Voices of Refugees

The Voices of Refugees event was both inspirational and informative. I appreciated being able to attend the even with our class, because it truly made the conversations we have been having and course materials come alive. I enjoyed the simplistic structure that the event took on. The refugees were able to walk up onstage and share their story; almost as if we were having a one on one conversation and not listening to them lecture us. It was refreshing. The three refugees that spoke were diverse and genuine. I loved how even if a refugee did not speak English it didn’t matter. What mattered was that they had a story and they were taking the opportunity to share it with us. Although the language barrier was slightly bothersome, each person who shared with us overcame it beautifully.

The story that impacted me most personally was the Dari family. Their daughter, who is just about to graduate from High School, stood onstage with more confidence than I’ve seen in many college students, even after admitting that “the language barrier is still challenging for my family.” She proudly shared the story of how she was born in the forest, and was technically between boundaries of countries. She shamelessly told about growing up in the “hopless and miserable” refugee camp in Nepal. She left me amazed at how wonderfully she has assimilated into our culture. This was apparent in that she was wearing American clothing while her mother and grandmother were still donning traditional Bhutanese-wear and in her flawless uses of culturally modern language. Still, she celebrated where she has come from and the opportunities that currently lie before her. At the same time, it was plain to see that she had not left the culture she grew up in behind entirely, which is something to be celebrated indeed.