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Meskhetian Turk resettlement: the view from Krasnodar Krai
Meskhetian Turks gather their belongings from the Krasnodar departure lounge and make their way toward their 5 a.m. flight to Vienna, where they will connect to their U.S.-bound flights.
Photo: Jennifer Hendrick
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Family unity is one of the most important principles of the U.S. Refugee Program. But efforts to respect Meskhetian Turk refugees' right to resettle close to family members of their choice hit some "bumps in the road" early in this large resettlement effort.
Some Meskhetians who wanted to resettle together found themselves bound for different parts of the United States. And cross-referencing of extended families early on brought more arrivals than initially anticipated to local resettlement agencies.
In an effort to resolve these problems, the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) deployed Jennifer Hendrick to Krasnodar, Russia, where the Meskhetian Turks' cases are being processed. She is Associate Director for Domestic Programs of the Church World Service Immigration and Refugee Program (CWS/IRP). Representing Refugee Council USA, she carried with her the perspectives and concerns of PRM, U.S. resettlement agencies, and the Refugee Processing Center.
Her assignment July 16-August 3 was to work in partnership with the U.S. State Department's Overseas Processing Entity (OPE) offices in Krasnodar and Moscow to approach the issues from a positive, collaborative angle to help improve the process for all involved. The OPE is operated by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Based on the consultations with the OPE in Russia, Hendrick drew up an action plan, most of which was implemented promptly.
The Meskhetian Turks constitute one of the largest groups of refugees to be resettled in the United States in 2005-6. These natives of Georgia's Meskhetia region have suffered forced displacement repeatedly over the past 60 years, first to Uzbekistan, then to Siberia. Now they are being persecuted in Krasnodar Krai, the southern Russian territory to which many had migrated.
According to the U.S. State Department, more than 3,000 Meskhetians had been resettled as of the end of July, 315 of them by CWS. Arrivals slowed in August due to the detailed paperwork required to get a Russian exit permit — in short, written authorization from each province in which each applicant has ever lived. Nevertheless, total numbers coming to the United States eventually could reach 18,000.
"Meskhetian Turks have very close relationships with large, extended families," Hendrick said. "Someone could be as close to a third cousin as to a brother, or to a distant relative as to their mother.
"Our goal is to ensure that a reasonable number of family members can be cross-referenced to each other and be resettled in the same site together. At the same time, we need to plan with affiliates and prepare local communities for the people they will be receiving. Arrival numbers must be manageable."
Hendrick worked closely with OPE staff to move toward this goal. "We built a good understanding of each others' challenges," she said, adding that "I was really impressed by the staff's understanding of processing issues. They are very connected to the caseload and empathetic with their concerns."
Through these efforts, Meskhetians, along with U.S. refugee resettlement agencies and their local affiliates, can expect to see the difference as OPE's Krasnodar staff "close the loop" on cross-referencing and ensure an increased ability to keep families together as a major piece. Essential is clear communication among refugees and all involved in their resettlement to confirm who is going where with whom.
Cross-referencing of Meskhetian Turk cases is difficult for several reasons.
For one thing, the 17,000 to 20,000 Meskhetians live spread out over a considerable geographical area. Coming in to Krasnodar may mean risking arrest, and it is hard for the OPE staff to get out to all the villages. As a result, ensuring consensus on which households ("cases") want to resettle together is a challenge.
"Cross-referencing cases in refugee camps generally is much easier because the applicants are more accessible," Hendrick said. "For example, the Sudanese ‘Lost Boys' in Kakuma Camp simply were asked to stand together in a group with the others with whom they wanted to resettle."
To further complicate matters, some Meskhetian Turks completed processing and left before others in their web of cross-references were even prescreened.
"In contrast, most Somali Bantu, who also have extended family ties, were prescreened before anyone departed," Hendrick said.
Under the new action plan, all prescreened cases that have not yet been allocated are being reviewed to doublecheck the cross-referencing. The Krasnodar staff are giving extra emphasis to the cross-referencing issue in pre-departure counseling, urging Meskhetian households to reach consensus among themselves about who will resettle with whom.
"OPE staff will make the most of refugees' time in the office to work through the challenging process of cross-referencing, and to emphasize that each household makes its own decision about where it wants to go," Hendrick said.
Hendrick's mission in Krasnodar also included evaluation of pre-departure cultural orientation. "It was great," she reported. "Orientation emphasized the need to work and to be self-sufficient. It talked about school, transport, taxes, paychecks, employer expectations, and the importance of learning English, among numerous other items. It noted that Food Stamps and Medicaid are based on need and that the benefits of employment outweigh those available through public assistance. It described the respective roles of the local resettlement agency, churches, community groups, and other volunteers, explaining clearly that models of assistance vary greatly from agency to agency.
"For example, people were told that they might be given donated used furniture, and that ‘if you get more, great, but don't expect it.'"
When refugees replied, "But my sister said …" or "I heard that …," trainers stood their ground, emphasizing, ‘Don't expect it. If you do, you will be disappointed and your resettlement won't go well.'"
Not just questions but also jokes marked cultural orientation, Hendrick said. One trainer spoke of the need for young men to register with Selective Service, beginning, "As soon as they get to the United States, 18- to 25-year-old men need to ...."
Before she could finish the sentence, a young Meskhetian man piped up, "... get married!"
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