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VPR's coverage of arts and culture in the region.

Vermont Program Preparing For Syrian Refugees

Muhammed Muheisen
/
AP
Syrian refugees make their way on a railway track after crossing the border between Serbia and Hungary on Monday, Sept. 14.

Refugee assistance organizations, including one in Vermont, are responding to President Obama’s call to bring an additional 10,000 Syrian refugees to the U.S.

Amila Merdzanovic, the director of the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program, says given the scope of the refugee crisis, she’s disappointed in the president’s proposal.

“We are asking for 100,000 refugees. That would be more appropriate. Ten thousand is just a drop in a huge sea,” says Merdzanovic.

Whatever the number, Merdzanovic says plans are being made by the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants to assist them.

The committee is the private non-profit organization that includes the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program. Typically the organization resettles 300 to 350 refugees in Vermont every year. About 70,000 refugees come to the U.S. annually.

Merdzanovic says it’s too early to tell how many Syrians might arrive in the state, but already she’s receiving offers of assistance.

“On a daily basis, I’ve been getting calls from Vermonters offering not only monetary help, but offering to open their homes and open their hearts,”she says.

Merdzanovic says many factors go into determining where people are resettled, including whether there’s an existing community to help refugees transition to a new life, as well as the  availability of jobs and services.

Steve has been with VPR since 1994, first serving as host of VPR’s public affairs program and then as a reporter, based in Central Vermont. Many VPR listeners recognize Steve for his special reports from Iran, providing a glimpse of this country that is usually hidden from the rest of the world. Prior to working with VPR, Steve served as program director for WNCS for 17 years, and also worked as news director for WCVR in Randolph. A graduate of Northern Arizona University, Steve also worked for stations in Phoenix and Tucson before moving to Vermont in 1972. Steve has been honored multiple times with national and regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for his VPR reporting, including a 2011 win for best documentary for his report, Afghanistan's Other War.
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