Lutheran Social Services Set to Celebrate World Refugee Day
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Multicultural Fashion Show models from Iraq, Bhutan, and Africa at last year's LSSNE World Refugee Celebration.
At Tuesday evening’s Worcester City Council meeting, Council members proclaimed June 20th as World Refugee Day in the City of Worcester. The proclamation was presented to Lutheran Social Services of New England (LSSNE), the largest refugee resettlement agency in Central Massachusetts. World Refugee Day marks the Anniversary of the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees by the United Nations General Assembly. More than 70,000 refugees are welcomed by the United States government each year.
Lutheran Social Services will hold a celebration to mark World Refugee Day on June 20 that Trinity Lutheran Church in Worcester from 12:00 to 3:00 PM.
“The purpose of the celebration is to honor the strength, courage, and determination of refugees around the world” says Jozefina Lantz, Director of Services for New Americans in Massachusetts. “We also want to raise awareness about the important contributions refugees make to the social, cultural, and economic vibrancy of the City of Worcester.”
The public is invited to join the celebration which will feature cultural food, dance, musical performances, art, and other special presentations. Guests are also invited to bring their own dishes to be part of the multicultural picnic.
An Event With Many Stories
"World refugee day at LSS is so significant and has so many meanings that it is difficult to fit them all in one place. It is a celebration of one refugee that found a new life in the Worcester area, of a working single mother being able to provide for her children, of a family re-united after so many years of separation, trauma and war, it is the celebration of one proud and rightfully American citizen living his new found life. All of them come together with LSS staff to sing songs, dance and share food," remarks Eldri Buli of the LSSNE, an Albanian refugee and former journalist in his native country.
"Getting to know how a Nepali refugee dances, how an Iraqi young man sings, how a Congolese father plays his guitar, is a new experience that brings a tremendous amount of spiritual wealth. All these individuals left something back in their home countries and they all brought in more values, character and cultures in Worcester, enriching their own and other’s lives as well."
Last year, approximately 500 refugees were resettled in Worcester. The largest numbers of refugees have come from Iraq and Bhutan, with smaller yet consistent arrivals from Somalia, DR Congo, and other African nations. LSS focuses on helping refugees attain self-sufficiency with an array of services, primarily ESOL/job training and job placement
Refugees: An Important but Overlooked Population
Ultimately, with this event and others, LSSNE hopes to make the greater public aware of this surprisingly large refugee population in the area, and make sure residents do not forgot how valuable they can be by providing a constant injection of cultural energy into the city.
"We don't have world celebrities that have taken up the refugees awareness flag, coming up in our event. We don’t have politicians promising help and then forgetting about them. We have each other and we focus our thoughts and help to the refugees who are the unique and the only ones that matter, not only on the twentieth of June, but every day, all year long. And we need local and national donors, employers, communities and individuals that can make a difference in one refuge’s life. By coming to celebrate with us, you will get to know them, you will get to learn from their experience and you will be enriched. You will probably meet an engineer, a nurse, a driver or your next employee, who knows?" says Buli.
For more information about World Refugee Day celebrations in Worcester, go to: https://www.facebook.com/events/380179705425517/. For more information on the LSNNE please click here. The Trinity Lutheran Church is located at 73 Lancaster Street.
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