Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Buffalohair: Burmese Refugees: Save Your Kyats It Might Not Be Worth It (Part 3)

Burmese Refugees: Save Your Kyats, It Might Not Be Worth It (Part 3)

The real refugees of Burma, Kachin IDP's
The real victims of genocide and racial hatred in Burma.

There is no question under-qualified ad-hock interpreters have caused great harm to refugees either by accident or intentional with deviating results. Miscarriages of justice along with incorrect and deadly medical instructions caused by ineptitude and lack of knowledge are only the tip of the iceberg. Other cases reveal prejudice and tribal hatred as the root cause of miss-information and bold faced lies that are told to trusting refugees. 


Though ad-hock interpreters can speak ‘da English’ many don’t understand medical, legal and technical terminology nor do they grasp the critical colloquial aspects of the American lexicon. It is likened to ‘the blind leading the blind’, at best. Refugee ad-hock interpreters barely grasp the language, let alone American life for that matter. The lack of higher education is all to apparent and many of the ones that claim a university degree usually got their credentials in a print shop in Malaysia like the others who’ve flooded into America in recent years. Every college degree, certification, pastoral doctorate out of South Asia must be verified since fraud is the name of the game when it comes to immigrating to the US, and immigration fraud is rampant globally. And its the US taxpayer footing the bill.


An innocent Burmese man was in jail for six months because a lackluster ad-hock interpreter botched his case by claiming he admitted guilt when that was not the case. Whence the judge heard the complete story from a trained and certified professional interpreter, the mysterious Madam Butterfly, the refugee was promptly released from jail. I had to explained what to do with diabetes medication and testing supplies to a refugee who was left clueless about his condition by an ad-hock interpreter.


There were no instructions, no advice and absolutely no help. The interpreter just gave a totally inaccurate interpretation of what the doctor was trying to instruct the patient. After learning what the ad-hock told her client it was obvious this bonehead interpreter was only pretending to give the patient the doctors precise instructions. She was clueless and did not understand what the doctor was talking about or grasp the seriousness of her clients condition. Instructing a diabetic patient to count to 80, then count to 120, then take the bottle of insulin was not the doctor’s instructions. There was no instructions on how to use the syringe, alcohol wipes, test strips & device, maybe that was a good thing. The physician was unaware of this fiasco. But how could he possibly know? At least the NGO made their $100 and hour in interpretation fees.
Doctors, nurses must heed this warning because no matter how hard the medical team tries to assist a refugee patient their efforts are stymied by an interpreters inaccurate rendition of specific and detailed medical instructions a patient must follow before/after surgery or any other procedure or medication. A racially motivated or incompetent interpreter is a death sentence to the patient. Judges and attorneys should also take note of the need to have educated, qualified and certified interpreters at their disposal to maintain the integrity of their courtroom and judicial system.


Credentialed and certified translators educated in the myriad of western terminologies ranging from medical, legal and the professional world are the only viable solution to insure the refugee receives adequate medical care and justice under the law. Surely you would rather have a heart surgeon perform your triple bypass surgery rather than a butcher. So what if the butcher knows how to disembowel an animal carcass but that does not make him a heart surgeon.
The same theorem holds true when  it comes to interpreters, just because a person can speak English and Burmese does not qualify them to interpret in the legal, medical and professional world. Just remember, the interpreter must be in the same league as the doctors, nurses, attorneys, and judges educationally speaking. If not, then the interpreter becomes the weakest link in a change of professional and it will be the client/patient who will suffer in the end. 
It’s a no brainer that medical interpreters should meet US English proficiency standards and be totally cognizant of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy rules. As it were, there is little regard for the refugees privacy with ad-hock interpreters. They run their mouths and gossip about the clients within the Burmese communities they are supposed to serve. Refugees have a right to privacy like anyone else but unfortunately ad-hock interpreters are not trained or don’t care about the ethical responsibilities professional interpreters follow religiously.


