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The Charlotte Jewish News - May 2012 - Page 10 CRRA Resettles Its Oldest Refugee in Charlotte By Karen Brodsky Carolina Refugee Resettlement Ageney resettled its oldest refugee with her Bhutanese family—a son, daughter-in-law, and three grand- ehildren. Kanehi Chhetri, approximately 99 years old, has surprised CRRA staff with her lively personality, mobility and good humor. Kanehi and her family are the benefieiaries of a program from the Department of State and the President, who determine how many refugees will be admitted to the U.S. eaeh year. The Refugee Aet of 1980 ereated The Federal Refugee Resettlement Program to provide for the effeetive resettle ment of refugees and to assist them to aehieve eeonomie self- suffieieney as quiekly as possible after arrival in the United States. The CRRA program exists to do just that. After applying for refugee sta tus, the family had interviews with the U.S. Department of Flomeland Seeurity and other ageneies. The family was approved for travel and soon left the Khudunabari refugee eamp in Southern Nepal. The International Offiee of Migration (lOM) made the flight reservations from an airport in southeastern Nepal to Kathmandu, Nepal, to Flong Kong, to JFK in Queens, NY, to Charlotte-Douglas Airport. lOM arranged and rearranged travel plans several times until the family’s needs eould be met. Kanehi is now settling in, living with her family in apartments fur nished and rented on their behalf by CRRA. With the guidanee of CRRA ease workers the family has been taken to the Department of Soeial Seeurity, the Department of Soeial Serviees and the health department. Members of the fami ly who are able to work have been PICK A ROSEN FELD for All Your Real Estate Needs ~ Over 35 Years Experience ~ i Home 704-321-0220 Barbara Helen Adams Realty 704-517-1547 Marshall Queenstowne Realty 704-517-1073 WADDELL &rREED Fincmda! Advisors Providing Personal Financial Planning Investing, With a plan* For more than 70 years Jennifer Sperry, CFP FINANCIAL ADVISOR 5950 Fairview Rd. Suite 200 Charlotte, NC 28210 704-553-7220 x127 jsperry@wradvisors.com assessed by the employment staff to learn where their talents he. Last year in the eamp, Kanehi told her family, “I feel like I would die soon, but now I’m feeling bet ter.” This is an example of her humor, says her grandson. “When we all went for the Department of Flomeland Seeurity interview, Kanehi spoke to everyone and made them all laugh. The inter viewer said to Kanehi, T love you, you look so eute.’ Then Kanehi told the interviewer she looked kind of old.” Bom in Nepal sometime in 1913, Kanehi probably migrated to Bhutan when people from Nepal -an ethnie group ealled Lhotsampas of whieh Kanehi and her family are members—were invited to populate the lowlands of southern Bhutan in the 1920s. Paper reeords from that era are not available, and Kanehi’s memory has faded over time. Despite liv ing in Bhutan for up to five gener ations, the Lhotsampas retained their highly distinetive Nepali lan guage, eulture, and Hindu religion and eoexisted peaeefully with other ethnie groups in Bhutan until the mid-1980s, when Bhutan’s king and the raling Druk majority beeame worried that the growing Lhotsampa population eould threaten the majority posi tion. By the late 1980s and early 1990s, a erisis had developed. Human rights violations, inelud ing detention, imprisonment with out trial, and torture, were beeom- ing more eommonplaee. The Bhutanese adopted a number sys tem; those with lower numbers were allowed to stay in the eoun- try; those with higher numbers— like the Chhetris, who were elassi- fied as number 7—were exiled to the eamps in Nepal. The rest of the family lived in the eamps for 19 years; the grand- ehildren grew up there and have no memory of leaving Bhutan. To date, more than 100,000 Lhotsampas had fled or been foreed out of the eountry, mostly into refugee eamps in Nepal. About half have left Nepal to be resettled in the West under the auspiees of foreign governments. The lion’s share has been resettled in the U.S. Bhutan has the dubious distine- tion of being one of the world’s highest per eapita generator of refugees. One-sixth of its eitizens live in exile, and many have eome to the U.S. Sinee the spring of 2007, CRRA has resettled more than 400 refugees from Bhutan, making them its newest