Thank you to Lutheran Social Services for a beautiful and eye-opening Building Bridges conference. This two-day experience was about supporting immigrants and refugees, an especially relevant topic in both Fargo and throughout the Unites States.
Daniel Trust, a Rwandan genocide victim, spoke about making a difference in the lives of students and communities. Tea Rozman Clark, a refugee from the former Yugoslavia, spoke about her recent project interviewing refugees from South High School. A student panel spoke at that session and shared their experiences, which can also be found in the new book "Green Card Voices: Immigration Stories from a Fargo High School."
Maurine Marengo spoke about global women's health issues. She saw a problem in the world and chose to confront and change it rather than accepting it. Nouf Bazaz, a Senior Fellow at the World Organization for Resource Development and Education, spoke about trauma-sensitive responses to immigrant and refugee issues. She also led an enlightening discussion on issues facing Muslim immigrants in the United States; this was a discussion every American could stand to hear.
I feel so grateful to have been given the opportunity to hear these speakers. They shared their world with me and reinforced two key points: nobody wants to be a refugee and if you get to know an immigrant or refugee, it is impossible to cast their issues aside.
Given his enthusiasm for issues surrounding immigrants and refugees, I am disappointed that Fargo City Commissioner Dave Piepkorm couldn't find an opening in his day to experience even one discussion from this two-day event.
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DePaolis-Metz lives in Moorhead.
