The first annual Broths for a Better World community dinner was hosted by First Presbyterian Church in downtown Easton in March of 2018. Refugee Action members prepared homemade soups using recipes from Myanmar, Colombia, Kharcho, and Syria. These soups were served to community members and students who attended the event as Refugee Action members presented about refugee issues and resettlement. The main goal of the event was to raise awareness about crises around the world, most specifically those crises that are least discussed in popular news media.

Mariela Shaker, an accomplished Syrian violinist, performed at Lafayette College in November of 2017. Intertwining music and narration, Shaker delivered a powerful performance on her experience as a refugee in the United States and the hardship she has had to overcome in her career. After her performance she spoke of her experiences as a Syrian refugee in the United States and answered questions posed by the audience.

Elias Matar, an independent filmmaker, presented his documentary “Children of Beqaa” in October of 2017 at Lafayette College. His film details his volunteer work in June of 2016 with refugees in Lebanon. He worked through a local NGO, Salam LADC, to support refugees and helped Salam LACD provide Syrian refugees in the Beqaa Valley access to education, clean water, and community projects. His filmed helped Lafayette understand that in the Beqaa valley, over 500,000 Syrian refugees currently live in limbo, with no country, nearly no rights, few opportunities for education, and not enough food. Following the film, Matar led a discussion on refugee camp conditions, the impact of NGOs and humanitarian aid, and on giving a voice to refugees through documentary making. Click here to see the trailer for “Children of Beqaa”. https://vimeo.com/202116481.

 

Much of our work as an organization is to support our local resettlement agency. We partnered with Don Juan’s to raise funds for Bethany Christian Services in September of 2017. Proceeds from meals purchased at that restaurant for an evening were used to assist refugees in their resettlement.

Refugee Action is part of Every Campus A Refuge, an initiative that calls on every college and university around the world to house refugee families on their campus grounds and to assist them in resettlement. Dr. Diya Abdo, a professor of English and Creative Writing at Guilford College, started this initiative that soon spread across several colleges and universities. Her talk inspired our organization’s main goals and allowed us to define our trajectory in the early days of our organization.