World Refugee Day 2009 celebrated

Catholic Charities welcomes families, raises awareness.

BOB REDDY | FLORIDA CATHOLIC VENICE BUREAU EDITOR

Posted: 07.02.09

Friends Jade and Katie, both 5, and refugees from Cuba, pose for photos during the Ninth Annual World Refugee Day Celebration.

BOB REDDY | FC
Friends Jade and Katie, both 5, and refugees from Cuba, pose for a photo during the Ninth Annual World Refugee Day Celebration.

EAST NAPLES | To be a refugee means having left your home and in many cases your family behind after living in abject fear. There was no fear for more than 100 refugees who gathered June 20 to celebrate the ninth annual World Refugee Day at Sugden Regional Park.

Underneath the park’s main pavilion were families and individuals from Cuba, Haiti, Colombia and Pakistan. They talked about their time here in the United States and how much they have been helped by Catholic Charities of Collier County.

Sharon Kirkpatrick, the refugee youth and family education director for Catholic Charities, said the goal of the day was to raise awareness about the issue of refugees in the area.

Refugees from Cuba, Haiti, Columbia, Pakistan and a dozen other countries gathered for the Ninth Annual World Refugee Day Celebration.

BOB REDDY | FC
Refugees from Cuba, Haiti, Columbia, Pakistan and a dozen other countries gathered for the Ninth Annual World Refugee Day Celebration.

BOB REDDY | FC
Children get hosed down by Firefighters.

“It is often a hidden issue that more people need to know about,” she said.

Farhat Naseem of Pakistan has been a beneficiary of the help of Catholic Charities for about three years. She embroiders adults’ and children’s clothing and sell it to raise money for her family. Her daughter, Sheetal, must also work two jobs to support the family.

Catholic Charities helps the family with food, rent and utilities, as well as basic transportation needs for the family because they don’t have a car.

“Without Catholic Charities we would be without hope,” Sheetal interpreted for her mother. “They do so much for us, more than we could ever repay.”

That story was repeated many times throughout the day.

A refugee is defined by the United Nations as a person outside of his or her country of nationality who is unable or unwilling to return because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion. The U.N. estimates there are more than 36 million refugees worldwide with more than 80 percent of them women and children.

A benefit of the celebration was also to bring smiles to those still struggling to adapt to living in the U.S. while still yearning to go back home some day, Kirkpatrick said.

Many of the refugees brought dishes of food from their native country adding to the hot dogs offered.

The children who came were given a chance to participate in games and win prizes. They met a talking robotic McGruff the Crime Dog from the Collier County Sheriff’s Office and were later gently sprayed with cold water by firefighters from the East Naples Fire District.

Catholic Charities, one of the largest refugee services in southwest Florida, has an agreement with the U.S. Department of State, administered by the Florida Department of Children and Families, to assist refugees with the process of social and economic adjustment for the 10-county area of the Diocese of Venice.

The Refugees Employed and Productive Program, Match Grant Program, and Employability Status Assistance Program connect prospective employers with resettled refugees to help them find full-time job opportunities and benefits. The Career Laddering Program assists refugees who were in a professional career in their country of origin obtain the education needed to find employment in the same or similar field.

The Refugee Youth and Family Program provides homework help and tutoring for students, family and individual counseling, career planning and support services, parent education and empowerment, cultural and educational family-centered activities, and school liaison services.

Several high school students, including a number from St. John Neumann High School in Naples, volunteer with Catholic Charities to help with the youth and family program.

“They help them learn English as a second language and provide tutoring to help in school to ensure that they succeed academically,” Kirkpatrick said. “We want (the refugees) to learn that going to college is something they can achieve.”

Phyllis Pacyna Fleming, Department of Children and Families Refugee Services Program Suncoast Region community liaison, said Catholic Charities is one of the key programs in helping refugees in the region.

“Catholic Charities has a reputation for helping refugees with a compassion that is unmatched,” she said. “It is known to the refugees in the area as the place they can trust, which is crucial in getting people to come in to get help.”

According to the most recent statistics compiled by the state, there are more than 500 refugees in Collier County alone and more than 1,000 in the 10-county Diocese of Venice. The majority of those refugees are from Cuba, but others are from Haiti, Iraq and Colombia.

“There are many more who are here but are afraid to seek help,” Kirkpatrick said. “We hope a day like this will let others know we are here to help, not to send them home.”

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