Arkansas joins two other states to discuss Marshallese matters
Posted on Thursday, May 1, 2008
FAYETTEVILLE — Officials in Arkansas, Hawaii and Oregon met via video teleconference Wednesday to discuss the U. S. Marshallese population and how to secure government-funded health care for those who live here under a compact with the federal government.
But before asking for help from lawmakers in Washington, the three states need to come up with a firm estimate of the U. S. population of residents from three Pacific Island nations, the groups decided.
Arkansas, Hawaii and Oregon are believed to be the three states with the largest concentrations of residents from the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau.
But there is no accurate head count in any of those states. In general, data on these residents is spotty at best.
Due to language in the diplomatic relationship called the Compact of Free Association, residents from the three countries are considered migrants — not immigrants or refugees — so they can come and go freely between their homelands and the United States.
The migrant designation keeps Pacific Islanders from being screened before entering and leaving the country, so their medical records are incomplete.
Officials in Benton and Washington counties said the best way to determine the state’s population is to conduct a count through churches.
“Everybody needs data,” said Kevin Fitzpatrick, a sociology professor at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. “Everybody needs to know how many people are in their area — how many and who they are.”
The estimate in Arkansas is that there are anywhere from 4, 000 to 8, 000 Marshallese. Jenny Lee Berry of Oregon’s Office of Multicultural Health said the best estimate for her state is 3, 500.
The largest population for migrants from the three counties is believed to reside in Hawaii, but the way the U. S. Census is conducted, their nationalities aren’t taken into account.
The compact was amended in 2003 and extended for another 20 years until 2023.
Sam Aiona, of Hawaii’s Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, said the goal of the data campaign is to build a case for federal funding for U. S. regions affected by the arrival of the Marshallese and other Pacific Islanders.
If the three states can generate a comprehensive set of data, perhaps a tri-state legislative delegation could make a funding pitch to Congress, Aiona said. With that in mind, he told the video teleconference to keep interested parties apprised of developments.
Joe Bates, medical director for the Arkansas Department of Health, said the state hasn’t calculated the costs associated with health care, education and other services for Marshallese.
Carmen Chong Gum, Marshallese outreach coordinator at the Jones Center for Families in Springdale, told those in Oregon and Hawaii about her attempts to help Northwest Arkansas ’ Marshallese adapt to American life.
She’s producing a video in the Marshallese language called “New Culture, New Laws.” Chong Gum said she advises the region’s Marshallese on legal, financial, employment and educational matters. The Jones Center also hosts classes on parenting and computers, afterschool study and sports.
The Oregon and Hawaii representatives congratulated Chong Gum on her efforts. Still, Chong Gum expressed frustration that she has only been able to “patch” problems in the Marshallese community.
In Arkansas, in addition to high rates of tuberculosis, hepatitis, diabetes and arthritis, the Marshallese have little trust for the American medical system, Bates said. Also, many Marshallese women seek maternity care only when they are in labor, he said.
Chong Gum wants to find out how many Marshallese live in Northwest Arkansas and how many Pacific Islanders live in the United States. “It would be great to find the true number,” she said.
FEEDBACK:
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
