GREELEY — BeBe offered a gap-toothed grin when she described how she and 17 other Burmese refugees got lost in Greeley.
“I rode a long time,” said BeBe, the mother of four and somewhat of a matriarch to the small but growing Burmese community at the Pines apartment complex in south Greeley.
“The first time, I went along with them on a bus just to show them how to get around,” said Maria Sanchez, who is helping to integrate BeBe, who said this was her full name, and other Burmese into the community. “The second time, they all scattered, and we had to run around and find them.
“This getting used to another country and way of life . . . is going to take baby steps.”
There are nearly 500 Burmese in Greeley. Most work in local meatpacking plants. Many are religious and political refugees, who fled the military dictatorship ruling the southeast Asian country now called Myanmar.
Most are from farming villages, and most have never seen a computer, said Christine Gylling, 23, who came from Myanmar with her family 10 years ago.
Gylling was helping Sanchez instruct about 50 to 60 families at the Pines on how to prepare their children for American schools. Most of the refugees — who were aided by Lutheran Family Services in finding homes in Greeley — don’t speak much English and aren’t well-versed in other parts of the culture, said Gylling.
“This is definitely a shock to them,” said Gylling, a pre-med major at the University of Northern Colorado. “Most have nothing. Most sleep on the floor. And for many, the most high-tech thing they own is a book and a pencil.”
Also daunting are the language barriers. Burma has about 14 tribes with several dialects, Gylling said.
But, said Sanchez, the Burmese are willing to learn and become Americans. “They want to be part of our culture so badly,” she said.
Sanchez — director of the Realizing Our Community program at UNC that has been helping the Burmese — said many are enrolled in a Right to Read course and are getting tutoring in other aspects of American life.
Twice a month, they get lessons on subjects such as dental hygiene, applying for jobs and putting on makeup. “Many want shiny, black hair like American women,” Sanchez said.
On Tuesday, the Burmese families were told they need to present Social Security numbers, proof of residency and inoculation records to officials at Centennial Elementary School before their children can enroll.
Their children will also have to wear the Centennial uniform. Jan Jervis, principal at Centennial, said there are already 90 Burmese refugees at the school as well as several from east Africa.
“There is so much for them to learn, so much for them to do,” said Jervis.
But they are grateful for the opportunity, said Hlaing Moe Than, a physicist who fled Myanmar two years ago.
Because he protested the treatment of Buddhist monks by the military, Than was imprisoned for 10 years. He finally got his refugee status and came to Greeley from New York to work.
“This country is amazing,” Than said. “Back home, it is very dangerous. This is peaceful here.”
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com
