South Texas Catholic (Corpus Christi, Tex.), Vol. 19, No. 69, Ed. 1 Friday, November 30, 1984 Page: 1 of 16
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Vol. XIX, No. 69 Serving the 314,812 Catholics in the Diocese of Corpus Christi November 30,1984
Charities’ resettlement program helps refugees
By Rachelle Parry
STC staff writer
CORPUS CHRISTI—Nhan Nguyen arrived at
Corpus Christi International Airport two days before
Thanksgiving with very few belongings and even fewer
words of English. But he carried with him the hope of a
new start in the United States, away from the oppres-
sion of his homeland—Vietnam.
With the assistance of a Vietnamese interpreter in
an interview the next day, Nhan explained the first
thing he wants to do is apply to bring his wife and six-
year-old son to Texas to live with him. A photographer
for II years in Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam,
Nhan said he hopes to get a job connected in some v\.
with his profession.
Speaking briskly but softly in their native tongue,
Nhan, and the interpreter. Khuong Thi Bui of
Angiang, South Vietnam, discussed his future as
they sat on a couch in the foyer of Catholic Social Ser-
vices of Corpus Christi (CSSCC), a department of
Catholic Charities Inc.
The Corpus Christi office, located at 1650 S.
Brownlee and headed bv Missionary Servant of the
Most Blessed Trinity Sister Rose Philip, is one of four
offices in the diocese. Programs CSSCC offers include
pregnancy counseling, youth and family counseling,
senior adults and emergency aid arid resettlement.
Nhan. Khuong and hundreds of refugees like them
are beneficiaries of the resettlement program, which
started in the- summer of 1977 and began in earnest the
following year.
Our Lady of Charity Sister There.se Blanchette, a
certified social worker with the state, has been with the
program since the beginning.
She explained CSSCC has assisted refugees from
three basic regions—Vietnam (with some from Cam-
bodia and Laos), Poland and Cuba. How long those
programs are carried out depends on directives from
the regional refugee resettlement office in Fort Smith,
Ark., a branch of the United States Catholic Con-
ference (USCC). Out of a quota of 270,000 people ad-
mitted into the United States each year, 72,000 are
refugees from all over the world and the rest are im-
migrants.
The difference between a refugee and an immigrant,
Sister Blanchette said, is that the former is “a person
who is persecuted—who has escaped from a country
that is taken over by war/’ An immigrant is “anyone
who leaves his country for any reason.” She pointed
out hunger does not qualify someone for refugee
status.
Most of the refugees presently entering this region
through the Arkansas office are from Southeast Asia,
coming in great numbers since the fall of Vietnam in
1975 and Cambodia in 1978. They all must first spend
time in one of three refugee processing centers in
Thailand; Galang, Indonesia; and Bataan, Philip-
pines, she said.
Once he reaches Corpus Christi, a refugee (very
often a whole family) is picked up at the airport and
taken either to CSSCC or to one of the two houses the
diocese owns in Corpus Christi as temporary housing
for refugees.
Then the refugee is taken to the Social Security Of-
fice to receive a number and to the county health
department for a checkup Meanwhile, Our Lady of
Charity Sister Patrick Bruen looks through the
classified ads in the newspaper for jobs and makes in-
terview appointments. And Sister Blanchette takes the
refugee to his interviews, usually to places that has
previously hired refugees through the resettlement pro-
gram.
“When he gets enough money/’ she continued,
“we help him find a cheap apartment.” The object is
to help him become self-sufficient as quickly as possi-
ble.
The CSSCC resettlement program is intended to
last about 90 days, its director explained. “Some ask
for more follow-up for help with shopping or money
management, but as far as I know, no refugee we spon-
sored is on welfare.”
Moving to an alien land can be traumatic;
thankfully, each refugee has the choice to which state
he wants to go, but not to what city, unless he has a
family already living there.
To locate families, a journal of all their names and
addresses is sent from the Arkansas office to the
refugee camps and to the office here.
The CSSCC's resettlement program has assisted
about 200 families since she has been with the pro-
gram, the Sister said, 25 families (85 people) this year.
When asked if her office helps Central American
refugees, Sister Blanchette replied they pass through
this are' ,n the way to bigger cities. The situation is
controversial as the U.S. government disputes their
claim that many are escaping from political oppres-
sion.
Although CSSCC has aided some Cuban families,
few have chosen to stay in this area; on the other hand,
“Vietnamese are very well accepted in this communi-
ty,” she said, as are the Polish. And the Laredo
Nhan Nguyen, 31, talks to Khuong Thi Bui the
day after he arrived in Corpus Christi (STC
photo by Rachelle Parry)
Khuong Thi Bui helps Sister Therese Blan-
chette, OLCf prepare Thanksgiving baskets for
refugees and needy families. (STC photo by
Rachelle Parry)
department of Catholic Charities is very active in
assisting Hispanic families.
This community has contributed to the success of
the resettlement program, Sister Blanchette said,
through their donations and support. For Thanksgiv-
ing CSSCC employees made food baskets from dona-
tions, and some refugees have been “adopted” by area
families.
A special celebration for the Vietnamese com-
munity—including Mass celebrated by Vietnamese
Father Joseph Liete and a Christmas party—will be
held Saturday, Dec. 22, in Emmanuel Chapel at the
cathedral, said the Sister.
Khuong Thi Bui, 41, said she and her family of four
are anticipating the special Christmas Mass as well as
their New Year celebration. After a harrowing escape
from Vietnam over five years ago, they settled here
and have slowly prospered, especially she says, because
of the assistance of, and her job with, the resettlement
program.
“When we left, we didn’t have shoes,” Khuong
recalled, “just like people who come cut of jungle.”
A Buddhist converting to Catholicism, she con-
tinued, “Before l escape, 1 pray with Him (pointing
upward) to help my family. We don’t have lot of
things, compared with my people, but we are very
lucky.”
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Bilton, William G. South Texas Catholic (Corpus Christi, Tex.), Vol. 19, No. 69, Ed. 1 Friday, November 30, 1984, newspaper, November 30, 1984; Corpus Christi, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth840718/m1/1/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .