http://allafrica.com/stories/200507070977.html

America's Gift to War-Ravaged Nations: Permanent Residency for Liberians And Sierra Leoneans

Liberian Observer (Monrovia)
OPINION
July 7, 2005
Posted to the web July 7, 2005

By Torli H. Krua


Unable to return home and not allowed the opportunity for survival in the U.S., over 5000 Liberian and 2700 Sierra Leonean refugees on American soil find themselves without temporary protection and hope and without the means to meet their basic human needs of food, clothing, and shelter.

An old Chinese proverb says: "If your vision is for a year, plant wheat. If your vision is for ten years, plant trees. If your vision is for a lifetime, plant people." The American tradition of offering a safe haven to traumatized refugees and torture survivors is an example of how the United States continues to invest in people from nations all over the world. Armed conflicts around the world force thousands of grief-stricken and broken-hearted people to come to the United States. They come, like the people from Liberia and Sierra Leone, to escape horrible civil war and torture. Others are stranded in the United States when unrest strikes and they have no place to go, because survival has become impossible in their countries plagued by conflicts.

A recycling process

Many people stranded in the United States soon find only more struggles. Many are not allowed to work to sustain themselves and their families, nor are they able to access social services reserved only for U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and refugees resettled by the US government. Still many cannot acquire the skills and education needed to rebuild their war-ravaged countries. Unable to return home and not allowed the opportunity for survival in the U.S., over 5000 Liberian and 2700 Sierra Leonean refugees on American soil find themselves without temporary protection and hope and without the means to meet their basic human needs of food, clothing, and shelter. Just as re-cycling reprocesses materials, instead of trashing them, and puts them to valuable use, many of the hopeless refugees without legal status in America may be the best hope for their countries and families. If only US citizens and the US government can afford the necessary compassion and give them a chance of a new beginning.

The United States government has responded to the plight of victims stranded on American soil due to natural disaster and armed-conflict. In 1990, as part of the Immigration Act of 1990 ("IMMACT"), P.L. 101-649, Congress established a procedure by which the Attorney General may provide Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to aliens in the United States who are temporarily unable to safely return to their home country because of ongoing armed conflict, the temporary effects of an environmental disaster, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions. TPS is a temporary immigration status granted to eligible nationals of designated countries (or parts thereof) to live and work legally in the United States.

Making ends meet: Tough on Most

An excellent example of why granting legal status to refugees helps in the rebuilding process can be seen in this true story of the success of Mary Paye, a Liberian. Mary Paye, a single parent whose Nursing education at Cuttington University College was shattered by the Liberian Civil War was granted TPS in the USA.

With TPS she was allowed to work and pay taxes in the USA, but could not live in public housing, obtain student loans, or qualify for financial aid to complete her education. Determined to excel, over the next ten years, Ms. Paye worked two jobs to support her son and successfully completed training for Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) and Registered Nurse (RN) without the assistance of the US Federal government's Financial Aid or Student Loans. Now Ms. Paye plans to apply her skills toward the rebuilding of Liberia by returning home. Additionally, her son recently graduated from high school and was admitted to Cornell University. He plans to study Civil Engineering with the dream of returning to help rebuild the bridges and buildings destroyed by Liberian warlords. In my view, the determination and resilience of the Payes demonstrates the valuable rewards of self-reliance that is worthy of emulation. Why would anyone deny traumatized refugees temporary protection?

On March 1, 2003, pursuant to the Homeland Security Act of 2002, Public Law 107-296, the authority to designate a country (or part thereof) for TPS and to extend and terminate TPS designations was transferred from the Attorney General to the Secretary of Homeland Security. At the same time, responsibility for administering the TPS program was transferred from the Immigration and Naturalization Service to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

'Emergency Situation'

People trying to resettle in their ravaged communities continue to face difficult challenges in re-establishing their livelihoods. Food insecurity and the lack of meaningful empowerment facilities, particularly for women and youths, in terms of income generating activities are now creating the post war emergency situation."

From a report published by the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance on Sierra Leone citing an ongoing post war emergency- May 13, 2005

During the period for which a country has been designated under the TPS program, TPS beneficiaries may remain in the United States and may obtain work authorization. However, TPS does not lead to permanent resident status. When the TPS designation of a country is terminated, beneficiaries revert to the same immigration status they maintained before. Unfortunately, the impact of natural disasters and armed conflicts lasts for decades, far beyond the one-year TPS, making a community and human remedy a necessity.

