Will the oldest Montagnard American organization close?
Andrew Young
Greensboro, NC area. Lutheran Family Services departed, to everyone's
astonishment, after being in the area for some 30 years, and the rest
of the region's refugee services, volunteers, churches and nonprofits
have continued to flounder through a series of stakeholder meetings
that have yet to map out a clear way forward.
Now it looks like Montagnard Dega Association, which has suffered
regular cuts year after year, will be the next to exit the scene. When
will this happen? I was guessing a while back that the State would cut
the organization little by little until it ceased to be effective, at
which point Raleigh officials would then be justified in cutting off
all funding, and this seems to be what's happening.
It has not helped that MDA has been almost 100% dependent on State
funding, making it less and less able to operate as an independent
ethnic-based cultural organization. Several of us have looked pretty
hard at the dynamics of the Refugee System in Greensboro and it's
surprising to see MDA was able to survive this long. Mutual Assistance
Associations have a tough time competing against the national
organizations that dominate most of the community dialog, but
ultimately they are the most important. They have local boards
answerable to the local community and they serve their community long
after the refugee service providers have completed their contractual
obligations.
We will soon see a rehash of reassurances from refugee stakeholders,
who will promise that quality service will be delivered to refugees
despite the departure of MDA.
This is a unique community that deserves to have an organization
representing its interests. Soon, the 2010 Census will give data about
this community. But by then -- who knows?
This is a tough time -- we're seeing results just as it looks like MDA
will fold.