Refugee Info & Resources

Publications About Refugees

• Cultural Orientation Resource Center, Refugees from Burma, housed by the Center for Applied Linguistics.

• Cultural Orientation Resource Center, Congolese Refugees, housed by the Center for Applied Linguistics.

• Refugee Facts: Refugees in America on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) webpage.

• Myanmar Country Profile, BBC News.

• Refugees from Burma backgrounder and cultural profile (scroll down), published by the Cultural Orientation Resource Center.

• Fast Facts on Burma from Karen Teacher Working Group.

• Article, “How to Support Refugee Students in the ELL Classroom” on AdLit.org. Includes information about refugee vs. immigrant students.

• Article, “How to Support ELL Students with Interrupted Formal Education (SIFEs)” on AdLit.org.

Community Resources for Refugees

• Refugee Community Partnership (RCP) based in Chapel Hill/Carrboro.

• Refugee Support Center, (RSC) housed in Carolina Apartments in Carrboro.

• Transplanting Traditions Community Farm off of Jones Ferry Road outside of Chapel Hill/Carrboro.

In the Media

• The Daily Tarheel, Refugee Support Center serves local families despite COVID-19 pandemic May 10, 2020.

• Chapelboro.com, ‘Distributing Community Goodwill’: Helping the Refugee Population, May 1, 2020.

• The Daily Tarheel, Refugees in Orange County struggle to make ends meet amid COVID-19 economic hardships March 29, 2020

• The News & Observer, From Burma to NC: How a student in the 8888 uprising built a life in Chapel Hill, November 30, 2019.

• Yes! Magazine, Farming Brings Refugees Closer to Home Through Food and Community January 18, 2018. Features a Karen family in our school district.

• Nikkei Asian Review, Myanmar refugees find a foothold in North Carolina July 8, 2017.

• WUNC's The State of Things with Frank Stasio, Transplanting Traditions: Farming & Art June 3, 2016.

• The Daily Tarheel, Med Deli, Vimala's help community come together for Syrian refugees this holiday season, December 1, 2016.

• The News & Observer, Orange County's Karen refugees: "We know where we came from" January 18, 2016.

• The News & Observer, Carrboro board declares town safe haven for Syrian refugees, December 4, 2015.

• PRI's The World with Marco Werman, Karen Refugees from Myanmar Find Foothold in North Carolina April 23, 2013 (features an interview with a CHHS student).

Videos and Images of Refugees

• "Khai's Story: Refugee to Role Model" by Martha Isaacs. Documentary about our local Karen community, produced by UNC film students. The refugee/role model featured in this documentary has children in CHCCS.

• The Story of Three Farmers, a short documentary created by the Youth Program of Transplanting Traditions Community Farm.

• Video for Learning about Refugees from Burma, by the Cultural Orientation Resource Center.

• Photo gallery of refugee camps in Thailand by the Cultural Orientation Resource Center.

• “Faces of Resettlement” video made by the Cultural Orientation Resource Center. Profiles of refugees who have been granted refugee status for various reasons.

• "Burmese Refugees in the United States" video made by the Cultural Orientation Resource Center. The same video is also available dubbed in languages commonly spoken by refugees.

Memoirs by Karen and Burmese Authors

• From the Land of Green Ghosts: A Burmese Odyssey by Pascal Khoo Thwe

• Undaunted: My Struggle for Freedom and Survival in Burma by Zoya Phan

• The River of Lost Footsteps: A Personal History of Burma by Thant Myint-U

• Letters from Burma by Aung San Suu Kyi