A Place Called HOME for Refugees

My blog entries are usually about the latest things I have discovered as a Filipino living in the United States. I often feel displaced, still not quite certain of where it is I truly belong. Hence the name "K's Apartment" - it's the only place where I can link my two homes in one space - in my apartment.

My feeling of loneliness or longing for a place I can call home, however, pales in comparison to what refugees face. Because of war, families are plucked from their homes in order to escape death or torture, only certain of one thing: they cannot look back.

The cause and effect of war.

As a literature student, I was required to read The Honey, The Locusts by Philippine author Lina Espina-Moore. The novel talked about the difficulties of war during the Japanese invasion in the Philippines, and how innocent civilians were forced to participate in war themselves - not because they wanted to, but because they had to in order to survive.

Just recently, I also watched the movie Persepolis, which tells the tale about a young girl and the circumstances she had to undergo during the Iranian revolution. In order to escape all the turmoil, her parents send her to study in Austria, where she learns to become independent and strong, but still longs for her chance to return to Iran - her home.

Lately, I have been reading about the state of refugees in different countries. To be honest, I didn't know where to begin when I started thinking of what exactly I should write about. Sadly, there are too many refugees out there. There are too many displaced individuals. Too many people who are forced out of their homes and into the worst of living conditions all because of war. I continued to dig deeper in order to find something more specific to write about, and finally decided to write about something that is always in the news for one big thing or another: the war in Iraq.

Search for the issues.

If you try to do a Google search on the Iraq war, you will get casualty reports, the cost of the war, the latest news on military strategies, and the latest development projects. But nothing about Iraq refugees or displaced Iraqi citizens shows up. While people talking excitedly about the most recently developed armor, or the newly deployed military vehicle, the underlying issue is unfortunately forgotten. Have we all forgotten why the US claims it set foot in Iraq to begin with? Bush called it "nation-building" efforts in 2001. What good is a nation, though, if all of its citizens are displaced?

It is only if you dig deeper that you find stories about Iraqi refugees who have turned to prostitution, and about Iraqi translators who flee to the United States in order to avoid persecution only to be turned away by the US government.

Time to wake up, people!

Refugees International calls this issue "the largest humanitarian

and displacement crises in the world."

I was trying to look for pictures of Iraqi refugees in order to strengthen my point here, and came across this website called The WE. Now I haven't read through this website enough to say whether I agree with everything in it, but the site posts several newspaper articles with their corresponding photos. It is definitely something for all of us to read through in order to get a better understanding of what exactly is happening to the people of Iraq as a result of this war.

To illustrate briefly:

What can we do about it?

The truth is, there are actually a lot of things you can do help refugees all around the world. It all starts with getting to know the facts. Once you have educated yourself, find one cause that you can see yourself committing to. Look for organizations, see what initiatives they're taking to alleviate the situation, and find out how you can contribute.

To get everyone started, take a look at the following sites:

Refugees International
http://www.refugeesinternational.org/

UK Refugee Services
http://www.redcross.org.uk/TLC.asp?id=81617

Lutheran Refugee Services
http://www.lirs.org/

Aotearoa-New Zealand Refugee Services
http://www.refugeeservices.org.nz/

United States Committee for Refugees and Immigrant Children
http://www.refugees.org/

Church World Service Immigrant & Refugee Program
http://www.churchworldservice.org/Immigration/index.html

Women's Commission for Refugee Women & Children
http://www.womenscommission.org/


Additional Links/Resources

http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/protect?id=3b8265c7a

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refugees

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statelessness


Any questions or suggestions?
Please do not hestitate to leave me a comment, here... in my home.

-Kk

Apple Picking in Granite Springs, NY

It was a pleasant surprise to find out that there was another Filipino in my office - and one who graduated from the same University as I did! Eileen and I never met in college because she is two years my junior, so it was definitely fortuitous that we met at work in New York City, of all places.

A few months ago, Eileen and I brought our husbands to a small get-together, and Vic (Eileen's husband) and Javi hit it off instantly. Even if they had only met, it was as if they grew up together in the same neighborhood in Manila.

So the four of us have been going out to a few places - Momofuku in Manhattan, a tour of their neighborhood in Scarsdale and White Plains, and the latest one - Stuart's Fruit Farm in Granite Springs, NY!

Here's a map of Javi's and my route to Scarsdale, where we met Eileen and Vic, and then our route to Granite Springs:

The scenery on the way was quite beautiful! This was definitely another great way to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city, as well as spend time with great friends.

When we finally got to the Farm, we were greeted by bushels of apples:

We all joked about how we would just buy these (above) so we wouldn't have to exert any effort in actually picking the apples!

But the four of us were there for a purpose! To PICK apples! So off we went, up a pretty steep hill, to get to the trees.

However, true to the nature of being Filipino, Eileen and I stopped to take pictures first!

Ok seriously, we knew had to get to work! So here is Vic, trying to pick his first apple:

Did it pass Eileen's inspection??? ;)

Here's Javi, picking one, too:

I took a shot of a kid trying his luck at his own juicy red:

And Javi took one of another kid trying to get her own apple:

How many apples are in this picture? Can you tell me?

After a few hours, we were finally able to fill our 1/2 bushel bags, and headed back down that hill. Here's a picture of the two long-lost friends before our descent:

Back at the shop, Javi bought dressing, while Vic bought cider for his mom and brother:

While Eileen was also buying her microwaveable popcorn on a cob, I took a few more shots of the farm:

I will end this string of photos with what I believe is the most picturesque of all of them:

If only, Eileen and Vic, and Javi and I can live in a town like this while working in Manhattan. With a beautiful setting like this, and great neighbors like Eileen and Vic, who wouldn't enjoy getting up in the morning everyday?