The Heroine's Journey

Talisma Nasrin is a renown, out-spoken Bangladesh feminist. She works to build support for secular humanism, freedom of thought, equality for women, and human rights by publishing, lecturing, and campaigning. This is Supatra's own poetic response to one of Taslima's poem, "The Woman Breaking Bricks". 

            The Heroine's Journey

With you I am weeping, brick breaking girl

Your sadness drowns my heart

Your misery pierces my soul

Your pain tears me apart

I will ask all my friends,

What would you feel,

what would you say,

if brick breaking girl

lives in the USA,

works for Webcor,

building Juicy Couture? 

Will our T.V. tell her story

inside out and outside in,

Day after day?

It's you I am embracing, brick breaking girl

Your resilience lift my soul

Your forbearance fill my heart

Your fortitude I uphold

With you, and with all of us, I break the brick

We will build the great tower

And plant flowers on it

           

                                    - Supatra Chowchuvech , CHAA Thai Community Advocate


       

Tibetan Leadership Workshop for Youth

Youth development, particularly in areas of leadership has been a largely unaddressed need in Bay Area Himalayan communities. In order to provide resources to young leaders in her community, CHAA Tibetan advocate Tsering Yangkey organized a Youth leadership workshop on Saturday, June 22, 2012. The workshop was organized to strengthen public speaking skills in voicing concerns about Tibetan issues to the world, strengthening skills in planning and hosting campaign activities, and other skills.

There were three presenters at the workshop. First was CHAA's Angelo Ercia, who led a workshop about event organizing and outreach. Participants joined in a planning activity, where they were asked to break out into groups to organize an event. Angelo covered the different challenges that can often come up in event management and planning, and what the participants could do to avoid these issues to make their events as efficient and effective as possible. After a lunch of traditional home cooked Tibetan food, Nadia Hussain from CHAA presented a quick training on social media and storytelling, encouraging the participants to reach within to express their true passions when it comes to the issues they are advocating for.

The last training was led by speaker Kala Mendoza, who gave a fantastic workshop on public speaking. Kala helped the young leaders tighten up their messages and had them practice making quick videos on flip cameras so that they could watch themselves in action as they spoke of human rights in Tibet and the need for support for Tibetans in exile. The participants were grateful for the workshop and all that they learned. Tsering looks to do more youth leadership trainings for the community so that leaders can gain further tools and insights for making the greatest impact when it comes to their advocacy efforts.

From the Roots to the Treetops: Reflections on the Town Hall for Emerging API Communities from Bhutan, Burma, Mongolia and Tibet

One of the greatest challenges faced by advocacy efforts is the lack of connection between government bodies, public agencies, and marginalized communities. The communities that need the most help and who have the most at stake are often left out of crucial policy discussions.  For years, non-profits like CHAA have worked with communities on the ground through direct services and programming in an attempt to address some of their most pressing needs. Though these efforts are crucial in providing much needed services, they are sometimes unable to provide an avenue for community voices to be heard by federal agencies.

Members of the local Bhutanese community 

A significant step towards bridging this gap took place on Saturday, April 28, 2012, when Community Health for Asian Americans (CHAA) and the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAAPI) co-sponsored a Town Hall meeting – “Connecting with Emerging Communities from Bhutan, Burma, Mongolia and Tibet” – at Cesar Chavez Education Center in Oakland, CA. The town hall/listening session was a unique opportunity for these diverse new communities to share their challenges directly with Obama Administration officials and representatives from several Federal Departments. Community partners included the Bhutanese Community in California, leaders from Bay Area refugee communities from Burma, Mongolian Student Nonprofit Organization in America, and the Tibetan Association of Northern California (TANC).

Performing artist Tashi, from the Tibetan Community

President Obama reestablished the WHIAAPI in October 2009 to increase access and participation of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) in policy development, programs and services across the Federal government. The administration appointed several representatives to conduct outreach to communities all over the county in order to facilitate and build this participation. More information on the initiative can be found here (http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/aapi/about). WHIAAPI Commission Chair, Daphne Kwok, had previously met with the diverse Burmese refugee community in Oakland last August. There was great enthusiasm and interest expressed by the community members attending that meeting in connecting with government representatives about their issues. Further discussions and planning for a larger event for new and emerging API communities followed.
With these needs in mind, CHAA’s API Connections team and members of targeted communities began planning the month before the event. The planning body included representatives from each community to be represented at the town hall. The communities held their own planning discussions in preparation for their involvement in the Town Hall. Everyone worked to ensure that the event would have adequate interpretation for community members, informative presentations for federal officials and carefully selected community stories that could illustrate their most significant needs and challenges.
The April 28^th Town Hall meeting featured a program that included presentations by representatives of the Bhutanese, Burma refugee, Mongolian and Tibetan communities. The event also showcased cultural song and dance from each of the communities, a multicultural lunch with foods from each of the participating communities, and intensive dialogue sessions between individuals and community leaders with local, state, and federal representatives. These roundtable discussions enabled the communities to voice their concerns, exchange ideas, and connect with those who have the access, information and resources to deliver much-needed services.

