Anna Brekken: Huamnitarian Journey Aournd the World

Huamnitarian Journey Aournd the World

Presentation given in Bob Brekken's World History class
Anna Brekken-Refugee Officer for Homeland Security
March 31, 2014
Central Lakes College, Brainerd MN

Refugee Corps

Started in Damak, Nepal

Near Nepal is Bhutan which affects Nepal
Drukpas and Lhotsampas
1989 King Wangchuck adopted 'One Bhutan, One People" policy
Arrests, detentions, rape, torture
Mass exodus in 1991 to Nepal
Nepal said "we don't want you" so those refugess were put into camps

Camp Sanischare, resetteled 60,000 people
Interviewed 7 families per day, 5 days per week

Many of them grew up in refugee camps and aren't allowed out of camp so don't have some common experience/knowledge or don't know some skills like opening a door

Mayaysia
Kuala Lumpur
Refugees there don't live in camps, they live in the city, aren't allowed to work yet have to get by somehow
Burma

Marginalized Populations:
Chin-Chrisian 1.2 %
Karen-Buddhist and Chistian -- very vulnerable right now
Rohingya-Muslim
6 cases per day, 5 days a week
Persucution:
Forced labor-men, women, and children (forced to work on road structure even though not a road)
Forced porter
Unable to practice religion or culture

Rwanda
1994 Genocide started April 6 with President's plain being shot down
Congo next door and Goma and North Kivu 5 million have been killed
Interview Congolese refugees

Uganda
Somali
They interview Somali all over the world but especially here
Somalia
Civial War 1991
UNOSOM (UN operation Somalia) left in 1995 lots of problems since then
Islamic Courts Union
Clan wars- Hawiye
Transitional Federal Govt
Al-Shabaab-"The Youth" affiliated with Akeida
Interview Somalis all over the world
Somalia is a very difficult place to try and live

Middle East
This is where most of her time has been spent
Iraq
Lebanon
Turkey
Egypt
many others

Refugee Populations
Iraqis 32, 000 of 70,000 refugees taken were Iraqis
Iranians (Bah/ai, Christian converts, political activists, others)
4 per day, 5 or 6 days per week

Irqi Refugee Claims
Affiliated with US Govt (Interpreteers, Contractors, NGO/Media organizations)
Religious claims (Shia, Sunni, Christian, Sabean-Mandean, Yazidi)
LGBTI

Ethnoreligious Groups
North Kuds
North wand West Sunnis
Shi in South
Baghdad--mixed

Shia (kinda like Catholics)
Ali, Mohammed's cousin and son in law was rightful successor to Mohammed and the first Caliph
Leadership as birthright
Very small percentage of wlrd's Muslims
Nuri al Maliki
Miltatnt groups" Badr Forces and Jaish al Mahdi (JAM)

Sunnis (like protestants)
Abu Bakr, Mohammedn's closet companion, was Moahammed's rightful succssor
Leadership not birthright

They get alot of threat letters (which is a very serious event--can kill entire families)
Kidnappings sometimes with ransom (funding terriosts) 20-30 thousand ransom
Attempted shootings

Irqi issues
Military-compulsory for all males 18 and over
Iran-Iraq war 1980-1988 (dropped chemical weapons on Kurds)
Anfal Campaign-Kurdistan 1987-1988
First Gulf War
Ba Ath Party 1968-2003 many many human rights abuses (mandatory for them to be in it, so how involved were they)
Intelligence/police work (big threat if they were)

Anna.E.Brekken@uscis.dhs.gov

Q & A
They have translators with them during the interview.

Backgrounds vary: some lawyers, public admin, public policy,

Was immigration services. Recommendation: do humanitarian work and get your foot in the door with government.

Time there, then back for a break before next trip.

Refugee Processing Center and NGO team get list of approved refugees and are the ones to decide on where they'll be placed (meet every Wednesday)

Sometimes they get hung up "in the red tape" There are alot of security checks they have to go through.

Defintion: persecuted based on categories (race, ethnicity, religion, political, GLBTI etc,)

They go through counter-terroism training, have strict protocol and security (ie they are airlifted from Bhagdad airport to embassy compound).