We have 36 Montagnard Refugees fled from Phnom Penh refugees to UNHCR in Bangkok, Thailand; and, surrender to UNHCR at Thailand. Right now, They were living in fearful, hungry, no place to lives, don't know what's going to happen for tomorrow. Despite, they were being hopeless in Vietnam; Hanoi regime still haven't allow for them able to practice beliefs in Vietnam yet; either, Hanoi is mistreats Montagnard Christian as seem alike they are not human being. Hanoi allow those who agree to worship their God's (Ho Chi Minh)no Name of Jesus Christ is allow to worship yet. Everyday, they were facing threatening, arrested, harm overwhelmingly. Absolutely, they are not want to leave their beloved-one their spouse because economic problems as according the propaganda of Communist Vietnam said. They have no choice my living is waiting for to die. This people walk a long trip from Vietnam to Cambodia very dangerous in jungle fasten to get in Phnom-penh maybe for another hope to live in peace from persecution, on the way; always said, "WE WILL MEET WITH U.N OR PEOPLE OF SAME our BELIEF OF DEMOCRACY AND FREEDOM, THEY may greeting US better. A big shock and grieving, when UNHCR had given a letter for denied their case and return them to Vietnam. UNHCR have thrown them into fire burn and UNHCR to put them back into jail. On Last week of July, 2008 were 25 people return to Rahlan Lam Lieutenant Colonel Police of Gialai, Pleiku province. Today, one of them name Y Thanh Buonkrong return to Buon Ea Enaih, Daklak, Vietnam. On Yesterday on July 19, 2008 communist comes to His Home and threat and want to arrest Him again. In April, I have report for Pastor A Dung and three other still now we do not know where are they?
For this reason these are 36 names Montagnards have ran to Thailand may be aways distance for the Hanoi can come get them to take back to Vietnam.
They names as the following:
1. Y Soai Eban, 2.Y Djom Enuol,3. Y Phuoc Eban, 4.Y Thoat Knul, 5. H'Ra Zoen, 6. H'Wan Bya, 7. H'Huynh Bya, 8. Y Juel Bya, 9. Y Preck Mlo, 10. H Lieu Ayun, 11.Y Nobel Mlo, 12. Y Dona Mlo; 13.Y Pren Mlo, 14. Y Hung Ktla, 15. Y Kan Nie, 16. Y Mien Eban, 17. Y Bih Kbuor; 18. Y Khuc Ktla; 19. H Wuon Kbuor, 20. Kpuih Gut, 21. Kpa Guin; 22. Rahlan Hleo; 23. H Ber Rmah; 24. H'Tem Siu. 25. H Nheo Rahlan; 26. Ksor Den;27. Siu Gin; 28. Y Dhanh Eban; 29. Y Luyen Eban; 30. Y Nhet Nie; 31.Y Dham Adrong; 32. Y Dan Nay; 33. H Eo Kanouly; 34. Y Huec Nie; 35. Y Jonny Knul; and 36. Y Druin Knul.
I am the Montagnard Pastor of The United Montagnard Christian Church, in America and Vietnam. On August 2nd, 2008, We would like invite You, Your Church to join us pray for Montagnard Refugees in Cambodia and Thailand. Also, Please, pray for United Montagnard Christian Church for allow them to practice their beliefs in Freedom. this Church (UMCC) not thing to do or affiliates with Politic Organization. Our Mission how to Preach, teach regarding in John 14: 6. Jesus said, "I am the Ways, the truth, and the Life", we are agree to preach gospel of Christ to every ear should heard. To show the people the salvation of Jesus Christ for nation. We are sharing sorrow with those are suffering in jail in Vietnam and an advocacy for them in overseas. we will faithfulness to speak-out for these Christian seeking to pray and to save from any harm.
RECOMMENDATION:
1. Please pray for these people able to resettlement to US or third country.
2. Please pray for UNHCR must have all The Montagnard Refugees must approve the case
and do not return them Hanoi.
3. Please give offer donation money to help these Refugees have food, money to pay
rent in Bangkok until they are eligible under UNHCR take over to supervise on
them.
4. You can donation money through our Church Organization, and we will give you
receipt for your tax purpose.
Further information, Please contact us at Revumcc@yahoo or Revyhinevangel@juno.com
or send the check at The United Montagnard Christian Church, 1204 Picard street, Greensboro, NC 27405. May God bless upon You forever. Reverend Y Hin Nie.Montagnard Refugee Protection Issues in Vietnam and Cambodia
July 30, 2008
Concerns
1. Montagnard refugees who seek sanctuary at UNCHR sites in Cambodia are being forced back to Vietnam. UNHCR continues to reject Montagnards who are forced back to Vietnam to face imprisonment, beating, isolation, house arrest and constant surveillance by local security.
