MI Bhutanese Urge Congress to Support Funding for Refugees!
Dear Michigan Senators and Representatives,
Recently, the US House has passed a bill that will significantly cut the budget for refugee resettlement and International Disaster Assistance (IDA). More specifically, the cuts take away 45% of aid in Migration and Refugee Assistance (MRA) and 67% of aid in International Disaster Assistance (IDA). These small cuts to the overall budget are not worth the human suffering and destabilizing impact they will have.
Refugee resettlement work is absolutely necessary for the families that have been suffering in their home countries. Many have gone through significant trauma and have suffered from lack of food, clean water, medical care, and more. They come from truly desperate situations to be resettled in the United States. The impact on hundreds of refugee families currently residing in West Michigan would be significant! Funding for the US Resettlement program would be halved and support for post 6 month programs would be dangerously limited, with certain support programs completely eliminated! Without this support, refugee families would be almost on their own in trying to adjust to life in the US. Many more refugees, including the family members of those residing in the US, are currently receiving minimal amounts of food aid abroad, and this support would be cut in half. This could have disastrous consequences for the survival of many who are already living in very poor conditions and surviving on insufficient amounts of food.
As a senator or representative of our state, you have the opportunity to stand up for this necessary support for refugee resettlement. We want you to take a stand against internal refugee budget cuts and send a message to other politicians that cutting the budget for refugees is not an option.
We, the undersigned, are the Bhutanese refugees who will feel the impact of your decision to act on our behalf or to not voice our concerns. The US government has made a commitment to accept 60,000 Bhutanese refugees desperately seeking asylum. This number would be drastically reduced by any cuts. We are the people who you have promised to protect and to support. We are the ones fearing for the lives of our families overseas. We hope that you will see our names and see us as people who have experienced much persecution and trauma, but are ready to start anew and to make a difference in a new country if we are only given the opportunity.
Sincerely, The Bhutanese Refugee Community of Michigan
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