Buffalo Expatriate

Today was the flag-raising ceremony for the Seventh Annual Peace Conference, themed “Diversity and Peace: Integrating Inquiry and Action” will be held at Buffalo State College. It will be held in Rockwell Hall on Thursday, October 23.

Here is a video of the conference’s featured guest speaker, Abraham Awolich:

Here some of the information and agenda off of a Buffalo Rising post:

Guest scholars, community leaders, college faculty, and students will attend and provide presentations revolving around this theme: “Diversity and Peace: Integrating Inquiry and Action.” All and any community members can attend to watch and listen to the presenters, which will include essays from a competition specifically centered on the Peace Conference, by four finalists selected from around fifty entrees.

The featured guest speaker this year will be Abraham Awolich, a Lost Boy of Sudan who spent years in refugee camps before being resettled in the United States. The Lost Boys of Sudan, some of which are the picture with this post, were a group of around 27,000 boys who were displaced and some orphaned during the Second Sudanese Civil War. Awolich was separated from his family and endured a grueling journey through the desert and other trials as he struggled to survive.

Awolich co-founded NESEI, the New Sudan Education Initiative, which will help children in Sudan get an education by building twenty secondary schools. Their very first school opened in May of this year, and more will follow. Awolich will give a presentation at 1:35 PM about his organization, a video of which can be found here [I embedded it above], and his struggles as a Lost Boy of Sudan

Agenda:
9:15 AM - Dr. Muriel A. Howard, Buffalo State College President
9:25 AM - Lisa Morrison-Puckett, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs
11:40 AM - Milton Rogovin, social-documentary photographer, honored
1 PM - Brenda McDuffie, Buffalo Urban League President
2:15 PM - Awadiya Ahmed-Yahia, Darfur native and activist
3:40 PM - Elea Mihou, WNY Peace Center President
3:50 PM - Clifford Cawthon, Students for Peace President

A topic near-and-dear to my heart, and an organization I spent my college years with, Journey’s End Refugee Services is holding a two-day celebration from June 20 to 21 for World Refugee Day. Here is the link to the website and the announcement listed below. The picture is from WRD 2006, but I absolutely love it.

Come Celebrate

WORLD REFUGEE DAY
June 20 & 21

With:
Episcopal Migration Ministries of WNY
St. John’s-Grace Episcopal Church
Journey’s End Refugee Services
Vive LaCasa Refugee Shelter

Friday 6/20
Attend an Inter-Faith service with refugee testimonies,
prayers, choir pieces, and concluded with a candlelight
vigil/walk to Colonial Circle.
Begins at 8:00PM –St. John’s-Grace
Lafayette & Colonial Circle(Richmond Ave.)
Bring a personal care item, or household item, to donate to the
refugee agencies!

Saturday 6/21
The celebration continues on Bidwell Pkwy. With musical
entertainment throughout the afternoon, refugee agency
displays and awards, films inside the church, liquid
refreshments, and others. Meet and greet refugees.
Begins at 12PM and ends at 5PM.
Bring a personal care item, or household item, to donate to the
refugee agencies!

Refugees in Western New York contribute to the community, and have an enduring and contagious spirit. I’ll still be in Ukraine when this happens, but I would encourage anyone to attend either of the days and get to know people with a tremendous life experience.

From the International Institute of Buffalo:

Fundraiser for Burmese Cyclone Victims

This Sunday, May 18, 1:00–4:00 pm

International Institute of Buffalo

864 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo

Featuring traditional Burmese music and dance, ethnic food, a silent auction, and handcrafted items and artwork available for sale. Burmese refugees living in Buffalo are hosting this event to aid families, friends, and countrymen in Burma suffering the effects of this disaster. Proceeds will go to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to be used specifically for humanitarian aid for this tragedy.

Donation requested at the door. Open to the public. For more information, call 883-1900 x319, email dbeehag@iibuff.org, or visit www.iibuff.org.

If you would like to make a donation to help victims of Cyclone Nargis but cannot attend the event on Sunday, you can make a check out to the International Institute of Buffalo, 864 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14209

Please write “Burma fundraiser” in the memo

Here is the link to the UNHCR page, and under the news links, you can find out what they’re doing in Myanmar to assist victims.

Then come to this event on November 29th:

CONFLICT IN BURMA: LECTURE & DISCUSSION
MYO THANT, Buffalo State Master’s Candidate & Burmese Activist and Advocate, will speak

Recent headlines reveal the tragic human rights violations committed by the Burmese military dictatorship. Thousands of monks, students and citizens have held peaceful street protests and the military has responded by killing hundreds of protestors and imprisoning more than 4,000 activists. Yet many know little about the roots of this conflict, the history of Burma or the struggle of its people. Join us for this informative event.

