans whether there are volunteer or on assignment. The camp has three areas of administration. The U.S. Army offers support services such as security, mess halls, press guides. The Department of Health, Education and Welfare is in charge of processing (social security, health services, etc.) and policy (for example, no Americans allowed inside refugee living quarters). The third group is voluntary agencies. In addition to the Red Cross, Salvation Army, YMCA and Boy Scouts (there may be others) are the placement organizations: Church World Service (Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican churches), U.S. Catholic Conference, United Hebrew Immigrant Aid Service, International Rescue Committee, Tolstoy Foundation, American Friends for Czechoslovakian Refugees, Latter Day Saints Social Services, Lutheran Immigrant Service, the Christian and Missionary Alliance, and the International Refugee Committee.

Voluntary agencies relocate an average of 120 people per day according to Paul Cushing, on temporary assignment from his job with HEW in the Philadelphia regional office. He hopes that the camp will dismantle by Thanksgiving with everyone relocated by that time since the camp will not be winterized.

Ms. Elise Tsomais is directing Church World Service refugee placement at Ft. Indiantown Gap as she has done elsewhere for 20 years. She pleads for the church sponsors to step up their preparation.

"Single men need homes, not only families," she explained. "We also need combined sponsorship for extended families to be placed in the same area. "

Referring to the men who returned to families in Southeast Asia, Ms. Tsomais said, "Of the 17,000 here now, only 25 requested to return; they left this week. "

When a refugee arrives, he or she chooses the sponsoring agency they wish to have place them. However, if a sponsor is ideal for a particular family not registered with the agency, a central computer makes the match and a refugee can then switch to the agency with the appropriate sponsor.

Ms. Tsomais exuberated over the response of the Episcopal Church in St. Paul, Minn., where 37 people have been relocated. A Methodist church in Poughkeepsie took 13. "The Baptists are doing very well, also," she commented. Her case load is now 450 units (a unit is either a family or a single individual).

Mr. Cushing offered encouragement for sponsorship immediately, "Summer is best, if you think about it, because the sponsor will not be immediately hit with cold-weather clothing problems. By waiting until fall, sponsors will be faced with an additional problem that will need immediate attention. "

Inquiries about sponsorship may be made by calling 717/782-4953 or any of the sponsoring agencies or churches. Episcopalians may call Mrs. Isis Brown, Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief, Episcopal Church Center, 815 Second Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017 (212/867-8400).