2. There is extreme hardship experienced by refugees at the UNHCR sites in Cambodia including pervasive fear, anxiety, uncertainty caused by lack of information from UNHCR, and psychological trauma caused by witnessing other refugees who are being beaten and placed on trucks for deportation to Vietnam. Refugees also fear the Cambodia security police who are sometimes present in the UNHCR interview. The refugees are fearful that these Cambodian police are connected to the Vietnamese security. They are painfully aware that the Cambodia security and the Vietnamese security cooperate in deporting Montagnards who cross the border seeking asylum.
3. In the refugee review process with UNHCR, refugees cite: there is inadequate time to tell their story, refugees are not given the opportunity to disclose deeper details about their fear and trauma in Vietnam, psychological factors such as extreme fear and trauma are not being assessed or even identified by the UNHCR reviewers, applicants are being forced by the UNHCR staff to sign a Declaration of Understanding, including Item #7 in which they do not agree with or do not fully understand the document because the document is written in a language they do not understand or the information is verbally communicated to the applicant in a language they do not understand. The refugees do not wish to sign an agreement that forces them to return to Vietnam.
4. The use of Vietnamese speaking translators and 3 tiered translations with Vietnamese to Cambodian language and Cambodian Jarai dialect to English, create errors in communication which impact refugee assessment.
5. The Lautenburg criteria is not being implemented by UNHCR staff or fully implemented by DHS/USCIS staff as an option for resettlement for those Montagnards who have been rejected by UNHCR. Montagnards who have fled from Vietnam to Cambodia because of their ethnicity and their well-founded fear of persecution in Vietnam, should be accepted by UNHCR and by USCIS/DHS unless there is compelling evidence to contradict the Montagnard refugee claim and refugee eligibility.
6. There is inconsistency in the refugee review process and which applicants get a second interview. Applicants are unaware or unsure of the processing time for their review.
7. There is either no NGO representation allowed for Montagnard refugees at the UNHCR site or restricted access for organizations to provide assistance to the refugees with their petitions.
8. Many refugees at the UNHCR site have relatives in the U.S. and they are desperately afraid their right to be re-united with family members will be denied.
9. Many Montagnard beneficiaries who are legally eligible to access free and legal emigration in Vietnam, are subject to rape, intimidation, threats, bribes and constant psychological pressure and fear, resulting in psychological trauma. This is often a result of beneficiaries trying to obtain legal documents required by USCIS/DHS for emigration to the U.S. Since the inception of the Orderly Departure Program known as ODP, Vietnamese government provincial authorities have obstructed the emigration process in the above actions, including limiting freedom of movement as Montagnards attempt to travel from the Central Highlands to the U.S. Consulate located in Saigon. (HCM City)
10. Cambodia and Vietnam's relationship, specifically, its security and police apparatus, has impacted the Montagnard refugee protection process in Cambodia. The U.S.-Vietnam bi-lateral relationship also directly impacts Montagnard refugee protection. The State Dept. may be reluctant to advocate fully on behalf of the Montagnards for fear of damaging its normalized relations with Vietnam and U.S. strategic interests in the region
RECOMMENDATIONS
-UNHCR, DHS and the U.S. State Department should immediately suspend Montagnard deportations to Cambodia. Refugee applicants should first have direct appeal to a U.S. official. The U.S. State Department (PRM) should immediately restore and further correct its earlier policy prior to May 1, 2007 to include direct appeal, two interviews by UNHCR, and finally, to allow applicants a resettlement option under the Lautenberg criteria for resettlement to the U.S. or another country.
-Applicants should be allowed sufficient time to tell their story to a UNHCR or U.S. official. Interviews need to be conducted in the language of the applicant and avoid the use Vietnamese language. If there are no interpreters available, UNHCR should seek assistance from local NGOs to provide competent translators who can communicate in one of the Montagnard dialects. Finally, the Montagnard American community is available to provide translators as required by DHS or UNHCR.
-Refugees at the UNHCR site should be allowed representation and assistance with their petitions by a designated NGO.
-UNHCR should inform refugees of the processing timeline for their appeals.
-UNHCR, in cooperation with the U.S. government, should maximize the goal of Family Unity and honor the rights of the Montagnard refugees at the UNHCR site to be reunited with their relatives in the U.S. or other countries.
-The U.S. Congress should review UNHCR’s refugee protocol in Cambodia and the underlying problems that jeopardize Montagnard refugees. The Senate Judiciary and the Subcommittee on Refugees and Immigration has oversight over refugee laws and policy. It approves funding to UNHCR. We recommend a U.S. Congressional Hearing to assess the role of the U.S. government, the UNHCR in Cambodia, the role of the U.S. and Vietnam in the protection of Montagnard refugees as a special interest population.
