Refugees look forward to their new lives in America
TULSA — It had been about 15 years since Zam Piang had seen his mother and sister when he greeted Thang Dim, Don Vung and her three daughters at Tulsa International Airport on Tuesday night.
Amid claps and cheers from a welcoming committee of about 40 people, Piang hugged his nieces. Then he moved on to his mother, 72-year-old Dim, and sister, 42-year-old Vung.
Speaking Burmese and sobbing, they huddled together near the glass doors separating the airport terminal from the arrivals area, holding each other for several minutes. During the intimate, prolonged embrace, the family intermittently crossed an invisible threshold that caused an automated voice to repeat, “Stop. Do not enter.”
Watching the reunion that almost wasn’t, an onlooker responded to the disembodied voice, “That was two weeks ago.”
The five were the first group of refugees to arrive in Tulsa since President Donald Trump issued his controversial travel ban that temporarily barred travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries and all refugees — no matter country of origin — from entering the U.S.
At that point in late January when Trump signed the order, the family’s plane tickets had been purchased, apartments chosen, appointments made, belongings sold or given away.
The executive order canceled those plans for relocation and left Vung and many would-be travelers in limbo.
Vung said in the tumultuous days after the ban’s rollout, she was unsure when or if she’d ever be able to join her brother and his family in the United States. As she arrived to great fanfare in Tulsa, with the ban now overturned, she and her family didn’t have to wonder anymore.
Refugees in Tulsa
The five, who are from the country of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, and 14 Russian refugees all arrived in Tulsa late Tuesday. They were greeted by family, friends and a welcoming committee from Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Tulsa, whose members assist the U.S. State Department in resettling refugees.
Deacon David Hamel, Catholic Chartities programs director, said he’s called to help people, no matter who they are or where they’re from.
The group helps refugees with housing, transportation, health screenings, school enrollment and cultural orientation.
“Sometimes we just hear the negative piece of if they are coming here, why can’t somebody take care of them? Why does the government have to help?” he said. “And we just say there’s room for everybody.”
To acclimate the new arrivals to Tulsa, Catholic Charities always greets them at the airport. Then they take them to their apartments, where they will get to eat a homecooked meal.
Then comes a two-day cultural orientation session, where Catholic Charities helps the refugees learn American culture, laws and customs, Hamel said.
The arrival
After hugging her son, Dim, wearing a bluegreen sweater and a multicolored headscarf, made her way through the crowd, stopping every so often to shake hands with supporters.
As she walked, she covered her face with a wrinkled hand to hide her tears. Soon after their arrival, she and the other refugees stopped to listen to onlookers sing part of “America the Beautiful.”
When asked how she felt to be in Tulsa, Dim told reporters through a family member that she was excited to be in the United States and see her son’s children — her grandchildren — for the first time.
Vung, who unwittingly wore red to the Valentine’s celebration she nearly didn’t attend, hung back from her mother, who was flocked by television cameras and family members. She had tears in her eyes as she held two red heartshaped Valentine’s Day balloons and took in the scene around her.
She spoke to the Tulsa World through the help of 27-year-old Tuan Thang, who translated for her.
“They want to be here so bad, but they got canceled like two times already, and they were hopeless,” translated Thang.
After Trump’s executive order was issued, when the trip had been canceled, Vung said she and her family felt so bad that they couldn’t sleep.
All they could do was wait, uncertain if they’d ever be reunited with their families in the U.S.
The refugees’ experience during that limbo period moved Kirby MacKenzie, 31, and Emma Thadani, 29, to go to the airport Tuesday night and greet the refugees. They wanted them to know they were welcome in Tulsa.
“Everybody is a part of our community. I think it’s just especially important right now given the state of affairs in our country,” Thadani said. She carried signs reading “Welcome” and “Love > hate.”
MacKenzie’s said “welcome” in Burmese.
Now that she’s finally here, Vung said she is excited. Her plans include getting a job, spending time with her family and enrolling her children in school.