Cultural items from the Mongolian Community

In the beginning of the day each cultural group set up their own sections and tables, complete with cultural artifacts, flags and banners. The room was alive with diversity and excitement as men wearing ‘say p’lo’, red traditional shirts from the Karen community, listened attentively to translations of the agenda while Bhutanese children wearing colorful traditional clothes ran throughout the auditorium. The event held an interesting mix of people – from government officials in suits, to Tibetan community leaders in traditional clothes. This was an incredible and unique opportunity for federal officials to get a glimpse into the lives of these communities.

Organizer Mary Nicely, CHAA Executive Director Beatrice Lee and CHAA Associate Director Sean Kirkpatrick began the presentations with inspirational words before introducing a few a traditional dance and music numbers from the Tibetan community. Classically trained Tibetan artist, Tashi performed a dance while playing a traditional musical instrument.

Event organizer Mary Nicely addresses the crowd

Community presentations after the performances were a crucial learning tool for event participants. The presentations covered group histories- from their lives in their homelands and the reasons for their migrations to the United States. There were tales of war, occupation, refugee camps and economic shifts that led to mass immigration. These backstories could get lost or overlooked within a broad API context, yet here the stories stood on their own, to be shared and understood by the federal officials. Mongolians spoke of economic insecurities that caused many in their community to seek a better life in the United States. They spoke about supporting the DREAM Act (the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act), an important piece of legislation that would help many undocumented students from the Mongolian and other API communities. The Burma refugee community presented on their diverse ethnic groups, and the fierce persecutions they faced with Burmese borders that caused millions to flee as refugees. They outlined issues of accountability regarding refugee resettlement services and a strong need for English language learning, which has been made unavailable to many refugees due to severe budget cuts. The Tibetan community shared stories of their growing blue-collar work force made up of educated individuals who lacked opportunities due to a dearth of adequate job support services.  The Bhutanese community outlined issues of public safety issues, since many refugees from their community are forced to live in high crime areas due to lack of economic resources. The Bhutanese also highlighted the lack of programs for women and the lack of continued support for refugee resettlement. The unique stories and journeys of each group detailed the significant issues they face as they work to adjust to their new homes in the United States.

Jain Thapa presents on the Bhutanese community

Over lunch, attendees were welcomed by Dr. Marye Thomas, Director of Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services, heard a moving personal story by Thuan Nguyen, California State Refugee Coordinator, and a presentation on the California Reducing Disparities Project’s API Report on mental health prevention and early intervention recommendations to the State Department of Mental Health from Rocco Cheng from Pacific Clinics.

The heart of the event’s purpose came after lunch, when each group was given the chance to directly communicate with representatives of attending government agencies, including the Justice Department, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, and The Department of Labor.  Officials moved from community table to community table, explaining the services provided by their departments and addressed the questions and issues presented to them by community members. Many community members shared their struggles in the workplace and challenges with getting employment in the first place. Communities relayed housing and language concerns, with federal officials listening intently and offering their best answers to the questions and concerns. Officials spent much of their time listening intently, taking in information regarding needs and concerns of the communities. These included many needs shared by almost all immigrant communities, yet there are issues unique to these newer immigrant communities that may not be not understood fully without more context and personal stories.

WHIAAPI Commissioner Daphne Kwok speaks with the Tibetan community

A member of the Bhutanese community spoke to the Department of Health and Human Services spoke about the issues he had with healthcare. He told the story of his wife, who had a problem with her leg as well as sleep problems and had been waiting for over a year for a doctor’s appointment. A member of the Burmese community described his experience of going to the local housing department and being told to “bring his own interpreter.” Others relayed their struggles with being unable to access public housing due to employment requirements. A young student from Mongolia shared the fears and uncertainties they faced while growing up undocumented in this country. The student spoke of the lack of options people in his situation faced and how it was difficult to pursue opportunities for a better life. A high school senior from the Tibetan community expressed his concerns regarding mental health and acculturation. “We are very depressed and we need support,” he said.  Others spoke about the underemployment of the Tibetan workforce, and told the stories of doctors and other professionals who were unable to find jobs in their fields here in the US. The federal officials engaged in these conversations. Many offered some answers or provided resources related to the issues that were discussed. Other times, they made notes as to what could be improved or changed to better serve these communities.