-The U.S. State Department and the respective PRM, EAP and DRL Bureaus, along with the White House and Dept. of Defense, should take into account the historical relationship of the U.S. to this vulnerable population. The State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration ( PRM) and USCIS should continue to consider the Montagnards as a “special interest group.
-The U.S., in its ongoing human rights dialogue with Vietnam and in the negotiation of future trade or defense agreements, should pursue the establishment of a U.S. Consular Office in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. A U.S. consular office would assist Montagnards to access the legal emigration process in Vietnam. A U.S. Consular Office in Pleiku or Buon Ma Thuot would encourage transparency. We believe that a U.S. consular office in the Central Highlands also promotes normalization of relations, the rule of law, and democracy. Finally, the U.S. should recognize Vietnam’s obligations to honor its agreements under WTO, which include progress with human rights and free emigration. We believe it is in the U.S.’s best interest to assist Vietnam to honor its agreements.
For this reason these are 36 names Montagnards have ran to Thailand may be aways distance for the Hanoi can come get them to take back to Vietnam.
They names as the following:
1. Y Soai Eban, 2.Y Djom Enuol,3. Y Phuoc Eban, 4.Y Thoat Knul, 5. H'Ra Zoen, 6. H'Wan Bya, 7. H'Huynh Bya, 8. Y Juel Bya, 9. Y Preck Mlo, 10. H Lieu Ayun, 11.Y Nobel Mlo, 12. Y Dona Mlo; 13.Y Pren Mlo, 14. Y Hung Ktla, 15. Y Kan Nie, 16. Y Mien Eban, 17. Y Bih Kbuor; 18. Y Khuc Ktla; 19. H Wuon Kbuor, 20. Kpuih Gut, 21. Kpa Guin; 22. Rahlan Hleo; 23. H Ber Rmah; 24. H'Tem Siu. 25. H Nheo Rahlan; 26. Ksor Den;27. Siu Gin; 28. Y Dhanh Eban; 29. Y Luyen Eban; 30. Y Nhet Nie; 31.Y Dham Adrong; 32. Y Dan Nay; 33. H Eo Kanouly; 34. Y Huec Nie; 35. Y Jonny Knul; and 36. Y Druin Knul.
I am the Montagnard Pastor of The United Montagnard Christian Church, in America and Vietnam. On August 2nd, 2008, We would like invite You, Your Church to join us pray for Montagnard Refugees in Cambodia and Thailand. Also, Please, pray for United Montagnard Christian Church for allow them to practice their beliefs in Freedom. this Church (UMCC) not thing to do or affiliates with Politic Organization. Our Mission how to Preach, teach regarding in John 14: 6. Jesus said, "I am the Ways, the truth, and the Life", we are agree to preach gospel of Christ to every ear should heard. To show the people the salvation of Jesus Christ for nation. We are sharing sorrow with those are suffering in jail in Vietnam and an advocacy for them in overseas. we will faithfulness to speak-out for these Christian seeking to pray and to save from any harm.
RECOMMENDATION:
1. Please pray for these people able to resettlement to US or third country.
2. Please pray for UNHCR must have all The Montagnard Refugees must approve the case
and do not return them Hanoi.
3. Please give offer donation money to help these Refugees have food, money to pay
rent in Bangkok until they are eligible under UNHCR take over to supervise on
them.
4. You can donation money through our Church Organization, and we will give you
receipt for your tax purpose.
Further information, Please contact us at Revumcc@yahoo or Revyhinevangel@juno.com
or send the check at The United Montagnard Christian Church, 1204 Picard street, Greensboro, NC 27405. May God bless upon You forever. Reverend Y Hin Nie.Montagnard Refugee Protection Issues in Vietnam and Cambodia
July 30, 2008
Concerns
1. Montagnard refugees who seek sanctuary at UNCHR sites in Cambodia are being forced back to Vietnam. UNHCR continues to reject Montagnards who are forced back to Vietnam to face imprisonment, beating, isolation, house arrest and constant surveillance by local security.
2. There is extreme hardship experienced by refugees at the UNHCR sites in Cambodia including pervasive fear, anxiety, uncertainty caused by lack of information from UNHCR, and psychological trauma caused by witnessing other refugees who are being beaten and placed on trucks for deportation to Vietnam. Refugees also fear the Cambodia security police who are sometimes present in the UNHCR interview. The refugees are fearful that these Cambodian police are connected to the Vietnamese security. They are painfully aware that the Cambodia security and the Vietnamese security cooperate in deporting Montagnards who cross the border seeking asylum.
3. In the refugee review process with UNHCR, refugees cite: there is inadequate time to tell their story, refugees are not given the opportunity to disclose deeper details about their fear and trauma in Vietnam, psychological factors such as extreme fear and trauma are not being assessed or even identified by the UNHCR reviewers, applicants are being forced by the UNHCR staff to sign a Declaration of Understanding, including Item #7 in which they do not agree with or do not fully understand the document because the document is written in a language they do not understand or the information is verbally communicated to the applicant in a language they do not understand. The refugees do not wish to sign an agreement that forces them to return to Vietnam.