Thursday, Nov 29, 2007
7pm-9pm
695 Elmwood, Buffalo NY 14222
Unitarian Universalist Church of Buffalo

Sponsored by: Western New York Peace Center, Unitarian Universalist Church of Buffalo, Social Justice Committee of UU of Buffalo, and People United for Sustainable Housing

For more information about the event, call 716.894.2013 or email elea@wnypeace.org
For more information about Myo, click here.

Again, tried to post this yesterday and after my last post, I experienced complications with my internet here at work. So let’s try this again. As I’m sure many of you know, Ishmael Beah is coming to UB on October 24th as part of the UB Distinguised Speakers Series. This is something definitely worth going to if tickets aren’t already sold out. Being the geek I am, I would think they’re selling quickly, but maybe not.

Regardless, I did read his book, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, and it was a thoroughly detailed and humbling read. Not just because of the content, but also because of the way he describes things. If I had brought my copy with me, or if I had a better memory, I’d quote from it. But the way he illustrates his family life and obsession with hip-hop music and then contrasts it with the life he led as a boy soldier candidly gives the reader an idea of what armed conflict does to a young child. And, as the website says, “This is, at last, a story of redemption and hope.” His chapters on life in rehabilitation at the UNICEF center don’t disguise the difficulty and struggle it took to overcome the drugs and violence that consumed his life during the war. However he has truly taken his recovery to the next level, speaking to major international organizations and, as he is going to be doing at UB, to the greater international community. So, I can imagine through his literary eloquence that his speech is going to be truly moving. Any chance someone could get me an autograph or recording of the speech?

I know it whiffs of Free Tibet, but today the government has shut down all internet access. Serious, serious stuff. From the NY Times article:

In a final, hurried telephone call, Mr. Aung Zaw said, one of his longtime sources said goodbye.

“We have done enough,” he said the source told him. “We can no longer move around. It is over to you — we cannot do anything anymore. We are down. We are hunted by soldiers — we are down.”

There are still images to come, Mr. Aung Zaw said, and as soon as he receives them and his Web site is back up, the world will see them.

But Mr. Mathieson said the country’s dissidents were reverting to tactics of the past, smuggling images out through cellphones, breaking the files down for reassembly later.

It is not clear how much longer the generals can hold back the future. Technology is making it harder for dictators and juntas to draw a curtain of secrecy.

Much to report tomorrow on Ukrainian election updates, banning of African refugees in Australia, etc. My heart and mind are with Burma now though.

Yes, I might be in Ukraine, but that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped paying attention to the events in my hometown. This Tuesday night, the Mayor’s office is holding the 9th Annual Sister Cities Dinner from 5:30 to 9 PM at the Larkin at Exchange Building’s Chautauqua Café, 726 Exchange Street. Oddly enough, the release doesn’t stipulate how much the tickets are. If anyone else knows, please post it. It does say they can either be reserved ahead of time or purchased at the door. Anyway, this is a good opportunity to meet with other people that have a connection with Buffalo, even if they’ve never lived there. It promotes international understanding, which I think if we had more of, I wouldn’t have been suggested to eat at McDonalds the other day. At least at this dinner, they’re offering fine food, wine, door prizes, and music provided by Neville Francis & Riddim Posse.

I saw that one of our sister cities is in Ukraine- Drohobych. To be honest, I had never heard of it before, which means it is probably pretty small. Apparently close to Lviv in the western region of Ukraine, it has some importance to oil-refinery. I went to the city’s website, which, of course, is only in Ukrainian (although there are little language icons for English and Polish that don’t work). The photograph page doesn’t work at the moment. Or the About the City page. But at least the news posts are up-to-date. Actually, it kind of looks like a charming little city. I might have to go check it out. TryUkraine.com has some nice photos of the highlights of Drohobych.

There’s also a wooden church here- St. George, which like every other church in Ukraine, has an interesting tale of construction, destruction and rehabilitation.

The church was built sometime in the late XVI century in the village of Nadiyiv. (Nadiyiv is about 40 miles south-east of Drohobyc). In 1657 the church was purchased for a barrel of salt, taken apart, transported and erected in Drohobyc on the site of an earlier church which was destroyed by tartars in 1499. The bell tower was built in 1670. The church is officially labelled as a “three-room log constructed church with three levels”.

The church was repaired and improved during the period of 1820-1830 and then again in 1974-5. The church has been labelled as an architectural monument for a long time and has been used as a museum during the Soviet period.

