Last week was filled with events in honor of World Refugee Day. The Georgia Coalition of Refugee Stakeholders created a planning committee that scheduled events to celebrate the contributions of refugees in Georgia. Events included a StoryCorps day for Refugees to share their stories, a Film Screening, and an afternoon of Celebrations at the Clarkston Community Center.
Over 65 people gathered on Friday, June 20th, to view The New Entrepreneur, an Emmy-nominated documentary about the VilCap Start Clarkston Program. Following the film screening, attendees heard from Julie Grimm, one of the filmmakers; Peter Roberts, the project director; and entrepreneurs Deepak Gajmer and Naima Abdullahi. The screening was hosted at the Inman Park United Methodist Church and included an exhibit of the Photovoice Clarkston project.
On Saturday, the field at the Clarkston Community Center was filled with 675 people enjoying the festivities. Various groups from Clarkston hosted information booths, groups performed, and food was made by the local Clarkston Cooking Angoras. The Coalition for Refugee Serving Agencies (CRSA) hosted an all-American apple pie tent. The highlight of the event was the nationalization ceremony of 20 refugees from 12 different countries.
World Refugee Day, observed June 20th each year, is dedicated to raising awareness of the millions of refugees worldwide who are forced to flee their homes. For around 70,000 refugees each year, the United States offers a safe haven. Around 2500 of these are resettled in Georgia, where state and local governments, nonprofit agencies, faith-based organizations, and citizens embrace these new Americans and help them become productive members of Georgia’s communities.
World Refugee Day was established by the United Nations to celebrate the courage, strength and determination of men, women and children forced to flee their homes under threat of persecution, conflict and violence.
On World Refugee Day in Georgia, we gather to raise awareness about issues affecting refugees here in Atlanta and across the state, celebrate the contributions of new Americans in our communities, and foster collaboration.
CDF was honored to host the Friday night film screening. We believe that all people in Clarkston deserve a shared voice in the community’s future. We recognize that refugees are a vital part of this shared vision.