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Washington Update Campaign for Refugees Rolls Through Kentucky The Kentucky Campaign to save the Migration and Refugee Assistance (MRA) account is off to an excellent start with more than 200 people participating in action events in Bowling Green, Lexington and Louisville. This is already more than 10 times the size of the initial mobilization in Mobile, Ala. I attended the events in Bowling Green and Lexington. Several of the attendees in Bowling Green were themselves refugees and their families who had resettled in the area. Local businesspeople who employ refugees also came. When we went around the room introducing ourselves, the audience burst into applause after hearing the stories of several of the refugees. A charming elderly Cambodian woman brought the house down when she played us a tune on her harmonica. I described what was happening to the MRA account, critiquing the Clinton administration's $658 million proposal and laying out the $700 million counterproposal of the Refugee Council USA, a coalition of the major U.S. resettlement agencies chaired by LIRS President Ralston H. Deffenbaugh Jr. Then I said, "Now, here is the amount Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has proposed.." As I wrote the figure, $615 million, an audible gasp rose from the audience. The South Kentucky Coalition for Refugees was born that night with initial hopes to generate 200-300 letters and arrange a visit to McConnell's local office during the August recess. In Lexington CBS-TV affiliate WKYT interviewed Bosnian refugee Dragana Zaimovic. When asked the definition of a refugee, she said, "There is an official definition, but let me give you mine: it's like a tree, pulled up by its roots, that needs a new place to grow." Most attendees had experience with refugee resettlement so it was a pretty high quality audience. The local ABC-TV affiliate, WTVQ, filmed part of the presentation and interviewed several participants, which aired on the 11 o'clock news. A good variety of denominations were represented. The churches seem to be in something of a friendly rivalry concerning how many of the refugees they have sponsored have recently bought homes in the area. Next stop, northern Illinois where House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Judiciary Chair Henry Hyde, both Republicans, have their district offices.
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