Dept of Health and Human Services, Kay Strader listens to the Mongolian community

As the time for discussions was winding down, community members were still brimming with topics to discuss and stories to tell. Community members would have stayed all night discussing their issues if possible; this was a novel and rare opportunity for them to directly approach agency representatives and decision-makers with their questions.
The event ended with a closing statement from event organizer Mary Nicely, who applauded the communities and officials for taking hours out of their Saturday to build critical communication for future work. Commissioner Daphne Kwok lauded the event’s success. She spoke of the need for more town halls in the future to expand the connections being made that day and to continue the crucial exchange of information between agencies and API communities. 

Many of the community leaders reflected on the importance of the town hall event. Tenzin “Tsedup” Wangdu, the Board President of the Tibetan Association of North America, reflected that “the Tibetan community has lots of refugees. It gave us appreciation to navigate through services on county and state levels.” Jantsan Damdinsuren, President of the Mongolian Students Non-Profit Organization in America, was appreciative of the opportunity to have the Mongolian community connect directly to government representatives. “It was a great opportunity for emerging immigrant low-income communities in the Bay Area,” he said. “It was an opportunity to voice our issues.” The government representatives were also grateful for this opportunity. “I loved it, it was wonderful. I have been to other listening sessions, but this was different. It was very touching to see the commitment to people from emerging communities to making their lives in this country better,” said Kay Strawder from the Department of Health and Human Services, Region IX.

Officials with Bhutanese community members

We at CHAA also loved the event, and are working on next steps with the communities, the White House Initiative on AAPIs, and with the departments represented at the Town Hall. The Town Hall’s success has broken ground for future efforts. The government and federal agencies cannot help communities they do not know about. The 2010 Census was important for this reason: it gave the federal government a better, if imperfect, picture of different constituencies and the services they may need. Refugee and marginalized API communities are oftentimes missing from this picture, and town halls such as this are an important step to making sure that they are included, honored and heard. Helping emerging API communities in their efforts to be represented in decisions that impact their lives realizes CHAA’s vision of bringing changes to the larger systems, changes that will hopefully improve the quality of life and services for these new immigrant communities.

CHAA would like to thank Federal Officials, the WHIAAPI and
Community members for coming out and making the event a great success!

World Refugee Day Press Release

East Bay Refugee Forum presents World Refugee Day 2012 in Oakland, CA

June 21, 2012 - World Refugee Day 2012 is a celebration to honor, appreciate and raise awareness about refugees around the world and in Oakland. The event will hosted by the East Bay Refugee Forum (EBRF) on Friday, June 22^nd at San Antonio Park in Oakland, CA from 12:00pm – 3:00pm.

The East Bay Refugee Forum is a partnership of over 38 agencies in Alameda County that serve refugees. The Forum was founded in 1978 as a partnership of five refugee resettlement agencies that supported the large influx of refugees coming to Alameda County. The Forum’s mission is to promote refugee self-sufficiency, leadership, advocacy, and to serve as the common voice for refugees in the East Bay.

World Refugee Day was established via Resolution 55/76 on December 4, 2000 at the United Nations General Assembly. The UN General Assembly noted that 2001 marked the 50th anniversary of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and thus the day was incorporated. From June 18 to 20 the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) commemorates World Refugee Day in order to draw the public's attention to the millions of refugees worldwide who are forced to flee their homes. Each year, UNHCR selects a theme and coordinates events across the globe.

The East Bay event will include cultural food, games and performances from  many diverse refugee communities in the Bay Area.

Event speakers and guests include:

Alex Briscoe, Director of Alameda County Health Services Agency

Wilma Chan, District 3 City Supervisor

Mina Sanchez, senior aide from District 5 City Supervisor Keith Carson’s office

Pat Kernighan, Oakland City Councilmember, District 2

Libby Schaaf, Oakland City Councilmember, District 4

Alice Lai-Bitker, Alameda County Board Supervisor

Endalkachew Getaneh, guest speaker from the refugee community 

API Community Meets with Rep. Barbara Lee

Burmese community with Representative Barbara Lee at the OACC

Representative Barbara Lee met with the Asian Pacific Islander Community on Saturday, May 26, 2012 at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center.  Rep. Lee has been an advocate for the API community, serving on the Health Care Taskforce Chair for the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. Rep Lee and her staff welcomed members of the community and spoke briefly about her advocacy work and the upcoming election day on Tuesday, June 5th.

