While many were celebrating World Refugee Day on Thursday, some in Central New York were still shocked by a house explosion in Syracuse that sent 11 members of two refugee families, including one that had been in the U.S. for only 12 days, to the hospital with injuries.
Seven people who lived in the home at 205 Carbon St., and a visiting family of six, all of whom are from Myanmar and part of the Rohingya ethnic group, were in the residence when it exploded and partially collapsed around 4 p.m. Tuesday, according to firefighters and Syracuse Common Councilor Chol Majok.
As of Friday morning, Upstate University Hospital had provided updates on nine of the 11 victims.
The hospital said of the visiting family, two children, who have been identified as a 2-year-old and a 9-month-old, remained in critical condition; two were in good condition and one was discharged.
It said the four of the people who lived in the home have now been discharged.
The hospital did not have an update for two of the other hospitalized individuals, including a 3-year-old resident of the home who was listed in critical condition on Wednesday.
The family of seven lived in the U.S. for five years, while the visiting family had been here less than two weeks.
“Oh my goodness, another tragedy, another trauma," said Majok. “It was terrible; it was horrible to witness."
The group was celebrating an Islamic holiday when their lives were flipped upside down. The incident hit home for Majok, who is a refugee, having come to Syracuse when he was 16 from South Sudan.
“Every single refugee have had to go through a traumatic experience, and the journey of constantly running to come to America and to be reminded of that trauma in a different form, it worries me," he said.
Majok and others are now working on ways to help the families moving forward.
“The family will need housing," Majok said. "We need basics, utensils and basic stuff, things that items that go into our household. They will also need that documentation as they have lost everything.”