Christ Church, Chattanooga 'Adds' Two
Young Brothers to their Parish Community

by Emily McDonald
Benjamin Tarplah, 21, and Buikai Massaqui, 11, arrived in February after living in a refugee camp in Ghana for almost seven years. They fled their homeland of Liberia after seeing members of their family killed and experiencing other horrors.

The two young borthers, who had spent years in refugee camps before coming to the USA, are now a part of Chattanooga's Christ Church community.

"We want to make sure we give them our community support," said the Rev. Jocelyn Bell, rector of the church.

The yourn men are among approximately 120 refugees from eight countries who have been sponsored by Episcopal churches in Southeast Tennessee since Bridge Refugee and Sponsorship Services was started 20 years ago.

Almost all the Episcopal churches in the region have either sponsored refugees or helped the resettlement effort by donating money, services and in-kind goods, said Anne Curtis, who heads Bridge in Chattanooga.

Christ Church had provided assistance for refugees prior to the arrival of the brothers but had never previously committed to a sponsorship. Tarplah and Massaqui are unique because they are the first refugees from Liberia to come to Southeast Tennessee and are the first refugees of their ages to come without other family members.

The Christ Church Outreach Committee felt like sponsoring a refugee family was something it wanted to do, Bell said.

"We talked and prayed about it and felt it was something we were called to do. We wanted to help people who had been through so much stuff."

Sandy Booher, the committee chairman, spearheaded the sponsorship effort and Mr. Tarplah and Buikai lived with her and her mother, Mary McLean, for about 16 days after their arrival.

Parishioners refurbished and furnished an apartment in the church-owned Canterbury Apartments that is now home to the brothers.

Tarplah is working at Vincent Printing Company and is preparing for his General Equivalency Diploma. Massaqui is in the sixth grade at Chattanooga Middle School and goes to an after school program at First Centenary United Methodist Church.

Booher and other volunteers helped Tarplah and Massaqui settle in and navigate through the various complexities of American life, such as opening a bank acount and job and school interviews.

Communicaton hasn't been a problem for the young immigrants, however, as both are English speaking.

"We (Liberia) were colonized by Americans and we speak English fluently," said Tarplah.

McLean remains involved with the brothers, too, and functions as an unofficial grandmother. Massaqui comes to her apartment if Tarplah has to work late. "I'm not working, so I'm there," she said, "I'm happy they feel free to come."

Tarplah views America as a land of opportunity and a place where he'll be able to continue his education. Both he and his brother like what they've found in this country and have really appreciated what Christ Church is doing for them.

"Somebody has to take me to the grocery and to do important errands," Tarplah said.

"Parishioners have been very supportive," McLean said.

Like all sponsor churches, Christ Church has made a financial commitment to the Liberian immigrants for three months. After that, parishioners will help Tarplah budget his money and begin moving down the road to independence, Bell said.

Some refugees have remained in Southeast Tennessee after their sponsorship by an Episcopal church has ended and others have left for opportunities elsewhere. Such was the case of the Lisovacs, a Bosnian family sponsored by St. Martin's of Tours.

That family consists of Avdo, his wife Sabina and their sons, Kerim, 11, and Nedim, 14.

The Lisovacs, who are Muslims, were scheduled to arrive shortly after Sept. 11. "We thought there was no way they'd let them into this country," said Lisa Stewart, a member of St. Martin’s outreach committee.

The family arrived on schedule, however, and the church settled them in an apartment in East Ridge. Parishioners were very involved in helping the family.

Mr. Lisovac obtained a job at Synthetic Industries, where a number of refugees are employed, and Mrs. Lisovac worked for a parishioner who taught her some computer skills

"Nedim was like their interpreter," Stewart said. "He came speaking pretty good English. They knew English was the key to making it here."

Because of his job, however, Mr. Lisovac wasn't able to attend as many English classes as his wife and sons nor spend much time with his family. That was one reason they decided to move to Seattle, Washington, in January. Mr. Lisovac had a friend there and the family got involved in a free, state-funded refugee training program.

"As sad as it was to see them go, it was not possible for them to get the kind of life they wanted," Stewart said.

"It was like we were a family when they left," Stewart said. "We continue to hear from them."

Emily McDonald South East Correspondent for The East Tennessee Episcopalian