The Burmese community, along with CHAA advocate Nwe Oo, and the Tibetan community came out to meet the congresswoman and had the opportunity to speak to her personally.

Connecting with our local, state and national representatives is a crucial part of empowering API communities, especially the ones who are marginalized on the periphery of political discourse. Community events and meetings such as these are a positive step forward for these groups as they look to further engage with policy issues. 

Immigrant Day in Sacramento

Immigrant Day attendees on the steps of the State Capitol

On March 21st 2012, a coalition of organizations from all over the state came together for Immigrant Day in Sacramento. Organizations ranged from Labor rights groups to Faith-based organizations who came together to advocate for the rights of immigrant communities. The day began with an interfaith procession, followed by leaders from the community who addressed the days attendees. Assemblymember Tom Amianno and Assemblymember Fiona Ma also spoke in support of the day and the passing of California Immigrant Policy Centers's (CIPC) pro immigrant policy platforms. During the speeches, community groups listened and prepared for the legislative visits that would begin around noon.

Assemblymember Tom Amianno, drafter of many pro-immigrant bills, addresses the crowd
photo courtesy of CIPC

I attended three legislative visits where Immigrant Day attendees shared their personal stories with Congressional staff and legislators, urging passing of Pro-immigrant bills. Some of of the highest priority Bills were the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights (AB 889), the TRUST Act (AB 1081), The Workplace Religious Freedom Act (AB 1964) and The Reuniting Immigrant Families Act (SB 1064). During the visits, we explained what the bills entailed and how passing them would secure the human rights of immigrants in our communities. Community members told their stories to illustrate the impact the bills would have. One man spoke of his younger sister, who was undocumented and was reported to the police by the father of her child during a domestic dispute. She was deported and now her brother has to take care of his nephew. He spoke of the pain of separation and the uncertainly that goes along with policies that force families apart.

There were many stories like this. My delegations' last visit of the day was with Assemblywomen Pro Temporate Fiona Ma. Fiona Ma has been a strong advocate of progressive immigration on a state level and welcomed the stories from our contingent.

Advocates and community members getting ready for legislative visits

Immigration issues are a big part of the challenges facing the communities CHAA works with. There are hidden undocumented populations within many of our API groups and oftentimes their voices are completely unheard. Immigration Day provides an opportunity for members of the community to directly address their legislators and impact bills that may help support our communities, instead of denying them their rights. At CHAA, we look to bridge the gaps not just between communities and services, but also in policy arenas where voices matter. More efforts such as these may be instrumental in changing the landscape of California politics, to make this diverse state more open and fair to the people who call it home.

Written by: Smita Nadia Hussain

A Personal Reflection On the Oikos University Shooting in Oakland, CA by Dechen Tsering

Photo of Sonam Chodon, who tragically lost her life in the Oikos University shooting in Oakland

This week on Monday, April 2nd, seven innocent lives were abruptly ended in a horrific shooting at Oikos University in Oakland, CA. Monday’s tragic incident was particularly shocking and unprecedented for the Tibetan and Sikkimese communities here and everywhere as we mourn the untimely deaths of Sonam Chodon (Tibetan) and Tshering Rinzing Bhutia (Sikkimese). Sadly, these were also the two victims whose nationalities were dissolved into "Nepal" and/or "India" in earlier media reports, reflecting how without a sovereign statehood we are vulnerable to ethnic invisibility even in death.

The other students who were killed were of Nigerian (Doris Chibuko), Filipino (Kathleen Ping), Guyanan (Judith Seymour) and Korean (Lydia Sim and Grace Kim) ethnicity. The shooter, One Goh, was Korean and is in police custody. My heart and prayers go out to all the families and friends of those impacted by this horrific act and to their communities. Many of us have heard and seen reports of random shootings in the US or elsewhere. Be it two senior high school students’ mass shooting in Columbine, Colorado; a 17-year old boy’s consecutive shooting sprees at his secondary school and a car dealership in Southern Germany; a deranged shopper’s random shooting in a Dutch mall; a disturbed American GI’s shooting rampage in an Afghan village; or a 43-year old Korean immigrant’s madness at Oikos University Oakland this week – horrific shootings resulting in multiple innocent deaths are always a shock to our system and psyche. No matter what the circumstances, these acts are inconceivable each time they happen. It reminds us of how we, humans, can crack somewhere so deep inside that it can lead to incredible suffering for oneself and other innocent beings.
That said, Monday's incident represents a tragedy for many of us, particularly those of us living in the United States and its immigrant communities.

