we arrive 6 minutes before the flight is supposed to get in. B. and his friend follow us into the airport as we try to find the gate out of which our new arrivals will come. as we anxiously wait, B. explains to us that it is his brother-in-law (his wife's brother) along with his brother-in-law's wife and son, and father-in-law, that will be arriving shortly. while we wait i wonder how this new family will know where to go when they get off the plane. jessica reassures me that the big IOM (international organization for migration) stickers they wear are like a flashing red light and all stewards/stewardesses are trained to help people wearing those stickers to find their way.
in a moment, i see a bhutanese family cautiously walking out the exitway, apprehensive about each step and unsure of what lies ahead of them, what their immediate and longterm futures hold. B. goes up to them, but no words are exchanged, nor embraces. B. puts his hand on his brother-in-law's shoulder and says to me and jessica "this is the one." "welcome to the united states!" she says, even though they don't understand a word. the young boy with them quickly warms to his uncle that he hasn't seen in a long time, but the adults remain very quiet and apprehensive. we lead them to the baggage claim where we pick up the two bags that they have brought with them. 4 people. 2 bags. all of their possessions.
after a snafu with seating arrangements in the van (involving the newly arrived grandpa sitting in the booster seat instead of the boy) we make sure everyone has their seatbelts on and we are on our way. a rough bump in the parking results in B.'s head banging loudly with a very loud thump against the window and i spend about the next 5 minutes trying to subdue my laughter. these new refugees probably think i am nuts. nevertheless, we are on our way, headed back south towards the city.
we pull up to J.R.'s house, in a public housing complex. J.R.'s wife, B.'s wife, and the new arrival are all siblings. Although we try to make a slick exit, jessica and i are herded into the home along with everyone else. there sits grandpa, a little ninety-something-year-old bhutanese man with no teeth, sandals on his feet despite the snow, and a wood walking stick in his hand. what a delight. despite our protests we are forced to sit and enjoy some conversation with this large bhutanese family. B.'s wife immediately brings jessica and i glasses of cold pop, which we apprehensively accept, wondering why we are being offered beverages before this new arrival family that has spent their last 24 hours in travel leaving all they have ever known to start a new life in the united states.
it is getting late and jessica and i eventually leave, wishing the new family a restful night's sleep. as we head back towards the office i sit in wonder, completely unable to grasp what this new family is thinking at this moment in their lives. i have no idea what they have been through, and frankly have no true grasp of what their new realities will be like. i wish them the best. and who knows, maybe in 90 days after they've aged out of the reception and placement program, i might get to be their new case manager!
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