December 5, 2007
By Mary Frances Schjonber

Richard Parkins, director of Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM), told a U.S. Senate committee in written testimony December 5 that the federal government must pay special attention to the needs of elderly refugees.

Elderly refugees "are not only the most vulnerable of those whom we resettle but are also the custodians of the culture that gets transferred to the new environment in which refugees find themselves," Parkins told the committee.

In his role as chair of the Refugee Council USA, Parkins submitted his testimony to the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging's hearing titled "Forced to Flee: Caring for the Elderly Displaced by War, Poverty and Persecution Abroad."

The Refugee Council USA is a coalition of 23 organizations dedicated to the welfare and protection of refugees and EMM is one of the 10 organizations which have agreements with the federal government to resettle refugees throughout the United States.

Parkins commended the committee for its concern for elderly refugees. "Unless those agencies, groups, and institutions who serve the elderly recognize that elderly refugees are also stakeholders in their programs, an important segment of the elderly population will be neglected," he said, noting that most services for refugees are focused on the initial transition period of resettlement and are "understandably biased toward employment and training since self-sufficiency has historically been the primary goal of the U.S. refugee assistance program."

Parkins said EMM has committed several thousand dollars to aid elderly refugees this year. He suggested to the committee that any publicly supported service for the elderly requires communities hosting significant numbers of refugees to reach out to older refugees.

The Refugee Council USA advocates that the federal income supplement known as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) be available to elderly refugees, particularly those who have not been able to meet the requirements of citizenship because of impediments of language, age, and culture, Parkins told the committee.

"The SSI safety net needs to be extended to any at-risk older refugee so that the protection and safety that they sought when they were admitted as refugees be available to them as they advance in years," he said. "To do less is to fail to complete the task of allowing them to recover from the trauma of being forcibly displaced."

Elderly refugees offer gifts to their new communities, Parkins said. "They are often the cultural anchor for refugee communities as they attempt to respect their traditions while embracing the requirements of their adopted homeland."

Refugee families bring with them a sense of needing to care for and honor their elderly kin, Parkins said in his testimony. "In fact, having their older family members adequately provided for is generally a priority which, if honored, allows families to fully identify with the society which initially welcomed them."

The way services are designed can inhibit access by refugees, he said, noting cultural norms and practices as well as language barriers. Services need to be "culturally and linguistically appropriate" and recognize that "the civil rights of refugees are only served when services are not only theoretically available but are genuinely accessible because measures are taken to be relevant to the special needs of these clients," he said.

"Refugees come to the United States at our invitation. Because their experience of persecution and forcible displacement confers upon them the designation as refugees, we also recognize that our hospitality to these newcomers must include the provision of special services and a safety net," Parkins told the committee. "Since self-sufficiency is not an appropriate goal for elderly refugees, their need for services and the safety net will exist long after the transitional period experienced by other refugees."

Episcopal News Service
The Rev. Mary Frances Schjonberg is national correspondent for Episcopal News Service.