February 24, 2012 (San Diego) -- This Saturday, the San Diego Naturalization Collaborative will host a free Citizenship Application Workshop from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at San Diego City College Learning Resource Center, 1313 Park Blvd. in San Diego.

This newly formed coalition has launched the You Are America campaign to raise awareness about the importance of becoming a U.S. citizen and to help residents navigate the citizenship process locally.

 
January 20, 2011 (San Diego)--San Diego Voice & Viewpoint newspaper will host a forum on leadership in the African and African American Communities on Januuary 26. The purpose of this event is to discuss the differences and similarities between communities, and to begin to work more collectively on issues. Thoughts and comments are welcome to this discussion on relations between those in the African and African American communities.  

By Megan McGlamery

Photos by Woo-Jin Shim and Natalia Robert (http://full-circle-images.com/)

December 30, 2011 (San Diego)--Since 1933, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) has been helping refugees rebuild their lives after fleeing tumultuous wars or other catastrophes in their homelands.  The IRC is currently active in 22 U.S. cities as well as overseas. In 2001, the IRC created its Microenterprise Program with the goal of helping refugees create their own businesses.

In the last 10 years, the IRC has helped 175 San Diego-based refugees become small-business owners. To showcase some of the great refugee-owned eateries of East County, the IRC hosted a Micro-finance bus tour, offering patrons a chance to sample some delicious cuisine from Iraq and East Africa.

Six honorees were recognized for their work with the Somali and East African Refugee Community

November 2, 2011 (San Diego) — Somali Family Service of San Diego (SFS) held its First Annual OceanLeaf Awards Celebration to honor and recognize six community members who have made significant contributions in advancing the nation’s second largest Somali and East African refugee population on Wednesday, October 19.

October 9, 2011 (Washington D.C.) – The Tahirih Justice Center, which seeks to protect women in the U.S. from gender-based violence, reports “an increasing number of forced marriage cases involving young women and girls from traditional immigrant communities in the United States.” Some are U.S. citizens; others are legal permanent residents, refugees, asylees, or have other immigration statuses. 

September 6, 2011 (San Diego) – Nile Sisters, a City Heights-based nonprofit organization specializing n helping African refugee women and their families, invites the public to the 2011 Nile Sisters Banquet. The event celebrates the organization’s ten year anniversary of serving African women in San Diego. The banquet will be held on Saturday, September 17 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 7715 Draper Avenue. Tickets cost $25.

By Miriam Raftery

August 28, 2011 (City Heights)—A shimmering dragon marched past, trailed by followers beating cymbals and carrying glow sticks. Hundreds of lanterns glowed softly against the night sky, accentuated by the streaming lights of carnival rides. I sampled Thai chicken-on-a-stick, along with fried bananas and yams—all at the third annual Lantern Festival in City Heights.

By Miriam Raftery

April 9, 2011 (San Diego)—Inside the Safari Market bazaar, a Somali woman sells bright-colored beaded head scarves,  jewelry and rugs. Two dozen vendors offer other wares and services. Nearby, African Spice restaurant serves up savory sambussas (pastry shells filled with meats, vegetables and African spices), succulent fish, lamb, goat, and an aromatic tea seasoned with cloves. Safari Market also sells groceries, such as large bags of cinnamon and rice, some labeled in Arabic.

No, this isn’t a street scene out of Africa. It’s a new business incubator in the East San Diego neighborhood known as “Little Mogadishu” – a hub where refugees from war-torn East African nations such as Somalia, the Sudan, Eritria and Ethiopia are starting new lives in America, aided by the nonprofit organizations Horn of Africa Community and Somali Family Services. The Safari center has created 125 jobs for East African refugees, mostly women.  Now it's become a model that is being replicated in other U.S. cities.

By Miriam Raftery

“We want you to have a good start in America, and for the rest of your lives.” – Dory Beatrice, president of La Jolla Golden Triangle Rotary Club, speaking to Somali women at Project Refuge
 

February 17, 2011 (San Diego) – Dory Beatrice felt shocked to learn that people who fled persecution and have been granted asylum in America are being released on the streets of San Diego with no funds, no information on resources, and no place to go.

So she worked with local Rotary chapters to raise funds and open Project Refuge, a transitional housing program in partnership with Somali Family Services that now assists asylees who have no family or friends here to help them.

Egyptian proprietor also serves up coffee, snacks, and free classes to help Arabic-speaking residents

By Miriam Raftery
 

January 17, 2011 (El Cajon) --

On Saturday, throngs of well-wishers  stopped by on Saturday to bid welcome (ahlan wa sahaln, أهلا وسهلا) to Zohny Hanna at his new business, Serenity House in downtown El Cajon. The store/coffee shop offers Christian books, art, and music in Arabic. Located on Main Street just east of Magnolia, Serenity House also offers free classes in English and community orientations for East County’s growing population of Arabic-speaking immigrants, asylees, and refugees.

“This is my land now. America is my new home,” says Hanna, who came here on a tourist vista back in 1997 with his wife and children, then received asylum status due to persecution of Coptic Christians in his native Egypt.

Sky Of Red Poppies, By Zohreh Ghahremani (Turquoise Books, San Diego, CA, 2010, 305 Pages.)

Hear our interview with author Zohreh Gharemani, aired on KNSJ 89.1 FM: https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

Book Review by Dennis Moore

August 16, 2014 (San Diego)--Zohreh Ghahremani, an artist, writer and gardener residing in the San Diego area, has written a stunning and poetic tale about two girls coming of age in Iran during the 1960s. The theme of the book questions how much can a friendship change your life? Set against the backdrop of a nation forced to mute its profound identity, Sky of Red Poppies is a novel about culture, politics and the redeeming power of friendships.

November 3, 2010 (San Diego's East County) – East County’s Iraqi Christians will hold a prayer gathering tonight from 5-6:30 p.m. in the Prescott Promenade at 201 East Main Street, El Cajon.

A crowd of 500 or more is expected to attend the gathering, which is held in remembrance of Iraqi Christians massacred November 1st in an Al Qaeda attack on a Catholic church in Iraq.

By Ray M. Wong
 

August 25, 2010 (City Heights) -- Phong Huynh came to the U.S. as a refugee with his family from Vietnam in 1990 at age 12. One of his fondest memories of the country where he spent most of his childhood is the Mid-Autumn Festival called “Tet Trung Thu” celebrated every year.

By Christine Seisun

As a San Diego native, I was quite surprised to discover that my hometown had just last year surpassed Los Angeles to become the nation’s number one refugee resettlement location.