President Trump’s moves to pause refugee resettlement, freeze foreign aid and suspend funds to promote democracy have added more chaos to one of the world’s most urgent humanitarian crises.
The family of four refugees filled seven suitcases for their new life in America. They packed blankets, tin plates, one blade for clearing the land in their future home and one for chopping meat. They left behind what they were not supposed to bring: slingshots, fish paste, traditional medicines from their native Myanmar.
But the family never made it to Ohio. Last month, their flights were abruptly canceled. Now with President Trump’s order to pause refugee resettlement, even for thousands of those who have gone through the yearslong approval process, they say they have lost hope in ever becoming Americans.
“I don’t have an opinion about American politics,” said Saw Steel Wah Doh, a 35-year-old lab technician, who is now back in a refugee camp in Thailand with his wife and two children. “I want to become American, work hard, love democracy.”
The Trump administration’s refugee suspension and foreign aid freeze are upending efforts to address one of the world’s most dire humanitarian crises. Not too long ago, Myanmar was an icon of democratic reform lauded by the West. Today, four years after the military toppled an elected government, it is an international pariah largely unchecked as it bombs its own civilians.
On Wednesday, nongovernmental organizations that promote democracy and provide lifesaving treatment for refugees and people displaced by conflict in Myanmar said they were told that grants from the National Endowment for Democracy had been suspended, effective immediately.
The N.E.D. was set up by Congress during the Reagan era to strengthen democracy worldwide. Three representatives of Myanmar-related aid groups said they were told that the N.E.D. has not been able to draw funds from the U.S. Treasury to pay for grants that had already been approved.