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Refugees get help for trauma
By MONIQUE FIELDS © St. Petersburg Times, published February 3, 2001 CLEARWATER -- Serbian paramilitary forces shattered the peace of Heset Xhokli's home when they ordered his family to leave Kosovo and go to Albania. Quickly, Xhokli, his wife, Ilfije, and eight of their nine children gathered what they could carry. As they walked toward a refugee camp, their house was set on fire. Even worse, they didn't know whether their 12-year-old daughter was dead or safe with an aunt in a nearby village. Nearly two years later, the family -- including the daughter they once feared was dead -- live in a rented home in Safety Harbor. But the horrific images hang with them. One of the youngest children was so frightened by a hand grenade in Kosovo, he later thought one had landed on his head, and Mrs. Xhokli said she was depressed by her daughter's four-month separation from the family. "We're here and feel safe. I'm employed. My children are going to school, but you can't forget what you're going through," Xhokli said through an interpreter this week. Gulf Coast Jewish Family Services is helping to provide counseling for the family and links to social services through a new program called the Florida Center for Survivors of Torture. "We're dealing with people who have special status, who have been victims of torture and genocide: a lady from Bosnia who had numerous rapes, another who has seen hands chopped off a relative because they couldn't hold a gun," said Michael A. Bernstein, president of Gulf Coast Jewish Family Services. The family services organization, once solely dedicated to helping Holocaust victims, has received three grants from the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement, totaling more than $763,000 this year. In the next three years, the organization will receive an additional $1.8-million to continue the work of the organization at 14041 Icot Blvd. Besides the Survivors of Torture program, the center will help health professionals learn how to better serve refugees. Counselors find that survivors of torture carry guilt because others died. The program will give them the tools to help them discuss the trauma inflicted on them. The third program will target Southeast Asian refugee children in Pinellas County whose parents and grandparents may not speak English and will work at tearing down barriers between the schools and families. Gulf Coast Jewish Family Services competed with other applicants and enlisted the help of U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young of Largo and U.S. Sen. Bob Graham to secure the funds. The center's extensive background in providing mental health services also bolstered its application for federal funding, said Pam Carter, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The number of refugees in the bay area rises and dips as conflicts erupt overseas. There are 754 refugees in Pinellas and Pasco counties, 845 in Hillsborough and Manatee counties, according to the Florida Department of Children and Families. "Florida is a gateway state for refugees," Bernstein said. "We have such a large immigrant population that experiences torture. The need has been there for many years." Xhokli, for one, is grateful for the help. "It's a big help for me and the family," he said. "I can say a big thank-you for all of it."
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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From the Times North Pinellas desks |