There are cases where ad-hock interpreters misrepresented their clients on purpose or scammed them out of their food/cash allotments because of tribal and racial inequities. These cases are overshadowed by the sheer ineptitude and incompetence displayed by ad-hock interpreters in general. How many people already died needlessly from an inept interpreter’s incorrect and sometimes fatal medical instructions? How many refugees are in jails and prisons because of incompetent or racially motivated ad-hock interpreters? The reality is most refugees are fearful and untrusting of all authority figures and don’t say a word to anyone about the abuses. Opportunists know this weakness and use it to their financial advantage big time.
Unscrupulous social workers and ad-hock interpreters have joined forces with unethical American dental groups in recent years and ripped off the US taxpayers for millions of dollars. Is it really necessary to cap, crown, bridge or brace baby teeth?? Dental groups, sham pastors, social workers and ad-hock interpreters are making a fortune ripping off the government with bogus dental care for toddlers of refugees. If the government would do an audit on these aid and dental groups they will discover collusion and fraud since thousands of refugee children were given expensive dental care on BABY TEETH. Then they would repeat the services when the child was actually of age and in real need of caps, crowns, bridge or brace on PERMANENT TEETH. There is no question many refugees do need dental care whence they arrive in America but shaking down the US taxpayer with bogus dental work in toddlers is completely off the charts corruption wise. 


Of course the aid worker, interpreter, NGO, church or advocacy group would get massive donations or graft from these Dental Cartels for guiding their trusting flock of refugees to the dental clinic. Follow the money and you will find your fraudsters. It’s widespread throughout many refugee communities not just the Burmese community boys and girls. Maybe you will wake up when you discover refugee babies are getting fitted with dentures for that will be the next scam if we don’t start paying attention to what is happening right under our noses.
Housing is another point of contention and massive fraud since slumlords are in collusion with NGOs, interpreters and social workers to fill their dilapidated and outdated housing complexes. Then they charge the federal government premium price on rentals to refugees for a dump where rats and roaches rule the roost. Imagine, we the taxpayer are footing the bill for a $1,000 a month apartment that smells like a sewer with broken pipes, windows and staircases.
Cabinets are unhinged and the complex more resembles a post Armageddon landscape. Some housing projects for refugees had standing sewage on the lower levels of the complex. Surely these dumps were not worth $1,000 a month but who cares, they are only refugees and probably don’t know the difference, right? Don’t even get me started on the electrical in these high dollar slums. Some refugees consider their apartment complex ‘a prison with no fence’ with nowhere to go. It is not hard to see why they miss their beloved jungle back in Burma.


One thing a refugee must know is the fact you don’t have to quit your religion to become a member of another faith to get aid from an NGO that receives US government funding. If anyone tells you that you must convert from Buddhism to Christianity or any other faith to receive aid they are lying to you and his/her agency could lose their funding for it is against the law. Religious Extortionism: Refugees are pressured or intimidated by sham religious leaders into changing their faiths or they will not receive aid and human services. It’s not about saving their souls, it’s all about tithing and filling offering plates by targeting newcomers and their hefty refugee aid checks and food cards. Targeting refugees has become a cottage industry in the USA.


Dim bulb pseudo religious icons condone men buying women and kids from Malaysia then defrauding the U.S. welfare system with this ‘made to order’ bogus nuclear family, gads. It should be noted this is the minority and not the majority of the Burmese religious community. Legitimate religious leaders from all faiths are absolutely livid about these ‘fraudsters of the cloth’ since they are giving the Burmese community a bad name. I know many legitimate Christian, Buddhist and Muslim organizations with ethical leadership that walks their talk and don’t rip off their congregation in the process.


Their churches, temples and mosques reflect the love & dedication they have for G*D and their congregations. They actually help their people assimilate into this new world while offering them support and advice, with no strings attached. These religious organizations address the ever mounting social ills that are unique to the refugee experience. They also provide English workshops and support healthy family development while addressing cultural differences and assimilation. Their outreach programs don’t have a price tag on them and they actually care for their brethren refugee without picking their pockets.


A former Karen child soldier once told me he wished to go back home to Burma and would rather face the junta instead of live in this strange place called America. “You have to lie to live in America”, he said. An old Karen lady told me she should have let the junta kill her in the jungle rather than live in a country that charges people to sit under a tree. Her contention was that she thought America was free before she arrived but nothing could be further from the truth. “You have to pay for everything, even the water you drink”, she said.


Suicide has become common place within the Burmese refugee community in America as hopeless and disenfranchised refugees kill themselves out of despair. Refugees are struggling to keep their families out of drugs and other abuses. Parents must work nights, work long hours or work two jobs while their children are left to fend for themselves, with disastrous consequences. Sex, drugs and all the societal cancers that are destroying the minds of the American youth are destroying the minds of unsupervised latchkey refugee children. Some refugee families have lost control of their children and their apartment complexes more resembles Kyauk Thabaik, Mandalay where crime is king.


