The Charlotte Jewish News - January 2010 - Page 12
Teen Refugees Find Friends at Hebrew
High
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By Karen Brodsky
Teens have a universal lan
guage: Fun and laughter. The lan
guage was apparent in Karen
Majercsik’s tikkun olam (repairing
the world) classes in the
Consolidated Hebrew High
School on a recent Wednesday
night.
Three teen guests joined both
the first period ninth/tenth grade
and second period eighth grade
classes. They were treated to
snacks, games and the easy cama
raderie enjoyed by teens through
out the world. No matter that the
guests come from a world away in
Asia—Bhutan, Burma, and
Vietnam.
HIAS NC was invited to pres
ent the refugee story to Mrs.
Majercsik’s classes in the begin
ning of the Hebrew High school
year. Charged with helping to
repair the world and embrace
community service projects, the
students collected personal care
items for refugees, made baby
blankets for Levine Children’s
Hospital, collected used cell
phones for a battered women’s
shelter, and created Halloween
costumes for children in the
Alexander Youth Network.
From HIAS NC, the students
learned that some refugees were
bom in camps and their families
lived there for many years. They
heard about civil wars, persecu
tion, and the dangerous routes
refugees have taken toward free
dom from fear, the right to an edu
cation, and religious choice. They
learned about the challenges
refugees face when they come to
the United States via HIAS and
several agencies. They heard
about the plight of some of the 14
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Josh Listhaus (standing) looks on as Jason Fox (left) challenges
visitor Lai Hngak to a game of chess.
million refugees, who cannot go
home because they fear for their
lives, have no means to earn a liv
ing, and no rights.
The students welcomed three
refugee teens to their classes. Lai
Ram Hngak has been in the U.S.
seven years, the longest of the
three. He is 16 and a sophomore
student at East Mecklenburg High
School. Lai has never been in the
country of his parents’ birth,
Burma. He is fluent in his family’s
Chin language but was bom in
lead English as a Second
Language (ESL) teacher with his
knowledge of English. Santosh
appears in the classroom whenev
er Ms. Dottie is there, seeking
books and extra knowledge. He
could not wait to start school at
East Mecklenburg High School.
Santosh’s family comes originally
from Bhutan. Located in Southern
Asia, the small country of Bhutan
has produced, in proportion to its
population, one of the largest
groups of refiigees in the world. In
(From left) Winnie Cleary and Lauren Gleiberman teach refugees
Hannah Nie and Santosh Khadka an American card game.
India, where his family went
because they feared the Burmese
government was leading the coun
try down a dangerous path. Lai’s
older brother was bom in Burma.
Once resettled in New Bem, NC,
the family welcomed their first
American son, another child bom
13 years after Lai. They later
moved to Charlotte, where Lai’s
father, Thanei Taithio is a case
worker for HIAS NC.
Hannah Nei, 18 years old, is a
senior at East Mecklenburg High
School. She is a petite
Montagnard from the Central
Highlands of Vietnam and has
been in Charlotte for three years.
She came to the U.S. from a
refugee camp in Cambodia with
her mother and two brothers. The
Central Highlands are home to
some of the most fertile land in
Vietnam. The Montagnards fought
with the Green Berets during the
Vietnam War In addition, many
embraced Christianity, and have
been persona non grata since with
the govemments of North and
South Vietnam. In many cases,
both Vietnams have fought a
covert war against the
Montagnards, poisoning their
water, jailing residents to terrorize
villages, and seizing land.
When 15-year-old Santosh
Khadka came to the U.S. from a
refugee camp in Nepal less than
two months ago, he impressed
even Dottie Shattuck, HIAS NC’s
the early 1980s, the govemmentof
Bhutan began cracking down on
the rights of ethnic minorities,
especially the rights of the
Lhothampas, a group originally
from Nepal. After languishing in
Nepali refugee camps for as many
as 20 years, refugees from Bhutan
began entering the U.S. in 2008.
HIAS NC has settled them in
Charlotte since May of 2008.
Many young Bhutanese were for
tunate to leam English in schools
in or near the camps.
Raised a world away from the
conflict and fear known by their
three refugee guests, the students
at the Consolidated Hebrew High
School played cards and snacked
with their new friends. Hannah
played her first game of Yahtzee,
Lai lost a chess game to one of his
hosts, and Santosh taught a card
game he leamed in Nepal. Loaded
with bags of soap, toothpaste and
toothbrashes for HIAS NC, the
three refugee teens bounded down
the stairs of Temple Israel’s school
building and asked, “Are we com
ing back next week?”
HIAS NC is always in need of
volunteers, fumiture (which HIAS
will pick up), housewares and
donations of cash to help offset the
cost of resettling refugees. HIAS
resettled more refugees this year
than ever before. Call 704-535-
8803 or e-mail ellen.dubin@
hias.org to leam how you can
help. ^