4. The use of Vietnamese speaking translators and 3 tiered translations with Vietnamese to Cambodian language and Cambodian Jarai dialect to English, create errors in communication which impact refugee assessment.
5. The Lautenburg criteria is not being implemented by UNHCR staff or fully implemented by DHS/USCIS staff as an option for resettlement for those Montagnards who have been rejected by UNHCR. Montagnards who have fled from Vietnam to Cambodia because of their ethnicity and their well-founded fear of persecution in Vietnam, should be accepted by UNHCR and by USCIS/DHS unless there is compelling evidence to contradict the Montagnard refugee claim and refugee eligibility.
6. There is inconsistency in the refugee review process and which applicants get a second interview. Applicants are unaware or unsure of the processing time for their review.
7. There is either no NGO representation allowed for Montagnard refugees at the UNHCR site or restricted access for organizations to provide assistance to the refugees with their petitions.
8. Many refugees at the UNHCR site have relatives in the U.S. and they are desperately afraid their right to be re-united with family members will be denied.
9. Many Montagnard beneficiaries who are legally eligible to access free and legal emigration in Vietnam, are subject to rape, intimidation, threats, bribes and constant psychological pressure and fear, resulting in psychological trauma. This is often a result of beneficiaries trying to obtain legal documents required by USCIS/DHS for emigration to the U.S. Since the inception of the Orderly Departure Program known as ODP, Vietnamese government provincial authorities have obstructed the emigration process in the above actions, including limiting freedom of movement as Montagnards attempt to travel from the Central Highlands to the U.S. Consulate located in Saigon. (HCM City)
10. Cambodia and Vietnam's relationship, specifically, its security and police apparatus, has impacted the Montagnard refugee protection process in Cambodia. The U.S.-Vietnam bi-lateral relationship also directly impacts Montagnard refugee protection. The State Dept. may be reluctant to advocate fully on behalf of the Montagnards for fear of damaging its normalized relations with Vietnam and U.S. strategic interests in the region
RECOMMENDATIONS
-UNHCR, DHS and the U.S. State Department should immediately suspend Montagnard deportations to Cambodia. Refugee applicants should first have direct appeal to a U.S. official. The U.S. State Department (PRM) should immediately restore and further correct its earlier policy prior to May 1, 2007 to include direct appeal, two interviews by UNHCR, and finally, to allow applicants a resettlement option under the Lautenberg criteria for resettlement to the U.S. or another country.
-Applicants should be allowed sufficient time to tell their story to a UNHCR or U.S. official. Interviews need to be conducted in the language of the applicant and avoid the use Vietnamese language. If there are no interpreters available, UNHCR should seek assistance from local NGOs to provide competent translators who can communicate in one of the Montagnard dialects. Finally, the Montagnard American community is available to provide translators as required by DHS or UNHCR.
-Refugees at the UNHCR site should be allowed representation and assistance with their petitions by a designated NGO.
-UNHCR should inform refugees of the processing timeline for their appeals.
-UNHCR, in cooperation with the U.S. government, should maximize the goal of Family Unity and honor the rights of the Montagnard refugees at the UNHCR site to be reunited with their relatives in the U.S. or other countries.
-The U.S. Congress should review UNHCR’s refugee protocol in Cambodia and the underlying problems that jeopardize Montagnard refugees. The Senate Judiciary and the Subcommittee on Refugees and Immigration has oversight over refugee laws and policy. It approves funding to UNHCR. We recommend a U.S. Congressional Hearing to assess the role of the U.S. government, the UNHCR in Cambodia, the role of the U.S. and Vietnam in the protection of Montagnard refugees as a special interest population.
-The U.S. State Department and the respective PRM, EAP and DRL Bureaus, along with the White House and Dept. of Defense, should take into account the historical relationship of the U.S. to this vulnerable population. The State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration ( PRM) and USCIS should continue to consider the Montagnards as a “special interest group.
-The U.S., in its ongoing human rights dialogue with Vietnam and in the negotiation of future trade or defense agreements, should pursue the establishment of a U.S. Consular Office in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. A U.S. consular office would assist Montagnards to access the legal emigration process in Vietnam. A U.S. Consular Office in Pleiku or Buon Ma Thuot would encourage transparency. We believe that a U.S. consular office in the Central Highlands also promotes normalization of relations, the rule of law, and democracy. Finally, the U.S. should recognize Vietnam’s obligations to honor its agreements under WTO, which include progress with human rights and free emigration. We believe it is in the U.S.’s best interest to assist Vietnam to honor its agreements.