Racism and tribal hatred by Burmese against Burmese has gone to another level in America. Burmese who lie and cheat their fellow countrymen make General Supremo Than Shwe look like a boy scout and the Military Junta a group of choir boys. At least the junta was honest enough to let you know they wanted you dead or Burmanized, unlike ‘goodie goodie’ ad-hock interpreters and other aid workers who pretend to help you while ripping you off blind.
I am not trying to promote the junta or dissuade anyone from migrating to the USA. But for the potential refugee they must know what is actually happening within some of the Burmese communities so they can make an educated decision to migrate or stay home. Are you able to learn a new language and a completely new way of life in a technologically advanced society?
It is just to complicated to live in America for some people plain and simple. Life is complex even for an average US citizen, born and raised here. Technology and all it’s nuances are a very real part of daily life and some people can’t grasp this technologically diverse way of life for this is not the jungle anymore. One Burman told me that America is the ‘Concrete Jungle’. But for refugees who study hard, learn the language and culture America can be a most rewarding and life altering experience, provided they survive the ad-hock interpreter merry-go-round and the NGO thugs waiting for new arrivals at the airport, like vultures to carrion.


On a positive note there are Burmese immigrants who came to America years before there were refugee groups and NGOs eager to assist or rip them off as the case may be. They had to forge a new life in America on their own, without handouts, aid packages or interpreters. They faced insurmountable odds but still forged a new life from the ground up and it was not easy like it is today. These early arrivals came and learned the American way of life, it’s culture and language without the welcome wagon refugees receive now. For their efforts they did become successful business men and women, educators and doctors. They also preserved the Burmese cultural experience and continue to live and worship within their tradition while maintaining their new America  persona. 


Assimilating is not an impossible task but a refugee must be sincere in their pursuit of the American Dream whence they decide to migrate here. On the other hand fraudsters don’t really care to assimilate since they know they can go back to Burma if they get into trouble, unlike the true refugee who still has a price on their heads. Good thing is, the fraudsters days are numbered as local, state and federal authorities are made aware of the criminality that is being perpetrated within the Burmese refugee community in their jurisdictions.


The fact American NGOs, businessmen and other opportunists are involved in the various schemes to defraud the U.S. Government and taxpayers, its only a matter of time before arrests are made and in some cases deported. The paper and money trails are very easy to follow and the fraudsters are clearly identified in many documents and logs. In all fairness the corrupt dirt bags are the minority but they target the majority of the most trusting and vulnerable refugees, this is no coincidence. And its in defense of the most vulnerable and innocent refugees I am telling their story.


Your Devil’s Advocate
Buffalohair


© 2014, Buffalohair Productions. All rights reserved.
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Thursday, March 13, 2014

Buffalohair: Burmese Refugees: Save Your Kyats It Might Not Be Worth It (Part 2)


Burmese Refugees: Save Your Kyats, It Might Not Be Worth It (Part 2)

NYFreiheitsstatue2Though the ruling Military Junta of Burma is guilty of egregious crimes against humanity, these incidents do not involved ALL the tribes and states in Burma, not by a long shot. And for the record not every single Burmese soldier is a drug crazed rapist and murderer. The secret alliance to Aung San’s Panglong Agreement still lives in the hearts of many soldiers and officers, but that’s another story.

