The Stories of Others, the Stories of Us

I'm currently on a bus in New Jersey on my way to NYC after a beautiful sojourn through Northeastern PA. The Fall weather is breathtaking. I really miss it so much after living in Northern California for two years.

Plug for awesome little sister here

I am also stoked that this bus has wifi, which I discovered late into my journey...though maybe that was a good thing. I was actually able to take in the landscape instead of doing e-stuff.

Rohingya woman and child

I mostly took this trip out here to visit my sister for her birthday, but I am working as well. On Sunday I am meeting up with a Rohingya man originally from Burma who contacted me via facebook after checking out the different stories and photos I took of  Burmese activists in the Bay Area. I knew little about the Rohingya peoples and their plight, but I have been reading up on them lately to learn more. It has been a fascinating and sad process to learn of the oppressions this ethnic group has faced for so many years. But I want to hear his story, I want to hear directly from a Rohingya person to begin to know about him and his people.

In the past few months, I have listened to so many stories. Some from my new jobs (yes I have more than one now) where I am interviewing different people from Asian communities in the Bay Area and also from many students I interact with at the English Center, another non profit I work for. Everyone has a story and though I have my blogs, I have unfortunately been so busy of late that I have not had the time to write these narratives up. Hopefully this will change once I get a little better at time management ;-)

I have spoken with former youth gang members, who have overcome and are still overcoming hardships to reach their goals. I feel inspired by them but I am also worried, I'm scared that they may get cut down before their dreams take flight.

I recently met a young man from Sri Lanka who had his arm in a sling and found out that he had been injured in a bomb blast. He slowly lifted his sleeve to show me the scars of the attack, his skin-directly-on-bone upper arm with missing chunks of flesh that though healed, still cause so much pain.

Iranian Protestor 2009

I listened to stories of young activists who have been brutalized, tortured, stabbed and almost murdered in Iranian prisons. I have been told of great migrations taken by young men who hoped to save their lives, while leaving their loved ones and beloved lands behind.

author of Donkey Heart, Monkey Mind

Even while out celebrating with a friend during happy hour, I ran into a stranger who handed me a book that he had written called Donkey Heart, Monkey Mind. I went home and read it, and cried as I took in images of severe torture, fear and hope that the author relayed in his story of Algeria, and its brutal suppression of the Berber minority. It was his story and I was grateful that he shared it with me.

The Bay Area is rich in diversity with its many immigrant communities. Many of their lives play out like an Oscar winning film, a heart wrenching documentary, or a massive article out of Time magazine. But these people are real and they live next door or make your sandwiches or prescribe medication when you are sick. They may be your parents, your cousins, your friends...you.

I have recently started to work at an organization that is looking to capture some of these stories through articles and photographs. I am grateful for this opportunity. As much as I love to talk, I also love to listen, share, learn and most importantly connect to human beings from all all over the earth. I have some more ideas of how to capture these stories, but I am trying to take things one step at a time.

Why do these stories matter? Who cares? Well outside of me, I'm not sure who cares, but it matters to me because every story told is a life uncovered, a violation uncovered, a brutality uncovered, inspiration uncovered. I may not be able to bring justice to oppressive situations around the world, but I can help give people a voice by being a conduit of information, empathy and understanding.

Maybe learning and connecting peoples' stories can change the world and bring justice to atrocities that may never find justice in courts. Giving word and sound to a situation gives it justice in my opinion, even in a small way, it names oppressions and exposes them.

Yes, yes it is..

Government Meets Grassroots

Yay! now where are the jobs? Answer you politicians!

I have always been a big proponent of grassroots work leading to systematic change in policy.  Unfortunately, these two aspects do not intersect often enough; with there being a major disconnect between what takes place in congressional meetings and what is actually occuring on the ground, in our neighborhoods and communities.

Congresspeople on stage

Recently however, I have been attending meetings and open houses where members of the Obama administration and members of Congress have directly came out to hear the stories and issues that are occurring everyday in our communities. I am aware that these efforts may be related to re-election purposes, but regardless I think that listening to the concerns of communities is a step in a direction towards positive systemic change.

Congressman Mike Honda!

Last week I attended a Speakout for Good Jobs event, which was a townhall type meeting with Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Progressive Caucus Co-Chair Raul Grijalva and Congressman Mike Honda (my favorite congressman!). The event was held in a massive church/worship space where members of the community lined up to speak about their grievances and concerns regarding employment, or more accurately, unemployment.

woman fighting for the rights of the disabled

And there were LOTS of grievances.
I didn't speak, though I have a lot to say from my personal experience about unemployment, but it was a valuable experience for me to attend something like this. I never attended a open house with congress members and I honestly wish that there could be more of these events. The people with the most concerns and the greatest need for help are most often the ones who are being silenced. These events allow members of the community to speak up, but is it enough?

Activist, community leader and best friend, Nwe Oo

I also attended another event last Thursday, where a collection of leaders from the local Burmese community  met with Daphne Kwok, Chair of President Barack Obama's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders, in downtown Oakland (to read additional info about the event, read this great article written by Oakland Digital, our gracious hosts). Many of the community leaders were refugees or were speaking on behalf of the Burmese refugee community in Oakland. Again, much of the rhetoric dealt with lack of jobs for refugees, the economy and problematic budget cuts that dealt serious blows to the well beings of high need individuals and families. The meeting was packed, with community members spilling onto the sidewalk outside the room. Different leaders took turns to
speak. Tluang Salai, a refugee from the Chin ethnic community and an advocate with the non-profit organization Catholic Charities relayed the problems faced by the Chin people of Burma, especially since the numbers of Chin that will be resettled in Oakland will go up drastically in the coming months (stay tuned for my upcoming interview on Salai and the Chin community on my other blog Us Ordinary People). Nwe Oo, a Rakhine refugee and Burmese community activist thanked Daphne for her time to listen to the needs and concerns of the community, especially due to the lack of attention that Burmese cultural groups usually receive.

Burmese community in Oakland

The most poignant part of this event was the unity shown by the different Burmese groups that attended the event. Burma is a country with a very complex and fragmented history, full of political strife and military oppression. Though the diverse minority groups within the country have all faced severe repression from the government, there are considerable differences within different ethnic groups. This event brought everyone in one room, with the common goal of improving the lives of their people, and in this instance they were all sharing their stories and concerns together.

It is promising to see government affiliated representatives directly meet with the people who are directly affected by policy changes, but obviously that is far from enough. What remains to be seen is WHAT will happen with this information. Will it lead to policy change? Will the suffering of working class and lower class men and women be addressed?
The forces shaping policy know the issues, they have heard it from the mouth of the people in our communities. But knowing is not enough, the proof is in action and in fighting for the rights of these communities; fighting against big businesses and corporations that are swimming in assistance money that has not trickled down to our communities.

Community members with Daphne Kwok

Knowledge is power, but action is the tool for change. It is time to use these tools to help the people who need it the most.