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This past weekend, the
fire alarm went off in my neighbors' house. That house is occupied by
mostly Burmese refugees and it was the first time they experienced a fire alarm
in their houses. Of course the kids have experienced the evacuation in
their schools but for most of the adults panicked. Fortunately, I was there at
the time talking to a family that just arrived last week about the 'Nemo
Blizzard', I had to check on them because it was the first time they
experienced a snow storm. I had to make sure they were warm and that they had
enough food. When the fire department arrived at the house, they started asking
questions to the resident and I had to take leadership and try to explain the
situation to the firemen. Some of infants were crying because of the loud noise
from the alarm and it was painful. I did my best trying to evacuate people from
all the different apartments and I was successful. It was something really new
for them, and I am glad that I was able to help them get through the first time
they heard the fire alarm and hopefully the next time it happens, they will
know what to do. It is very difficult for the refugees to get in the swing of
things, and sometimes they panic because they fear they might lose all that they
have. Also some refugees have practiced hatred towards authority because they
were abused by them in the camps and when a situation like that takes place and
the authority comes they are scared that they will be arrested or abused again.
All of the Burmese refugees are scared of the police because of their past
experiences and somehow they need to realize that the cops here are a little different
from the cops who abused them back in the camps.
