THE DISPLACED: REFUGEE WRITERS ON REFUGEE LIVES
Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sympathizer Viet Thanh Nguyen called on 17 fellow refugee writers from across the globe to shed light on their experiences. The result is The Displaced, a powerful dispatch from the individual lives behind current headlines, with proceeds to support the International Rescue Committee. Join authors Viet Thanh Nguyen, Joseph Azam, and Somdeng Danny Thongsy for a reading and panel discussion. Hosted by Michael Tran. Tickets here.
Today the world faces an enormous refugee crisis: 68.5 million people fleeing persecution and conflict from Myanmar to South Sudan and Syria, a staggering figure more substantial than the flight of Jewish and other Europeans during World War II and beyond anything the world has seen in this generation. As this crisis mounts, today’s U.S. anti-immigrant policies have particularly impacted refugees from Southeast Asian, Muslim, and Latin American countries. New threats of U.S. deportations have risen. Since early October, U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement has rounded up over a hundred Cambodian refugees with deportation orders, making these the largest raids ever to target the Cambodian community. Nearly 2,000 Cambodian refugees are at risk of being unlawfully arrested. It is through presenting the powerful testimony of individuals experiencing refugee life that OACC strives to help shed more light on the challenges facing vulnerable communities living among us.
Viet Thanh Nguyen’s website: https://vietnguyen.info/home
This program is co-sponsored by Oakland Asian Cultural Center, Eastwind Books of Berkeley Multicultural Services, Asian Health Services, Asian Prisoner Support Committee – APSC, Southeast Asian Resource and Action Center, Asians Students Promoting Immigrant Rights through Education, and Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA).
