About Robert J. Shalka Robert J. Shalka, a retired immigration foreign service officer was one of two officers sent to Thailand to establish a new program for refugees from Thailand and Laos. Books by Robert J. Shalka Running on Empty Canada and the Indochinese Refugees, 1975-1980 by (author) Michael J. Molloy, Peter Duschinsky, Kurt F. Jensen & Robert J. Shalka