the Painting Activist

11″ x 14″‘ oil on masonite board.
SOLD
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Gallery caption:

Kentucky Refugee Ministries is a resettlement agency authorized by the U.S. Dept. of State to assist refugees who have been legally admitted to the United States, as victims of warfare or other forms of persecution because of their religious or political beliefs.

Pae Dah came to Louisville as a client of KRM from a refugee camp in Thailand where she lived for two year after being forced from her home country of Burma. Although Pae Dah is still separated from several family members, and adjusting to American culture and the English language, she smiled through most of our interview as she spoke of her new found freedom.

Pae Dah’s quote in the painting;

I’ve come to Louisville and I am very happy because it is freedom.

I just received an email from a friend who has an honorable request. I’m happy to use my blog to reach out to those of you in Louisville who can help:

A Rwandan family featured in the Courier Journal about a year ago is once again facing devastating circumstance. After living most of their lives in refugee camps, the family was placed in Louisville via intervention by the United Nations. Three of the young women (only 17-22) have had to move out of their apartment abruptly due to family circumstances. Currently, two of them are employed by UPS, which will lay them off in two weeks because of their rotating part-time policy. The girls’ English is poor, although they are learning and improving. We are asking for your help with:

Unfortunately, I will have missed all three films shown for the Kentucky Refugee Ministries film festival due to being out of town. If you are in Louisville this Sunday, consider going to see the 3pm showing of “God Grew Tired of Us” at Ekstrom Library at the University of Louisville. Admission is $10.  Christopher Quinn directed the Sundance Grand Jury Prize and Audience Prize winning film.

(Click here for a direct link to the film trailer.)

Here is a complete list of all three movies included in the festival.

7″ x 9″ watercolor
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Per a request from a dear friend who works with refugees in Columbus, Ohio, I finished an earlier sketch of this image for World Refugee Day. But instead of reiterating what I had previously said, I asked her to share something with you about the clients she works closely with:

“Of the roughly 12 million refugees and asylees worldwide, less than 1% will ever be resettled to a permanent home outside of the refugee camp. Of those lucky few, the struggle changes from waiting in line for grain and water to waiting in line to enroll in ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) and apply for Social Security cards.

Successful acculturation training for new comers is vital to starting their new life in the US. From teaching which household cleaners are for dishes and which are for the floors, to demonstrating the use of a vacuum cleaner: dedicated volunteers are needed to help welcome and educate America’s newest immigrants. See Church World Service for ides of how you can help! (http://churchworldservice.com/opportunities.html)

For those left behind, safety and security are of utmost concern. One concern of refugee women is the unsafe land just beyond the camp perimeter. While collecting firewood, young girls are vulnerable to soldiers and locals who take the opportunity to rape those who are unaccompanied. In response to this issue of security, Solar Cookers International (http://solarcookers.org/about/programs/dadaab.html) has sought a unique solution to reduce the time spent searching for fuel.”

Colleen Rosshirt
Community Refugee and Immigration Services
www.cris-ohio.com

World Refugee Day, Established in 2000 by the United Nations General Assembly, is tomorrow, June 20th. Here’s a little food for thought in honor of tomorrow:

• As of January 1 2007, UNHCR (UN High Commissioner for Refugees) reported a total of 21,018,589 people of concern to the organization (including refugees, asylum-seekers, returned refugees, internally displaced and stateless persons).  That’s nearly equal to the number of residents in the state of Texas.
• According to the UNHCR, as of April 2007, some 2.0 million Iraqis have been forced to flee their country, and another 1.9 million are displaced internally.
• UN officials estimate, that in Darfur, over 400,000 people have lost their lives and some 2 million more have been driven from their homes.  Here is a link to a great documentary video, “On Our Watch,” that sheds light on the life of many Darfur refugees.

There are a number of ways you can get involved in helping refugees.  I most strongly encourage you to find a refugee resettlement office in your area where you can donate furniture or other needed goods, or get more closely involved by volunteering with refugee families in your city.  They often need transportation and help getting on their feet (ie language courses, job placement, etc.)  The World Church Service or many local Catholic Charities offices are often a great place to start.

It’s no surprise that my best friend works for a refugee resettlement office in Columbus, Ohio (it’s up my alley, right?). Well, although I wasn’t surprised, the other patrons of a Columbus karaoke bar, to put it lightly, were shocked to see the odd group my friend gathered for her birthday/refugee family benefit ball last night.