Tragic because it is the worst case of senseless shooting in the Bay Area involving mostly Asians. Tragic because it exemplifies how a system failed to support a new immigrant to this country troubled by his own loss of a mother and a brother last year under different circumstances. Tragic because it is yet another example of how this country's laws around gun control do more harm than good for society. Contrary to the proponents of laws against tighter gun-control laws, America's "right to bare arms" ended seven promising lives and set in motion a likely lifetime of incarceration for one on Monday. Tragic because it shattered dreams, broke hearts and forever separated families from their loved ones.
We are all impacted by a deeply sad and tragic set of circumstances that led to the loss of these 7 precious human beings, including our very sister, Sonam Chodon, and our cultural brother, Tshering Bhutia from Sikkim. As I learned from surviving siblings and close friends, they were two lovely aspiring human beings with dreams to do good in this sometimes crazy world we live in. A soft-spoken nurturing Sonam Chodon was deeply committed to serving her community, which she did for five years on the staff of Department of Education within the Tibetan exile government in Dharamsala, India. She was on her way to completing her nursing courses at Oikas University and had been in the US for just under two years. She was poised to do more good in the world with her nursing degree at age 33.

Incidentally, both Sonam Chodon and Tshering Bhutia had no living parents so their surviving siblings are bearing yet another personal loss. Arrangements are being made to fly Tshering Bhutia's body back to Sikkim for ceremonies in his homeland. He was a cheerful and hardworking man who would've turned 39 this month! He was on his way to apply for US citizenship this year.

On Tuesday April 3rd, the Tibetan Association of Northern California (TANC), a nonprofit that oversees the wellbeing of the local Tibetan community, hosted a beautiful prayer ceremony for all the victims and their families at the Tibetan community center, De-Shi Phuntsogling, in Richmond. Tibetans and Western friends chanted Buddhist prayers led by maroon-robed monks from the Gyuto Vajrayana Center in San Jose and Nechung Buddhist Center in El Cerrito.

I have never seen the Tibetan community center so full with people as that night, with an estimated 150 in the audience. The show of community support for the victims and their families was moving and quite a number of non-Tibetans were there as well. Six of my own colleagues from Oakland-based nonprofit, Community Health for Asian Americans (CHAA), were present also. CHAA’s Executive Director, Beatrice Lee, read a heartfelt condolence letter on behalf of her organization board and staff. TANC President Tenzin Tsedup gave an emotional memorial to his former classmate, Sonam Chodon, and acknowledged Tshering Bhutia, with full commitment from TANC's side to do whatever is necessary to show support to his bereaved family in Sikkim as well as that of Sonam Chodon's. At the end of the ceremony, people went up to Sonam Chodon's brother to express condolences (Tshering Bhutia had no relatives or family in the Bay Area). It was a deeply emotional time for everyone regardless of how personally we knew Sonam Chodon or not during her life.

There was a momentary merging of Eastern and Western cultures in the openly public display of tears, sorrow and physical embraces of solidarity against a more stoic cultural backdrop. I watched how gracefully Sonam Chodon's brother acknowledged quietly each person's condolence and accepted the embraces despite the personal grief. He later shared with me that that night's show of community's solidarity was something he will cherish and felt deeply grateful for.

Four Tibetans were involved in this incident, three were women. Sonam Chodon’s classmate and friend narrowly escaped death by hiding under a table in the class, another Tibetan woman in a separate room actually saved herself and her colleagues from potential fatality by locking their class door and turning off the light just before the shooter got there. Tragically, Sonam Chodon was killed.
In many ways both the Tibetan and Sikkimese communities are blessed to have Buddhist spiritual principles to draw strength from and keep spirits hopeful. Customary to Buddhist tradition, community members at the dedication that night offered donations via TANC for the families of Sonam and Tshering as contributions toward butter lamp offerings and prayer ceremonies throughout the first 49 days following their demise. People poured hearts and purses in a generous show of support.
My heartfelt prayers to ALL the families, friends and communities impacted by this tragedy including that of the perpetrator. May those deceased rest in peace and may their surviving loved ones move through their painful loss with compassion and forgiveness.

We are all the same in that one day we all have to bid farewell to this life! When and how we get to do that is unpredictable and beyond our control. So treat each day like a gift from the universe to do good in this world!


Om Mani Padme Hum....,
Dechen
Berkeley, CA

FYI: This piece was shared and approved by Sonam Chodon's brother and Tshering Bhutia's best friend and nephew before going public. For tax-deductible donations toward memorial costs of the Tibetan and Sikkimese victims, please send checks to Tibetan Association of Northern California (TANC) with "memorial" in the memo and mail to TANC, 5200 Huntington Avenue, Suite 200, Richmond, CA 94804.

photo credit: Thepo Tulku