Page 88 - Abilene Living

people to stay in Bhutan so we fed to Nepal. “ Santa and his family arrived in Nepal when he was sixteen years old. They found safety but diffcult living conditions. “Life in the refugee camp was very miserable,” Santa says. “House is bamboo. Roof is thatch. No electricity. No toilet.”

At the beginning of 2011 the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimated 10.4 million people were refugees needing assistance. Add to that number an additional 4.7 million people already living in sixty camps overseen by the United Nations and the fgures become overwhelming.

The local IRC offce has helped more than 1,000 refugees settle in Abilene since 2003. Daina Jurika-Owen joined the IRC staff shortly after the offce opened and helped welcome the frst group of refugees from Liberia who arrived in January of 2004. That group was quickly followed in February by refugees from Liberia, Congo-Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Colombia. Daina is originally from Latvia and understands the challenges of a drastic change in culture and location.

Refugees have come to Abilene from Burundi, Cameroon, Rwanda, Bhutan, Iraq, Colombia, Cuba and many other countries. Some move on to larger cities but many choose to make their homes here.

Daina says, “Santa has accomplished quite a few things since he arrived in the US. He has

BELOW (L-R) Lazare Boulingui-Goma, Congo Brazzaville. M. B. Rai, one of the frst Bhutanese refugees to arrive in the US, along with his wife and two children. Prakash Acharya, Bhutanese from Nepal. The local IRC offce has helped more than 1,000 refugees settle in Abilene since 2003. Daina Jurika-Owen joined the IRC staff shortly after the offce opened and helped welcome the frst group of refugees from Liberia who arrived in January of 2004. That group was quickly followed in February by refugees from Liberia, Congo-Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Colombia. Daina is originally from Latvia and understands the challenges of a drastic change in culture and location.