This is not news to Sylvia Robles. As director of Exodus, the Indianapolis office of Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM), for the last 21 years, Robles has watched the flow of refugees shift with the political climate. But the shift that occurred Sept. 11 was like no other.

"I had the day off on Sept. 11. I was cleaning my bedroom when I heard about the first tower and watched the second one be hit. I knew right then that no refugee program was ever going to be the same again," Robles said.

Exodus works with refugees from the minute they land in Indiana, providing for all their needs for the first 30 days of residency including food, medical care and housing. Exodus has offices in Indianapolis and South Bend. Robles, a member of St. Matthew's, Indianapolis, launched Exodus as a program of the diocese. She also receives support from the Church World Service.

The September attacks delayed the Administration from authorizing the number of refugees accepted for the coming year. Workers in the U.S. had hoped to resettle 70,000 refugees in 2002. At press time, EMM Director Richard Parkins estimated that there had been 4,000 refugees placed in the U.S. so far in 2002. "Ordinarily it would have been 20,000 by now," he explained.

This is a stunning development, as most refugees spend years working their way through to resettlement programs in the U.S., Robles noted. Refugees are fingerprinted and photographed before the get on planes to the U.S. and fingerprinted and photographed when they get off, Robles said.

"If you are a terrorist you don't come into this country as a refugee, it takes too long," she added, saying that while the refugee programs have been cut, tourist and student visa programs continue.

"People coming here as visitors or students bring money, refugees only bring talents," she said. As a result of the slowdown, Exodus laid off a caseworker and all other employees have reduced their hours. "This is about as grim as I can remember it being," Robles said. Exodus' South Bend office is not replacing staff members who leave for other reasons, she added. The program is relying on anthropology interns for office support.

She is optimistic about the people of Indiana's approach to refugees so far, however. "I don't sense any backlash against refugees in Indiana - people are concerned," Robles said.
"The best thing for people to do to help Exodus is to keep supporting us. Offer to pay a refugee's rent for a month - about $450 - or be an [English as a second language] teacher, get your church to sponsor a family, inform others, donate a car," she said.

Robles added that more than half of the churches in the diocese have sponsored refugees through the Exodus program. "It isn't all the big churches - a lot of the smaller churches make a big impact," she said.

Parkins has been working at the national level to raise awareness about the importance of providing safe space for refugees in the U.S. "70,000 refugees is a very modest mission level given the fact that there are nearly 15 million refugees in the world. We are one of just a handful of countries that actually resettle refugees, so this slowdown is catastrophic for several reasons," he explained.

"First, because of the people who were stranded or are waiting to come. Secondly, a lot of these people have relatives in this country who have been waiting a long time to receive these people. "And third, people need to understand that refugees are a very special category. They are victims of terror and so, even though we understand that security has to be thought about, these are already a group of people that are more scrutinized than any other immigrant group that comes to this country."

Parkins added that while the State Department and the INS have been listening to EMM's cause, politicians often ask if there is political support for refugee issues. "I think the message to parishioners is to write your congressional delegation and let them know that this country still should be welcoming refugees, that you're concerned about the slowdown in the movement of refugees and that in spite of Sept. 11, we still need to be a nation that welcomes persecuted people and that our hospitality should not be diminished," he said.

For more information about Exodus, contact Sylvia Robles at (317) 921-0836.

This is an extract taken from "Episcopal Life - Tidings" The Newspaper of the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis
- April 2002. This is a link to their website: http://www.indianapolis.anglican.org/