News travels fast in Asia and it is much more lucrative to enter the US as a refugee since you will be placed on the government and NGO dole for at least 8 months, free cash, food, medical and dental. Beats the heck out of immigrating legitimately for immigrants are not privy to the gravy trail of free aid refugees are given. The goal is to get on Social Security Disability by claiming you’re a ‘nut case’ and you will soon be eating with golden chop sticks. Why work?
Sadly, true refugees don’t run their mouths about abuses and torture they endured like the fraudsters. If you paid attention you would notice how easily the abuses pour out of fraudsters mouths. Clearly they don’t have an emotional link to the B.S. for if they did, they would not be so graphic about traumatic events that shook their lives to the core, ask anyone with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). For true sufferers of PTSD have a hard enough time trying to coping with their memories and triggers. Refugees rarely speak of the horrors they witnessed and experiences. The scammers will bend the ear of anyone who will listen.
It’s easy to tell others about abuses and paint a gory and barbaric tale of sorrow when you did not experience a thing. The tale of sorrow is either stolen from the mouths of actual refugees or scripted for the most impact. I hear these lies over and over as scammers try to get Social Security Disability or defraud immigration authorities. The real victims are not so willing to relive those horrific events and their suffering and PTSD never gets addressed. On the other hand, bogus refugees laugh all the way to the bank. The sickening part is the fact they boast about their ill gotten gains and share how they got over on the US welfare and Social Security System. 
Many legitimate refugees get stranded in Malaysia and end up living in impoverished conditions, near starvation with little sanitation in over crowded refugee centers. Medical care; horribly foreshortened to say the least. Some people chose to escape these prison like conditions through suicide out of desperation while others resigned themselves to living out their lives in a squalid refugee camp. Addictions & abuses of every kind and human trafficking are rampant in Malaysian refugee camps. Refugees who I’ve interviewed told of how easy it was to spot the sham refugees from Burma, China and India for they had power plants and other luxury accommodations. Their skin, smooth and soft to the touch, well groomed and wear designer clothing. Their time of struggling and hardships; the inconvenience of having to fill the generator with gas or suffer the disruption of a reading light or favored TV show. Paleeeeeze!
Affluent scammers would only stay in the refugee centers for a few months, then they would be dodgily selected and sent to America or other host nation. One legit refugee told me she was in a camp for 11 years before she got to the US, very common. Others died of disease and depression, waiting. School girls were frequently kidnapped in camps and sold into bondage. Infants would be stolen from refugees only to be fed to leeches in Thailand specialty restaurants.
The kidnapped refugee babies would be lowered into vats filled with leeches and the critters would feast on the rich baby fat blood of the infant. The end result would be fat succulent leeches served piping hot with the usual Asian vegetable fair, dash of garlic, tamarind, onion and steamed rice. Knowing female human fetus is an aphrodisiac and served as a broth filled stew in China, this is actually quite mild. Maybe it needs more sriracha sauce? Crimes against refugees have no boundaries nor limits and border on inhuman.
One Burmese missionary couple I know rescued very young children from traffickers in Malaysia. They truly are heroes in my eyes for this unassuming little couple risks their lives almost on a daily basis rescuing kids from armed traffickers, sometimes in a hail of bullets. Young children are a delicacy or ‘chicken’ to affluent pedophiles from around the world. Malaysian traffickers are notorious for satisfying this lucrative global demand for children.
For the right price a person can order a child or adult for any purpose the customers heart desires, even for human sacrifice and consumption and shipped to any nation in the free world. In some cases desperate refugee families would be coerced or forced to sell one of their kids to survive but that is another long and convoluted story. Gun barrel adoption is what I call it.
This IS the family friendly version of what refugees revealed about their journeys for it was a barbarously treacherous one for the most needy, the legitimate refugees escaping persecution & genocide. Their journey to America was paved in misery, blood and death by fellow refugees who only wanted a better life. By sheer luck these refugees finally arrive in America and for the most part their struggle to survive should have come to a conclusion, or so you think. Though they don’t need to worry about the military junta, life in the big city has a list of dangers the innocent and trusting refugees are totally unprepared to cope with.
Victimization by their own people is all to common since some unscrupulous previous arrivals are totally cognizant of the formidable aid packages new arrivals receive. The chain of refugee abuse in America begins here and it only gets worse for the less educated & affiliated people who are hapless, trusting and the truly legitimate refugee. Shy larks and opportunists take food cards and con the neophyte arrival out of their cash allotments leaving them broke and without means.
Some agencies that receive government funding have been taken over by a specific ethnic group who then only provide the best housing, aid and jobs to fellow tribal members under the noses of their American hosts. Racial hatreds and tribal differences are played out as if this were Burma and the legitimate refugee is persecuted once again.
In some cases refugees are forced to pay unscrupulous aid/social workers to find jobs and must shell out big bucks so these criminals will divulge information, jobs and other services. If they don’t have all the money they are forced to pay outrageous interest fees, under threat of deportation. They are forced to pay out most of their allotments leaving them with little to live on after they are ripped off by people in positions of authority. And you better believe that educated traffickers out of Malaysia are working for NOG’s here in the good ole USA and they are making the big bucks scamming refugees since they are in a position of authority.
Refugees caught in this ‘jobs/aid’ scam in the US are starving because they are being victimized and forced into paying bogus late fees for services that are free. Fearful of authorities, refugees don’t dare say a word because they believe these corrupt fellow countrymen have the authority to send them back to Burma. This is far from the truth and fact is the US authorities would be more than happy to learn about these miscreants who prey on their own people for this is not an isolated situation.
Your Devil’s Advocate
Buffalohair
© 2014, Buffalohair Productions. All rights reserved.
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Posted by Little Running Deer “Featured”, Buffalohair-Jage Press, Survival