Guests of her party were instructed to dust off old prom dresses, bridesmaid dresses, tuxes, or anything that fit the hodge-podge “ball attire,” and more importantly to bring household goods in a gift basket for a refugee family that her agency is working with. It was also disclosed that we would be visiting a nearby karaoke bar…in our formal wear.

So, we left her kitchen, filled with things such a mop, sheets, and cleaning supplies, to take over the song queue and serenade our onlookers (and look on they did). When was the last time you saw prom queens and bridesmaids singing Gladys Knight hits fully accessorized with one tiara, one pair of orange pumas under a pink chiffon skirt, and enough bobby pins to hold down Rapunzel’s hair?

A great time was had by all, and I’m sure the happiness will be trickling on long afterwards when the refugee family receives their gift baskets! What a great and meaningful way to celebrate your birthday.

8″ x 10″ oil on canvas, $200 ($50 donated to KY Refugee Ministries)
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Only my generation could pull off naming a social fundraiser “Blingtini.” That’s what you get when the Young Professionals Association of Louisville combines “bling” (much thanks to Davis Jewelers) with martinis (not actually together in a glass of course).

8″ x 11″ oil on board, $200 ($50 donated to CRIS).

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Here is the final piece from this past weekend’s furniture delivering adventure (see the pervious post for more). Although our time spent was intended to specifically serve the Somali refugee clients of CRIS, we had enough furniture to spread the love to this American family of 5 living in the same apartment complex. It’s amazing how one church congregation’s junk can make a tremendous difference in the lives of 3 families, 125 miles away.

The mother’s boyfriend of the family above was in the process of moving out and taking most of the furniture with him. The family was incredibly grateful for the couch and chairs we were able to spare. The 11 church youth group members, 2 CRIS employees, and I received hugs, smiles, and on going words thanks from the families we helped. Manual labor and used furniture was the least we could offer these families coping with burdens ranging from poverty to being forced to leave a home and familiar culture.

If you’re interested in getting involved, here other national refugee resettlement organizations that would love your help.

• Find a Catholic Charities near you as many offer refugee resettlement services.
• Church World Service
• Lutheran Immigration and Resettlement Services
• Hebrew Immigration Aid Society

Technorait tags: refugees, immigration, Somalia

I was waiting for the rain soaking us to the bone to change to snow as our group of 11 Akron Ohio church youth group members and 2 CRIS (community refugee and immigration services) employees fumbled our way up several flights of stairs with 2 truck loads of donated furniture. Thank goodness Somalians keep the heat cranked up while adjusting to the frigid November temperatures in Columbus, Ohio.

My Saturday entailed attending an informative meeting about the refugee resettlement process, delivering furniture to 2 Somali families (as well as a third American family in need of our surplus), and finishing up with a hearty meal at a Somali restaurant. Although certainly needed and welcomed, our day’s work hardly seemed to put a dent in the broader problem. Columbus is a new home to thousands of Africans who fled their native country left uninhabitable by civil war. Columbus has the second largest Somali population in the nation (about 45,000). Many arrive in the US speaking little English, often with several children, and unprepared to acclimate to the American culture. It’s a far from perfect system they are given to work with, but nonetheless, deep appreciation was was felt for our efforts to contribute a small bit of help and support. And no matter what momentous struggles are ahead of you, having a bed to sleep in verses the floor still seems make all the difference. For more personal stories and info check out this blog.

Tomorrow I will be working on a painting from this weekend’s activities so I will leave further details for that post. But I’ll leave you with this last sketch which was one of the highlights of my day. As we repeatedly walked past the home of the boy on the right (PJ), we stirred enough curiosity to get him, his 2 brothers, single mother, and aunt outside to watch. We ended up giving them several pieces of much needed furniture that honestly was more than the 2 Somali families needed. The 2 youngest boys were completely enamored with the us and especially the boy on the left (Michael), who was one of the youth group members from Akron. I snapped a picture of both them as PJ, without missing a beat, affectionately took Michael’s hand and vigorously tried to warm it between his own after Michael had complained that his hands were cold and freezing from carrying boxes and furniture outside in the elements. I couldn’t feel my fingers, feet, or the end of my nose, but the warm fuzzies were at least keeping my spirit dry and out of the cold.

Technorait tags: refugees, immigration, Somalia