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What are the risk factors that may be linked to suicidal ideation and/or attempted suicide among Bhutanese refugees to the United States from 2008 to the present?
Since last week, our Nepali speaking interpreters have been busy in helping Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) find an answer to the above question. Since 2008 approximately 35,000 Bhutanese refugees have been resettled in the United State. 16 suicide cases in 10 states have been reported to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). As our interpreters were undergoing two days training session with the CDC staff, another suicide had been reported to ORR. Considering the pattern in which suicide cases are increasing among the newly resettled Bhutanese refugee population, CDC is conducting “Epi-aid” study in collaboration with Office of Refugee Resettlement and Refugee Health Technical Assistance Center at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
A random sample of Bhutanese refugees from four states – Georgia, Arizona, New York, and Texas were selected from which a total of 579 Bhutanese refugees, age 18 and older will be interviewed using a set of pre-designed questionnaire which is about 90 minutes long. After two days of intense training on research ethics, informed consent, questionnaire, addressing difficult situations, distressed respondent guidelines, and role play sessions, our Nepali speaking interpreters are ready to assist in face-to-face interviews with Bhutanese refugees. The study findings will help better understand the underlying causes and associated risk factors for suicide in the Bhutanese community, provide evidence-based guidance on prevention of suicide and reducing emotional distress among Bhutanese refugees, and raise awareness of suicide risk factors and mental health resources to Bhutanese refugees in the United States.
There is definitely the need for linguistically competent and culturally appropriate mental health programs in Arizona to address the issues of Bhutanese refugees and also other individuals who have Limited English Proficiency. With the use of our professionally trained interpreters, Bridging Cultures is in a unique position to help bridge the gap between mental health patients and medical professionals/facilities. Our interpreters, some of who are former refugees, found Bhutanese Suicide Prevention study with CDC very meaningful. We are very positive about the outcomes of this study and enthusiastic about the changes it will follow. Please check back with us for more progress on this topic.
Kamana Khadka, Program Manager, Bridging Cultures
For the past year, I’ve been following the career of Jeremy Lin for two reasons: he was originally signed by the Golden State Warriors (my hometown basketball team) and because he is an Asian American. As has become well known in the past two weeks, there have been very few Asian American professional basketball players. Consequently, I’ve watched with increasing interest (and yes, glee) his sudden ascent to NBA stardom with the New York Knicks.
But I am becoming more interested in his impact on increasing the visibility of Asian Americans as a whole in this country. He has now graced the covers of Sports Illustrated and Time Magazine. Other magazine covers may soon follow. But the point is that he has singlehandedly reminded mainstream America that there are Asian Americans in this country.
For while we Asian Americans have become fond of complaining about being stereotyped as the “model minority”, the reality is that we have actually been the invisible minority – reduced to intermittent blips in the national consciousness, as comic relief (the “Harold and Kumar” movies), cautionary tales of alienation (Cho and the Virginia Tech mass murders), or cultural stereotypes (overbearing “Tiger moms”).
Well, Jeremy Lin’s story seems to have found a special resonance with mainstream America. He is “the little engine that could” and “the ant that moved the rubber tree plant” (though he is 6’ 3”). He is the embodiment of the favorite American fable that anyone can make it if they try hard enough. He is one of us.
However, we’re learning that fame and attention can come at a cost. Witness the ESPN headline regarding “Chink in the Armor” after a recent Knicks loss in which Lin committed numerous turnovers. Other racial slurs have made it into the media, and more will no doubt follow. He is a “feel good” story for some, but for others he is resurrecting repressed feelings of race hatred and intolerance.
Most importantly, though, Jeremy Lin is bringing long overdue attention to the forgotten minority. Perhaps the CNN producers of the “Latino in America” and “Black in America” series will now consider an “Asian American in America” series. While his story has become a global phenomenon, the Asian American experience is in fact full of equally fascinating and culturally distinctive stories. Let’s hope “Linsanity” is the impetus for Asian Americans to finally find a worthy place in the American consciousness.
- Doug Hirano, MPH, APCA Executive Director
A few weeks ago, I participated in a press conference on behalf of the Asian Pacific Community in Action, a Phoenix-based non-profit health services and advocacy organization. We were one of several Asian American agencies and individuals calling for the resignation of Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Since then, I have received several emails, letters and phone calls inquiring as to what Sheriff Joe has done to members of the Asian American community to deserve a call for his resignation.
My answer is not a simple one. In fact, it is as steeped in history as it is in recent events. Asian Americans have a long history of not being welcome in this country. Beginning with the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, significant barriers have been placed upon Asian immigration. In 1924, the National Origins Act essentially closed the doors to immigration from Asian nations. This door was not substantially re-opened until the Immigration Act of 1965.
Obviously, Sheriff Joe Arpaio had nothing to do with historical American policy regarding Asian immigration, and I am not directly aware of discriminatory treatment of Asian Americans at the hand of the Sheriff’s Office. However, I would argue that his racial profiling of the Hispanic community is a salient issue for the Asian American community. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” With a majority of Asian Americans being foreign born, it is possible that we could be the future target of “crime suppression” sweeps.
Asian Americans have come a long way in the past 100 years of Arizona statehood. Indeed, we are now the fastest growing racial/ethnic group in Arizona, and the vast majority of us are extremely proud to be Arizona residents. However, until we all can live without fear of unlawful discrimination and racial profiling, I believe we are obligated to speak out. As Martin Luther King, Jr. also said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” It is time for change: Sheriff Joe should go.
-Doug Hirano, MPH, APCA Executive Director
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