From the Roots to the Treetops: Reflections on the Town Hall for Emerging API Communities from Bhutan, Burma, Mongolia and Tibet

One of the greatest challenges faced by advocacy efforts is the lack of connection between government bodies, public agencies, and marginalized communities. The communities that need the most help and who have the most at stake are often left out of crucial policy discussions.  For years, non-profits like CHAA have worked with communities on the ground through direct services and programming in an attempt to address some of their most pressing needs. Though these efforts are crucial in providing much needed services, they are sometimes unable to provide an avenue for community voices to be heard by federal agencies.

Members of the local Bhutanese community 

A significant step towards bridging this gap took place on Saturday, April 28, 2012, when Community Health for Asian Americans (CHAA) and the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAAPI) co-sponsored a Town Hall meeting – “Connecting with Emerging Communities from Bhutan, Burma, Mongolia and Tibet” – at Cesar Chavez Education Center in Oakland, CA. The town hall/listening session was a unique opportunity for these diverse new communities to share their challenges directly with Obama Administration officials and representatives from several Federal Departments. Community partners included the Bhutanese Community in California, leaders from Bay Area refugee communities from Burma, Mongolian Student Nonprofit Organization in America, and the Tibetan Association of Northern California (TANC).

Performing artist Tashi, from the Tibetan Community

President Obama reestablished the WHIAAPI in October 2009 to increase access and participation of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) in policy development, programs and services across the Federal government. The administration appointed several representatives to conduct outreach to communities all over the county in order to facilitate and build this participation. More information on the initiative can be found here (http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/aapi/about). WHIAAPI Commission Chair, Daphne Kwok, had previously met with the diverse Burmese refugee community in Oakland last August. There was great enthusiasm and interest expressed by the community members attending that meeting in connecting with government representatives about their issues. Further discussions and planning for a larger event for new and emerging API communities followed.
With these needs in mind, CHAA’s API Connections team and members of targeted communities began planning the month before the event. The planning body included representatives from each community to be represented at the town hall. The communities held their own planning discussions in preparation for their involvement in the Town Hall. Everyone worked to ensure that the event would have adequate interpretation for community members, informative presentations for federal officials and carefully selected community stories that could illustrate their most significant needs and challenges.
The April 28^th Town Hall meeting featured a program that included presentations by representatives of the Bhutanese, Burma refugee, Mongolian and Tibetan communities. The event also showcased cultural song and dance from each of the communities, a multicultural lunch with foods from each of the participating communities, and intensive dialogue sessions between individuals and community leaders with local, state, and federal representatives. These roundtable discussions enabled the communities to voice their concerns, exchange ideas, and connect with those who have the access, information and resources to deliver much-needed services.

Cultural items from the Mongolian Community

In the beginning of the day each cultural group set up their own sections and tables, complete with cultural artifacts, flags and banners. The room was alive with diversity and excitement as men wearing ‘say p’lo’, red traditional shirts from the Karen community, listened attentively to translations of the agenda while Bhutanese children wearing colorful traditional clothes ran throughout the auditorium. The event held an interesting mix of people – from government officials in suits, to Tibetan community leaders in traditional clothes. This was an incredible and unique opportunity for federal officials to get a glimpse into the lives of these communities.

Organizer Mary Nicely, CHAA Executive Director Beatrice Lee and CHAA Associate Director Sean Kirkpatrick began the presentations with inspirational words before introducing a few a traditional dance and music numbers from the Tibetan community. Classically trained Tibetan artist, Tashi performed a dance while playing a traditional musical instrument.

Event organizer Mary Nicely addresses the crowd

Community presentations after the performances were a crucial learning tool for event participants. The presentations covered group histories- from their lives in their homelands and the reasons for their migrations to the United States. There were tales of war, occupation, refugee camps and economic shifts that led to mass immigration. These backstories could get lost or overlooked within a broad API context, yet here the stories stood on their own, to be shared and understood by the federal officials. Mongolians spoke of economic insecurities that caused many in their community to seek a better life in the United States. They spoke about supporting the DREAM Act (the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act), an important piece of legislation that would help many undocumented students from the Mongolian and other API communities. The Burma refugee community presented on their diverse ethnic groups, and the fierce persecutions they faced with Burmese borders that caused millions to flee as refugees. They outlined issues of accountability regarding refugee resettlement services and a strong need for English language learning, which has been made unavailable to many refugees due to severe budget cuts. The Tibetan community shared stories of their growing blue-collar work force made up of educated individuals who lacked opportunities due to a dearth of adequate job support services.  The Bhutanese community outlined issues of public safety issues, since many refugees from their community are forced to live in high crime areas due to lack of economic resources. The Bhutanese also highlighted the lack of programs for women and the lack of continued support for refugee resettlement. The unique stories and journeys of each group detailed the significant issues they face as they work to adjust to their new homes in the United States.

