Three Rivers Coalition for Justice Works With Landlords, U.S. Senator, to Save Burmese Refugees From Eviction

PITTSBURGH, Nov. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As part of an ongoing, multi-front effort to help Burmese refugees in the Pittsburgh area, the Three Rivers Coalition for Justice paid rental money owed by refugee Na Hsay and his family to their landlord, Prudential Realty Company, so they can avoid immediate eviction from their apartment.

The Three Rivers Coalition for Justice also went to the office of U.S. Senator Bob Casey Jr. (D-PA) last Friday to discuss the plight of Pittsburgh-area refugees. Hsay and several other refugees face unemployment, or low-wage employment that almost ensures that they cannot afford rent for the apartments in which they have been placed by various relief services.

Na Hsay, his wife, and two children came to the United States in February 2009 fleeing ethnic persecution by the Burmese government. Hsay, like many other Burmese refugees, was resettled in the Pittsburgh area by Catholic Charities.

Hsay unsuccessfully searched for a job his first four months in Pittsburgh, and briefly found work in Indiana. However, Hsay had to return to Pittsburgh to take care of his wife, who was suffering from heart disease. Jobless, the Hsays owed Prudential almost two thousand dollars by November.

In a statement prepared for a Recovery of Real Property Hearing, Hsay explained, "I have to give all the money I saved ($500) to my case-worker to pay my rent. I also asked [my] Special Employment case-worker to find a job for me in Pittsburgh. Till now they didn't find any job for me yet. So, how can I support my family?"

After providing legal and financial assistance to the Hsay family, the Three Rivers Coalition for Justice sent a delegation, including Burmese refugee Aung Oo, to Washington, D.C. At a meeting last Friday with a representative from the office of Senator Casey, Oo explained that his wages at W&K Steel -- the Rankin, PA steel fabrication shop at which he was placed for work and is currently on strike -- are not enough to support his family of six. Oo explained that refugees around Pittsburgh become the victims of exploitation, low income, discriminatory treatment, and inadequate assistance.

Oo and delegation members also met with a representative from the Director of the Office of Refugee Settlement at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; the Executive Director of the U.S. Campaign for Burma; the Executive Director of the Karen America Communities Foundation; the Refugee Policy Director of Human Rights Watch; and the Vice President of Catholic Charities USA.

The Three Rivers Coalition for Justice is a Pittsburgh-based human rights coalition of community leaders, labor activists, political and religious leaders, students, and the general public, united together to expose the unjust treatment of the workers and refugees.

SOURCE Three Rivers Coalition for Justice