 in the press Refugees for Refugees
Hundreds of thousands of American refugees? U.S. citizens who lost everything; families torn apart; rescue slow to arrive? Palestinian-American poet Suheir Hammad checked the dictionary definition—“Refugee: noun, one who flees to escape danger or persecution—and added, “Refugee: noun, ONE LIKE ME.” Hammad, along with Mahdis Keshavarz and Kathy Engel, decided to organize a benefit for the survivors of Hurricane Katrina. On Sept. 3 the three put out a call for help. Within days nearly 50 musicians, actors, poets, comedians, and activists volunteered their talents, and Alwan Center for the Arts agreed to donate its space. The event, Refugees for Refugees, took place on Sept. 9 before a packed audience. Two of the musicians performed works of their own composition. Nigel Parry, co-founder of Electronic Intifada and Electronic Iraq, introduced his by suggesting that the Bush administration’s response to Katrina indicates that they are no longer “doing government.” Omar Hammad wrote “War Machine” for the war on Iraq, but felt it appropriate for this occasion because both are wars on poor people. Kathleen Shalfant, who won a Tony for “Wit” and also appeared in leading roles in “Angels in America” and “Guantanamo,” said that, like Blanche DuBois in “A Streetcar Named Desire,” Louisianans are now dependent on the “kindness of strangers.” Her thoughts therefore turned to Tennessee Williams, three of whose poems she read. Among the poets, Zohra Saed, who works for Afghan refugees, was inspired to write the poem she read after a friend called from Kabul saying, “I never thought of Americans as refugees. I never thought of them like us.” Gamal Abdel Chasten said that American Blacks have been called a lot of things, but never before “refugees.” Negin Farsad said her play, “The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: a Romantic Comedy,” is about a botched one-night stand at the Geneva Conventions. She then described her recent trip to Iran for a cousin’s wedding. Shopping at Macy’s for the appropriate attire, she wound up buying a bed sheet to serve as a chador. Comedian Maysoon Zayid, who has cerebral palsy, spends part of every year working with the disabled and wounded in Palestine. She began on a serious note, saying that among the 20,000 people stranded in the Superdome were surely autistic and deaf children and epileptics unable to get medicine. Where, she asked, are those stories in the press? She then had her audience roaring when she described Bush’s bad, bad summer vacation, ruined first by “that Cindy chick” and then by Katrina. Refugees for Refugees collected a truckload of clothing that was given to the Malcolm X Grassroots Organization for transfer south, and nearly $5,000, which the organizers will deliver personally to the People’s Hurricane Fund in Jackson, Mississippi. Jane Adas is a free-lance writer based in the New York City metropolitan area. 
more from this section  • Pittsburgh's Mellon Green finally unoccupied, Bill Vidonic, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Thursday, February 9th, 2012  • The revolution will be televised, streamed and uploaded, Amanda Lin Costa, European Journalism Centre, Thursday, January 26th, 2012 • Living our Lives project: Nigel Parry, Patrick Young, LivingOurLives.net, Friday, January 13th, 2012 • 'It's All Political': Eviction and Arrests of Global Revolution Livestreamers Part of Pattern of Crackdowns on Alternative Living, Kristen Gwynne, AlterNet, Wednesday, January 4th, 2012 • Occupy Livestream Operators Will Be Homeless After They Get Out of Jail, Adam Martin, The Atlantic Wire, Wednesday, January 4th, 2012 • Off the grid: Occupy Pittsburgh gets charged up the natural way, Darlene White Natale, Point Park News Service, Sunday, November 6th, 2011 • #OccupyPGH Day 1: Interview with Global Revolution's Nigel Parry, Eric Byler, Coffee Party, Saturday, October 15th, 2011 • Facts and myths in the WikiLeaks/Guardian saga, Glenn Greenwald, Salon.com, Friday, September 2nd, 2011 |
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