Jain Thapa presents on the Bhutanese community

Over lunch, attendees were welcomed by Dr. Marye Thomas, Director of Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services, heard a moving personal story by Thuan Nguyen, California State Refugee Coordinator, and a presentation on the California Reducing Disparities Project’s API Report on mental health prevention and early intervention recommendations to the State Department of Mental Health from Rocco Cheng from Pacific Clinics.

The heart of the event’s purpose came after lunch, when each group was given the chance to directly communicate with representatives of attending government agencies, including the Justice Department, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, and The Department of Labor.  Officials moved from community table to community table, explaining the services provided by their departments and addressed the questions and issues presented to them by community members. Many community members shared their struggles in the workplace and challenges with getting employment in the first place. Communities relayed housing and language concerns, with federal officials listening intently and offering their best answers to the questions and concerns. Officials spent much of their time listening intently, taking in information regarding needs and concerns of the communities. These included many needs shared by almost all immigrant communities, yet there are issues unique to these newer immigrant communities that may not be not understood fully without more context and personal stories.

WHIAAPI Commissioner Daphne Kwok speaks with the Tibetan community

A member of the Bhutanese community spoke to the Department of Health and Human Services spoke about the issues he had with healthcare. He told the story of his wife, who had a problem with her leg as well as sleep problems and had been waiting for over a year for a doctor’s appointment. A member of the Burmese community described his experience of going to the local housing department and being told to “bring his own interpreter.” Others relayed their struggles with being unable to access public housing due to employment requirements. A young student from Mongolia shared the fears and uncertainties they faced while growing up undocumented in this country. The student spoke of the lack of options people in his situation faced and how it was difficult to pursue opportunities for a better life. A high school senior from the Tibetan community expressed his concerns regarding mental health and acculturation. “We are very depressed and we need support,” he said.  Others spoke about the underemployment of the Tibetan workforce, and told the stories of doctors and other professionals who were unable to find jobs in their fields here in the US. The federal officials engaged in these conversations. Many offered some answers or provided resources related to the issues that were discussed. Other times, they made notes as to what could be improved or changed to better serve these communities.

Dept of Health and Human Services, Kay Strader listens to the Mongolian community

As the time for discussions was winding down, community members were still brimming with topics to discuss and stories to tell. Community members would have stayed all night discussing their issues if possible; this was a novel and rare opportunity for them to directly approach agency representatives and decision-makers with their questions.
The event ended with a closing statement from event organizer Mary Nicely, who applauded the communities and officials for taking hours out of their Saturday to build critical communication for future work. Commissioner Daphne Kwok lauded the event’s success. She spoke of the need for more town halls in the future to expand the connections being made that day and to continue the crucial exchange of information between agencies and API communities. 

Many of the community leaders reflected on the importance of the town hall event. Tenzin “Tsedup” Wangdu, the Board President of the Tibetan Association of North America, reflected that “the Tibetan community has lots of refugees. It gave us appreciation to navigate through services on county and state levels.” Jantsan Damdinsuren, President of the Mongolian Students Non-Profit Organization in America, was appreciative of the opportunity to have the Mongolian community connect directly to government representatives. “It was a great opportunity for emerging immigrant low-income communities in the Bay Area,” he said. “It was an opportunity to voice our issues.” The government representatives were also grateful for this opportunity. “I loved it, it was wonderful. I have been to other listening sessions, but this was different. It was very touching to see the commitment to people from emerging communities to making their lives in this country better,” said Kay Strawder from the Department of Health and Human Services, Region IX.

Officials with Bhutanese community members

We at CHAA also loved the event, and are working on next steps with the communities, the White House Initiative on AAPIs, and with the departments represented at the Town Hall. The Town Hall’s success has broken ground for future efforts. The government and federal agencies cannot help communities they do not know about. The 2010 Census was important for this reason: it gave the federal government a better, if imperfect, picture of different constituencies and the services they may need. Refugee and marginalized API communities are oftentimes missing from this picture, and town halls such as this are an important step to making sure that they are included, honored and heard. Helping emerging API communities in their efforts to be represented in decisions that impact their lives realizes CHAA’s vision of bringing changes to the larger systems, changes that will hopefully improve the quality of life and services for these new immigrant communities.

CHAA would like to thank Federal Officials, the WHIAAPI and
Community members for coming out and making the event a great success!