Danny Guy

Jennifer Bell does not have a paying job, but instead volunteers for the non-profit CEDARS she co-founded with a friend.  Bell works case management for over 200 refugees in the Bowling Green, Ky., area.  Her job description is loosely defined and open-ended, the main idea is to help the refugee community in any way she can.  Here, Bell sifts through insurance claims and other paperwork related to an automobile accident involving 8 refugees who were struggling to handle the situation on their own.

Bell sometimes draws pictures to help bridge the language barrier when she needs to communicate important information.  She had stopped by an apartment at Lover’s Lane Apartments after getting a call about some of the refugees having sores.  After checking the residents, she determines the marks to be bedbug bites.  Most of the Karenni sleep on the floor, but some have beds.  Those that do share it with multiple family members, including those outside of immediate family.  The residents pay $675 a month at this particular apartment complex, which infuriates Bell.  “What kind of bullshit is that?” she said.  “Sometimes I just want to say I don’t want to see anymore, I don’t want to know anymore, because the more I know, the more I have to do something about it.  But I can’t just stick my head in the sand.”

Bell carries her 8-month-old son Jacob while walking up the driveway of a refugee’s home with her daughters Natalie (center) and Erin (right).  Bell has begun to develop a relationship that extends beyond just casework with Bu Reh and his family, and Bell has brought her own family over to his home for dinner.  Bell often finds herself really struggling with the amount of distance she feels from her family.  She cares deeply for them, and gives them her all when they’re together, but more often than not she feels that her services are direly needed elsewhere.  Uniting her own family with the family of refugees she works with is a way of finding compromise between her two worlds.

Reh Reh had been itching with hives for two months before asking Bell to be taken to the doctor.  She had to drive him to three different urgent care centers before he was seen.  After visiting with the doctor, Bell had to wake up Reh Reh’s daughter Preh Mo at home to have her translate into Karenni the instructions for how to take the medication to treat the allergic reaction.  “It’s kind of taken over my life.” said Bell, referring to the late night visits she frequently makes.

In the laundry room of Jennifer’s home lies a large pile of clean laundry which has been lying there for two days, yet to be folded.  “I really struggle with the idea that my daughters are going to remember me for spending more time with the Burmese than my own family, that I cared less about them.” Bell said. “But I mean, what’s my lasting legacy?  After my kids grow up what will I have left?  I can’t not help these people.”

Bell sits on the couch surrounded by both her own children as well as Bu Reh’s.  Growing up in the United States makes it somewhat easier for the younger refugees to understand English, and Bell frequently turns to the children to be her interpreters when speaking to the adults.

Bu Reh cuts a chicken open on the patio of his backyard as part of a ritual involving the reading of bones to determine a person’s future.  Bell was asked to allow Bu Reh and a medicine man read her bones, which, in the end turned out to show that her future looked quite positive.  Bell and her family are regularly exposed to the cultural idiosyncrasies of the refugees she works with, whether they are understanding of it or not.  Before she and her family came over to Bu Reh’s home for dinner, her husband Scott brought KFC so that he didn’t have to eat anything the refugees cooked.

Without a regular babysitter, Bell has to bring her 8-month-old baby Jacob with her almost everywhere she goes during the day until her husband gets off work.  She often has to schedule her daily activities around Jacob’s nap times.  During this evening visit, Bell was able to leave Jacob at home, but the refugees who are used to always seeing him with her asked where he was.  Bell showed them a video on her cell phone of Jacob sleeping.

Bu Reh cuts branches off of a tree in the Bells’ backyard to clear some space for sunlight to reach their garden.  Bu Reh was eager to help as he had spent a lot of time doing similar work when he lived in refugee camps.  “I think he really liked being up there,” said Scott.  “I think it made him really happy to have a reason to climb trees again.”

Bell stops by the Creekwell Apartments to share a few minutes with a family she characteristically cares very deeply for.  Her house visits tend to be unannounced, which is standard etiquette for the Karenni.  The Karenni are a very matriarchal society, which resonates with Bell.  She loves their children and the Karenni love hers in return.