Nearly, 5000 Liberians, including many evacuated by the US military in June 2003, with their American-born children have been denied access to safety-net benefits and permits to work. On November 18, 2003, the entire Massachusetts Delegation to Congress (12 members of Congress including John Kerry and Ted Kennedy) appealed to the US Department of Homeland Security to grant TPS to all Liberians who entered the USA because of ongoing-armed conflict in Liberia. The US Department of Homeland Security refused to honor the request from Congress without any justification. The Liberians in question cannot work, support their families or even acquire education in the United States like Ms. Paye.

The Liberians are not alone. On May 2, 2004, over 2700 refugees from Sierra Leone's barbaric civil war saw their work permits terminated - many have American-born children living in extreme difficulties. All these victims are stranded in America while the devastation in their native countries continues to make it unsafe for them to return home. One year after termination of their work permits and the disruption of the lives of these Sierra Leonean refugees residing in the USA, the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance published a situation report on Sierra Leone citing an ongoing post war emergency. The report published on May 13, 2005 said, " People trying to resettle in their ravaged communities continue to face difficult challenges in re-establishing their livelihoods. Food insecurity and the lack of meaningful empowerment facilities, particularly for women and youths, in terms of income generating activities are now creating the post war emergency situation."

According to a recent Associated Press news article, "The US House of Representatives approved an 82-billion-dollar emergency budget for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan that also includes 656 million dollars to aid victims of last year's tsunami in the Indian Ocean ." Paid by taxpayers, this cost of the liberation of Iraq and Afghanistan thousands of miles away has been approved by Democrats and Republicans. At the same time, here at home, young and vulnerable US citizens are put at risk because of direct government actions against refugee parents denied TPS. The government is giving away billions of dollars thousands of miles away in the name of liberation and compassion for tsunami victims, and at the same time, they are denying defenseless refugees, who survived torture, war, and environmental disasters, permits to work and support their families. The message and logic make no sense to me.

Imagine the trauma of leaving home for work or school in the morning and never returning because your home, family, and dreams have been instantly washed away by civil war or natural disaster - gone forever! In such situations, the bare minimum a community of human beings can do is show love and compassion, being fully cognizant that life on earth is full of swift transitions to which the rich and poor are susceptible. Beyond the mere feeling of sympathy and sorrow, it is our obligation as human beings to create in advance a safety net and infrastructures guaranteeing the basic necessities needed by such victims to support life: food, clothing, and shelter. Through these we can support the resilience of the human spirit and assist victims in their life-long healing process from the trauma and indelible scars of loss We ask that the USA do for Liberians and Sierra Leoneans exactly what they have done for other refugees similarly situated. According to Senator Jack Reed, D-RI, "Few groups who have received protected status have remained in this immigration limbo longer than the Liberians. In the time since the Liberians left their homeland because of a bloody civil war, Congress has passed a law allowing 4,996 Poles, 387 Ugandans, 565 Afghanis and 1,180 Ethiopians to adjust their status. The 102nd Congress passed a law to change the status of over 50,000 Chinese nationals who had been granted DED after the Tiananmen Square massacre. And when Congress passed legislation known as NACARA, 150,000 Nicaraguans, 5,000 Cubans, 200,000 El Salvadorans and 50,000 Guatemalans also became eligible to change their status."

In conclusion, given the immense contributions many Liberians and Sierra Leoneans have made to the United States in the past 15 years, it's time the US helps these people put together their broken lives and broken countries. Granting permanent residency to all Liberian and Sierra Leoneans refugees currently on American soil is the best foreign aid the United States can give in rebuilding Liberia and Sierra Leone because legal status makes self-reliance possible. These people can acquire the education, skills, and resources and return to rebuild their native countries.

A lot of Failures

At the end of the day, the USA may give millions of dollars in foreign aid to government officials. However, the investment that would impact a lifetime is an investment in the people of Liberia and Sierra Leone. Failure to promote self-reliance by investing in the people would only result in a culture of dependence abroad and an unnecessary humanitarian crisis like the current crisis brewing in the USA. Consistent with the policy of compassionate conservatism, I ask President George Bush to lend his voice and help promote self-reliance through the granting of legal status to Liberians and Sierra Leoneans on American soil.