Foreword
Many voices from our community make up this collection. May these poems remind us to reach out, because the stranger may soon become our dear friend.
In these times of the pandemic, where we are forced to stay home and can't even be with our loved ones for the sake of their safety, we are once again reminded of the challenges refugees face everyday. Sudden changes of life, longing to be with our loved ones, and helplessness that we cannot change our circumstances, are all part of the experience of being a refugee. Now more than ever, may we see how similar we all are to each other. May these works of art stand as a great reminder of that.
A heartfelt thank you goes out to Cati Porter, director of Inlandia Institute, who applied for and was awarded a Cultural Pathways grant from the California Arts Council. She has the unique talent of being a manager, facilitator and poet. She was with us for every step of the project and we are forever grateful for this partnership.
Nikia Chaney and Christina Guillén, facilitators and poets from Inlandia Institute, provided just enough guidance to ignite a sense of purpose in our writing. Some poetry was spoken in Pashto and Farsi and then written by a friend and lastly translated into English. Language was not a barrier nor was any training or education in writing poetry. There was no hesitation to create poetry; on the contrary, there was only enthusiasm.
Thank you to the SCIPP facilitators who joined us during the summer of 2019. In four sessions across the span of two weeks, art and poetry were created by the children. And in the adult ESL class, deeper and nuanced cultural understanding came through when we each shared the story of our favorite scarf.
Further support came from The Critical Refugee Study Collective grant that Zehra Qazi was awarded. Beautiful art projects were created that were built on the theme of community building. Thanks to this grant, a pre launch of this book happened in March 2020 where the Afghan women shared their art and poetry.
Glocally Connected is a volunteer-based organization and it would not continue to grow if it were not for the many volunteers who support our work and our families in every possible way from driving the women to class to supporting their entrepreneurial efforts; teaching in the classroom; opening their hearts; and building the bonds of friendship.
Selin & Sherry
