After years in a refugee camp, a land full of gibberish-speaking giants and strange customs became a Burmese family’s new home.
The La family, who lived in Thailand’s Ban Mai Nai Soi camp, were accepted for relocation to the U.S. after a 17-year wait.
They arrived at the beginning of April, but they didn’t do it alone.
Many people helped this dream come true for the La family.
Lutheran Family Services has a program where they help refugee families start their new lives in Omaha. The families are provided with an apartment and three months rent.
While this is generous and very helpful, more supplies are needed for refugees to relocate successfully to the U.S.
That is where Dr. Jill Brown, a Creighton psychology professor, comes in. She and her multicultural psychology class helped sponsor the family and make their transition smooth.
Many members of the class made donations of time, money and material goods. They furnished the apartment with items ranging from beds, chairs and tables to entertainment centers, lamps and decorations.
Brown rented a moving van, and she and a few students picked up donated furniture from apartments and houses all around the Creighton area.
They and several more students moved the furniture into the apartment. They arranged everything, put decorations on the walls and talked about how excited they were for the La family to see everything.
“Often times we don’t have the ability to know others who are really different than us,” Brown said.
“Knowing this, I really wanted to help my students have the experience of being in the presence of others different from themselves.”
After the apartment was ready, many of the students showed up at Omaha’s Eppley Airfield airport to greet the family as they set foot on American soil for the first time.
The students made a welcome sign and did their best to make the La family feel at home. They also helped by carrying luggage and accompanying the family to their new home.
By the time they arrived at their apartment, there was food in the cupboards, and some conveniences, such as bus passes, were sitting on the counter.
A translator helped facilitate communication, as well as explain the uses of appliances in the apartment.
“It was really amazing,” said Tim Barth, Arts & Sciences senior, “seeing them learn how to use running water for the first time. I’m glad we had the opportunity to help them.”
The family of four was very grateful, and the translator taught them how to express it
in English.
Each of the parents, as well as their 17-year-old son, said “thank you” at least a dozen times each while their 7-year-old boy played with a toy car on the kitchen floor.
The experience may have changed more than just the refugee family’s lives.
“I really enjoyed this experience,” said Brendan Murphy, Arts & Sciences senior. “I learned a lot. I would recommend that more classes try to do this in the future.”