Buffalohair: Burmese Refugees: Save Your Kyats It Might Not Be Worth It (Part 1)


Burmese Refugees: Save Your Kyats, It Might Not Be Worth It (Part 1)

kachin-idpFor the most part, migrating to the US has been a welcome blessing for a multitude of Burmese refugees. Discovering the key to success they assimilated, found a career and pursued the American Dream while giving their children opportunities never afforded them in their homeland. Unfortunately not all refugees share the euphoric bliss of liberation migrating has brought. For them, America has been a living hell from the moment of their arrival. All they dream of; is returning to their beloved Burma. In disrepair; others chose suicide as the only other option. Some refugees simply disappeared even before arriving in USA.

This tale is not about the hard working Burmese refugees, immigrants and political exiles who found their place in this complex society. This story is about the voiceless refugees who never assimilated the intricate mores of American modern society for one reason or another. It is also about the traffickers, shy larks and opportunists who prey on their fellow countrymen and milk the US taxpayer in the process. And, in some way, this is a memorial to the countless innocent & trusting refugees who where sold into bondage or murdered by traffickers & employers,………so they are not forgotten.
There is a saying, ‘The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence’ and for refugees the USA was ‘the other side of the fence’, ‘the promised land’ filled with greener pastures and golden opportunities. Sadly for a growing number of Burmese their field of dreams is nothing more than an illusion; lies told by unscrupulous human traffickers eager to take their money and in some cases the money of an entire village. In more than one instance refugees came to America not only to bring prosperity to their families but also to bring relief to their impoverished village back home. 
The promise of great fortune meant the village would soon have homes made of brick, not bamboo and possibly a new ox for the communal farm. In knapsacks, the hopes and dreams of a people was on their backs, bound for America. Maybe others would follow after their ‘ambassador’ was firmly situated in this new country. America, the land of plenty where they will find their fortune and save their village whence they landed in the good ole USA, hmm. Surely their countrymen would show them the way to riches, a home, flat screen TV and a Lexus because the roads are paved in gold in Amerika.
Traffickers painted a picture of hope and promise that was hard for impoverished villagers to ignore. All the traffickers needed was 2 million kyats to whisk the fortunate villager off to America and fortunes untold. The desperately needed cash would soon roll into the jungle village and life would finally be good. Sadly some Burmese refugees never made it to America for they were executed only miles from their village and tossed in shallow graves in the dense jungle, murdered for 2 million kyats. Others were betrayed then sold into bondage, burgeoning sweatshops and brothels throughout Asia, and worked to death. Thai fishing captains are notorious for murdering and dumping Burmese crewmen in the sea simply so they don’t have to pay them.
The fortunate ones who manage to arrive in Malaysia believe they finally reached civilization and safety. They can hook up with one of many NGO & religious organizations that ‘cater’ to refugees. And finally, they will reach the UNHCR where officials will either verify or issue a new nationality, tribal affiliation and birthday (1st of any month) that fits the criteria needed to qualify for ‘refugee status’, then it’s off to America.
The harsh reality; upon arrival to Malaysia, writhe with racial inequities, some refugees are subjugated because of their tribal affiliation back in Burma. The bitter irony is the fact these persecuted Burmese refugees are the hardest hit victims of genocide and tyranny who escaped rape, torture and death, not the burgeoning numbers of fraudsters side stepping immigration laws in Burma and the USA in favor of the more lucrative ‘refugee status’ designation.
The lucky ones who are tribally affiliated with one of the well lubed bogus NGO/Religious groups would immediately enter training to learn how to defraud the US government and acquire Social Security Disability and Retirement Benefits. The excuse is usually a well rehearsed mental condition from rape or other sensational traumatic experience designed to garner sympathy from naive westerners.
The list of American freebees delegated to the truly needy refugee has become the bucket of gold at the end of the rainbow for cunning and divisive immigrants. Immigration fraud is not isolated to just Burma for this is a global scam and the US taxpayers are the stooges footing the bill.
Your Devil’s Advocate
Buffalohair

© 2014, Buffalohair Productions. All rights reserved.
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Posted by Little Running Deer "Featured", Buffalohair-Jage Press, Burma, Local News, Survival

Judy