They
provide:
-Immigration
Services
-Refugee
Resettlement
-Case Management
Services
-Refugee Employment
Services
-Unaccompanied
Refugee Minor Programs
Her path to this position from the small town of Gwinner, North Dakota, USA came through missions with her Church to help suitably change or restore the circumstances of others. There was one mission that seemed symbolic of that path, the Border Mission along the American-Mexican border.
This border mission gave Darci a firsthand look at government policy’s direct effect upon a body of people. In this case, it was a trade agreement of which many purported as removing economic trade barriers and offering opportunities for a better way of life.
Part 2:
The North
American Free-Trade Agreement, NAFTA, was implemented in 1994.
The
Government of Canada, the Government of the United Mexican States, and the
Government of the United States of America resolved to:
-Strenghten
the special bonds of friendship and cooperation among their nations;
-Contribute
to the harmonious development and expansion of world trade and provide a
catalyst to broader international cooperation;
-Create
an expanded and secure market for the goods and services produced in their
territories;
-Reduce
distortions to trade;
-Establish
clear and mutually advantageous rules governing their trade;
-Ensure
a predictable commercial framework for business planning and investment;
-Build
on their respective rights and obligations under the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade and other multilateral and bilateral instruments of
cooperation;
-Enhance
the competitiveness of their firms in global markets;
-Foster
creativity and innovation, and promote trade in goods and services that are the
subject of intellectual property rights;
-Create
new employment opportunities and improve working conditions and living
standards in their respective territories;
-Undertake
each of the preceding in a manner consistent with environmental protection and
conservation;
-Preserve
their flexibility to safeguard the public welfare;
-Promote
sustainable development;
-Strengthen
the development and enforcement of environmental laws and regulations; and
-Protect,
enhance and enforce basic workers' rights;
Source NAFTA Trade Agreement Preamble.
Benefits or
detriments from NAFTA are tracked by the World Bank, corporations, the
respective governments, and universities, etc.
None of these listed outcomes were the reason Darci volunteered for the
mission. A real human need developed as families and
individuals migrated toward work in
the Maquiladoras along the American-Mexican border.
NAFTA brought an increase in the number of factories (Maquiladoras) along the American – Mexican border. People migrated from the south of Mexico to settlements in the north. The assumption seems to have been that if the Maquiladoras made money, taxes and investment would supply the funds for infrastructure development. In Darci’s view, the settlements (colonias) did not develop that way. Her perspective is that sewer, utilities, and other public works infrastructure were far from sufficient to support the people there. Residential areas did not develop properly.
She saw the need. She saw the individuals and the families who
had moved into the border regions, forsaking their homes to pursuit a better
life. In one case, she met a 14 year old
boy who had made the journey on his own.
He probably started on the trip at about 12 or 13. “We pulled them from the agriculture of the
south to the north then trapped them in the hell of the colonia.”
Even so, those living in the
colonias were not necessarily waiting for the corporations or local governments
for development. Nor was income from the
Maquiladoras the sole source of advancement. Darci witnessed “self-determination with no
assistance from business or local government”.
They relied on one another. Women
developed cooperatives. “They took the
funds that they earned from selling weaving in the U.S. to fund kindergarten. They sold traditional herbal remedies, too.” She wanted to learn how to assist them in
their endeavors and “treat people with dignity to re-establish happy and
healthy families.”
This is the context in which Darci moved. When the position at LSSND came open, she applied and got the job. Trade agreements, political and civil unrest, or just plain bad luck, Darci and other agency staff work in the very real human results of those events.
The work is demanding. Organizationally and personally owned vehicles
run up miles on the odometer. The target
is to get 100% of 60-80 refugees self-sufficient within 8 month because there
is very little safety net for them. Currently,
most of the refugees come from Bhutan. Annually,
they project about 400 coming to the Fargo and Grand Forks areas. Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services in
Baltimore, MD manages the initial transition after the United Nations performs
legal checks, identity checks, confirmation of who can return to Bhutan and who
cannot, and DNA testing. The application
approval can take 5-10 years. Of which, the applicants have lived in refugee
camps years before that application was filed.
Who goes where is a blind process based on numbers. Representatives from other countries and
organizations work with the United Nations to determine how many of the
approved applicants each of the organizations can take.
Once in the program, refugees
tend to give back a lot back. “They are
driven and motivated.” Most dollars are
Federal. Undesignated dollars are needed
for bus passes, artisan materials, blanket, boots, hats, picture dictionaries,
and good winter clothes. They need gardening
tools to take advantage of the limited growing season. Darci has a diverse bilingual staff but has a
need for case workers. She has 3 case
managers and could use 3 more.
Language, just knowing how and
what food to eat, learning what a dollar can or cannot buy or just saying hello
presents challenges. Yet, the agency has
a 78% success rate it getting individuals and entire families self-sufficient
in 8 months.
Darci says of her work, “I am inspired
each day with the difficult choices and decisions New Americans make.” The
agency has brought foster children in her life as well. Adoption is not allowed because of the
uncertainty of some of the children coming into the program. Foster parenting allows them to move from the
refugee camps, receive help, and be rejoined with relatives without the legal
entanglements associated with adoption.
Regardless of the politics,
regardless of the religion, across borders, or just down the street, LSSND
staff, volunteers, and those who donate material and money are an
inspiration. The catchphrase of It’s A
Potluck Planet is Everyone Brings Something to the Table. In this case, Darci and the agency staff
bring services, compassion, and restoration.
Please go to the following links to learn more and to find out how to
support them.
Darci’s and Community
Support
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