Yes, I’m sure you’re all fascinated. The point being, even cities that may seem insignificant in the grander scheme all have their own stories and mysteries. Buffalo’s Sister Cities (Dortmund, Germany; Kanazawa, Japan; Horlivka, Ukraine; Lille, France; Rzeszow, Poland; Tver, Russia; Kiryat Gat, Israel; Cape Coast, Ghana; Drohobych, Ukraine; Siena, Italy; Torremaggiore, Italy) represent, as the Sister Cities International website puts it, our chance to “promote peace through mutual respect, understanding, & cooperation - one individual, one community at a time.” Behold, we actually have another city in Ukraine. Horlivka? Not too far from Donestk in the eastern part of Ukraine. What else? Ruslan Ponomariov, the chess champion, was born there. Hmmm. Anyway, this dinner is definitely one of the more obvious ways to gain some international friends and contacts in Buffalo, so give it a shot.

This Saturday has two competing events on my agenda. One of which I will definitely be at, which is the Amherst Museum’s 23rd Annual Scottish Festival & Highland Games at 3755 Tonawanda Creek Road from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. The list of activities includes

Pipers, Highland games, Celtic bands, clan societies, Scottish merchants, dance demonstrations, children’s games, authentic Scottish food, sheep herding and much more!

I’m just going for the sheep herding, I don’t know about you. There’s going to be a crazy amount of music and pipe bands as well as food, dancing, and shopping to your heart’s content. It’s $8.00 for adults and children 12 & under are free.

Also, because I get a kick out of packing my schedule two weeks before I’m supposed to leave the country, I think I’m going to try to get to an event at UB hosted by the India Association of Buffalo. I just found out about it today from a flyer at the International Institute.

They’re celebrating India’s 60th Independence Day with the India Day Mela from 2:00 pm to 10:00 pm at the UB Center for the Arts at UB North, also in Amherst. This event is FREE and open to the public. You can enjoy Indian food and dance as well as a fireworks display at sundown. There will be children’s games and activities as well as jewelry, artifact, and clothes shopping. I finally have an opportunity to wear my fabulous (and expensive) sari that I bought in India earlier this summer!

Both of these events are well worthwhile to go to. It’s going to be two amazing celebrations so get out there and enjoy WNY’s vibrant cultural life!

Next weekend, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is holding their next interfaith symposium at the Millenium Airport Hotel in Cheektowaga. The topic of this discussion is The Concept of Life After Death and there will be representatives from Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Sikhism to speak on the topic from the perspective of their faith community. They’ll address issues like what happens after a person dies in this world, the concept of reward and punishment, and heaven and hell citing scriptures, teachings, traditions, etc.

I try to attend these forums as often as they hold them, which is usually every few months. I’ve been to one on the role of women and another on human rights and religion. They’re always quite interesting and informative. I mean, here is a group that works diligently on bringing together members of different faiths in the Western New York area to talk about issues that we sometimes misinterpret amongst one another, which in this day and age leads to senseless anger and violence. I have a great deal of respect for Dr. Nasir Khan and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community for their work on trying to promote greater understanding and awareness, especially in Western New York. Not that this is related, but they adopted that stretch of the 33 by Harlem and the 90. Just another way to show they care about this community and the people living in it.

What: Interfaith Symposium on The Concept of Life after Death
Where: Millennium Airport Hotel, 2040 Walden Ave, Cheektowaga 14225
When: Sunday July 29, 2007 from 2:00 to 5:00 PM

If you get a chance and you know you’re going, please RSVP to buffalo.ahmadi@gmail.com by July 27. You don’t have to RSVP to attend though. So if you decide last minute you would like to go, I strongly encourage you to attend.

What better way to celebrate the diversity of the Buffalo community than go to a pre-game tent party with live Reggae before enjoying America’s favorite pastime?

Hosted by the International Institute of Buffalo and the Jamaican and American Association of Buffalo, Jammin at the Ballpark! features the live entertainment of Neville Francis and Riddim Posse in a pre-game tent party from 5:00 to 7:00 pm at Dunn Tire Park on Friday, July 20. The festivities precede the 7:35 game between the Bisons and the Syracuse Chiefs and post-game fireworks. Vendors, activities, music and all for a reasonable $8.00 if you buy the tickets presale by calling Kristen Burwell at the Bisons office at 846-2032.

Did I mention the proceeds go to benefit the International Institute’s refugee resettlement program, immigrant services, and global education program? As well as the Jamaican Association’s Marcus Garvey Scholarship and Caribbean Medical Mission.

*On a personal note, I interned for the International Institute last summer. They do tremendous work in the community and foster greater international understanding through their visitor programs and local education events.

And please leave the “Jamaican me crazy” jokes to a minimum.