Local church aids refugees from Myanmar

BY PAT FAHERTY
SPECIAL TO THE STAR-BANNER
OCALA - The young man flipped through a dog-eared dictionary sitting on a coffee table that had seen better days. The dictionary is "English to Myanmar" and his name is Sai Lay.

The 27-year-old is originally from Myanmar, formerly Burma, and this was his first day in America. He had arrived the night before from a refugee camp in Thailand to connect with members of his extended family, who had beat him to Ocala by several weeks. They are one of two Myanmar families being settled here through the efforts of Blessed Trinity Catholic Church.

Sai Lay knows some refugee camp English and was working on new words with his uncle Than Thai, 29. They translate backward with old tourist-talk books linking their language to popular English idioms. Making the leap to English will be the family's big challenge.

The other family members are Nain Aung Kyaw, 41, his wife La Jo Paw, 34, and their son Lay Lay, 5. They arrived in Ocala on Aug. 21 and Sai Lay followed Sept. 6.

"We have Burmese refugees already in Orlando, but this is the first Burmese family we've resettled in Ocala," said case manager Kim Nu, with Catholic Charities of Central Florida. "Here they have a good support system that is willing to help newcomers like them."

That support includes the Rev. Patrick Sheedy, of Blessed Trinity Catholic Church; church-connected volunteers such as Celeste and Luke Reckamp; and Steve Hoesterey, director of Brothers Keeper.

"Father Pat called us . . . ," said Celeste Reckamp, who described herself as "a go-between" and expLayned how the relocation started. The United States had agreed to accept 25,000 Myanmar refugees from camps in Thailand. Catholic Charities got involved with the resettlement and parishes were contacted to see if they could accept any families.

"Father Pat announced at church one day that we were sponsoring two families and asked if anyone could . . . help," said Hoesterey. It turned out that a woman at the church that day was tutoring a young man in English, who spoke Myanmar and worked at the sushi bar at the Churchill Square Publix.

"So we asked for helpers to sign up and look what we got - a translator," he said. "That's how it works; when you do good things, good things happen."

Hoesterey has previous resettlement experience - working with two families from Kosovo - which he said was invaluable for navigating the maze of government agencies.

"And if we get good at it, we'll take a couple more families," he said.

He now hopes other churches will step up and sponsor some families and take advantage of his experience.

"It's always a challenge with the language," said Hoesterey. "But you can communicate. We use sign language. When they smile and say 'thank you,' that says it all, we can only imagine what they went through."

The family has now moved into a more permanent apartment. Lay Lay has started school, the adults are studying English and share a bicycle for transportation. And they soon will have new neighbors with something in common.

The second Myanmar family of six was scheduled to arrive in Ocala today.