refugee population. It is estimated that some 700 Bhutanese are living in Charlotte. Aeeording to the United Nations High Commissioner for Kanehi Chhetri (Photo courtesy Thakur Mishra) Refugees (UNHCR), many Bhutanese refugees in the eamps said they wanted to return to their homes in Bhutan. Despite this desire—and despite numerous high-level meetings between the governments of Bhutan and Nepal to resolve the refugee erisis— Bhutan has not permitted a single refugee to return home. The Nepalis are eager to elose the refugee eamps. Thus it is hoped the remainder of the Lhotsampas will find homes in other eountries. While Kanehi is the oldest refugee resettled by CRRA, her story is one shared by many. For more information about how you ean help Kanehi or other refugee families eall the offiee at 704-535-8803 or visit www.ear- olinarefugee.org. ^ The JCC Is Your Summer Place Waddell & Reed Member SI PC Attention! Calling all families: Your destination plaee this sum mer is the Levine JCC. Read all about the fun aetivities and events planned at the Levine JCC this summer just for you as a Levine JCC member End of Sehool Party - Join us to eelebrate the last day of sehool with a big party on Friday, June 8 from 4-5:30 PM. DJ Curious George will be playing eool tunes, $1 pizza sliees and refreshments will be served. Not to be missed. Father’s Day, June 17 and July 4 Party - Come eelebrate these two holidays with your friends at the J. There will be a DJ, fun games and eontests, pool aetivi ties, arts and erafts and lots of prizes. Pizza by the Pool - We begin our Thursday pizza nights starting June 28 until July 26. There will be $1 sliees available and pies ean be ordered in advanee at our Customer Serviee desk. Now there is no reason to leave the pool! Family Fun by the Pool - Every weekend starting in June there will be Sunday family fun aetivi ties starting at 1 PM by the pool for ages 5 and up. We will have a blast playing family Bingo, games, water aetivities, and arts and erafts. Every new member will reeeive a speeial summer fun paekage filled with goodies for the whole family. The JCC JAWS Swim Team Summer Sehedule - Swim team will operate on a two day per week swim team eombination. With praetiee ranging from 45 minutes to an hour and 15 min- utes-depending on age and ability. Sportsmanship, teamwork, aeeountability, and perseveranee - Take a Culinary Adventure on a Food Network Guided Vacation %w# M MANN TRAVELS K ^Wft Travel to Italy, France or Northern California with Food Network as your guide and experience restaurants visited by Food Network Stars, hands-on cooking classes, exclusive culinary experiences and explore the world’s most delicious food destinations. Available Exclusively at Mann Travels 704.556.8322 704.541.0943 704.892.9020 Park Road Arboretum Lake Norman Summer fun at the Levine JCC. all while having fun are the main eoneepts we teaeh. Join us for the JCC JAWS Summer Swim Team Championship Meet at MCAC on Tuesday, June 26 and the JCC JAWS Summer Swim Team Awards Banquet at the JCC Lemer Hall on Thursday, June 28. Tennis - With the addition of our three new Har-tru elass tennis Charlotte eourts and expansion of staff, there is ample opportunity for you to take lessons, join a league or play tennis with your friends. Some of the fun events eurrently being planned for the eourts this summer; a Memorial Day Round Robin, Member Appreeiation Clinies, a 4th of July Round Robin and a Baek 2 Sehool Bash (junior/adult soeial). Details will be available in the next few weeks. Registration for Summer Camp is on! Camp Katan (2 years - preK), Camp Mindy (K- 5), Teen Camps (grades 6- 10), Full or Half Day Tennis Camps for Juniors (ages 6-11) and Teens (ages 12-16). Sports Speeialty eamps inelude Ethan Horton Flag Football Camp (ages 7-9), Turn and Bum Laerosse Camp (ages 7-14), Girls’ Turn and Bum Laerosse Camp (ages 7-14), Dell Curry Basketball Camp (ages 6-10), and Levine JCC Soeeer Skills Camp (ages 7- 10). Sessions start June 11 andmn thm August 17. Register today at eharlottej ee .org/eamp. And there is more good sum mer news. The outdoor pool is going to be open for two extra weekends this Summer, September 7 and September 14. More fun at the J! A
The Charlotte Jewish News (Charlotte, N.C.)
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May 1, 2012, edition 1
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