Art for Refugees in Transition : an International Example of Intergenerational Solidarity by Magali Girod

“Putting words onto feelings is difficult. Not everybody needs to or can talk about traumatic experiences,” said Sara Green, a Columbia graduate and former professional dancer, as we started discussing A.R.T. She believes that art in many forms can help people express themselves and rebuild their confidence. That’s how Art for Refugees in Transition (A.R.T.) started in 1999.

When refugees flee the dangers surrounding their homes for safer grounds in a camp, they leave behind all their belongings along with items that remind them of their culture. Children as well as parents and grandparents show fear and hopelessness on their faces in these situations.

Humanitarian organizations give priority to food, water and shelter when refugees arrive in camps. Preserving culture is not a priority when refugees arrive in camps. Nevertheless, rebuilding community in the camps helps when refugees must return to their homes or adapt to a completely new environment.

A.R.T. partnered with the International Rescue Committee in 2003 in two Burmese refugee camps in Thailand where Sara worked to implement A.R.T.’s pilot program. She decided to link generations together through art and culture. When she arrived in the refugee camp, Sara noticed that older persons were isolated and left out. She invited the older refugees to gather and share their stories. More than a hundred responded.

Older Burmese refugees in Thailand gatered to share ideas with Sara Green, A.R.T.’s Executive Director.

Older Burmese women in the refugee camp.

Sara asked the older persons present what they wanted to share. For a few minutes, the room remained quiet and everyone seemed curious about of what would happen next. Suddenly, a 60 year old Burmese women started singing. Burmese people sing traditional songs as they walk through paddies to plant rice. Singing helps them keep going. Many women carried a child or grandchild on their backs as they sang, teaching the words and notes at the same time. Upon their arrival and subsequent life in the refugee camps, this routine disappeared as the refugees stopped singing. Sara understood very quickly that the older Burmese refugees wanted to share their traditional songs and pass them along to younger generations. In response, the A.R.T. program connected younger and older generations. The program succeeded and the whole community became involved in a song festival. A.R.T. succeeded in renewing hope among the refugees living in the camp.

Older Burmese women singing during the meeting.

Burmese Children during the festival.

Following her Thai experience, Sara created a flexible, self-sustainable program in Colombia and in the US in several refugee communities. Using a bottom-up approach, Sara has found success in different locations. The older refugees create an inter-generational program as they collaborate with children, each according to their own tradition. A.R.T. simply makes the project possible. Many times, family members get separated during emergency situations. Once they are in a camp, this cultural program helps them reunite and learn from one another. Refugees learn that they can rebuild a community and give hope to older persons and children in a new and foreign environment.

Neighbourly Help by Aukje de Vries

A few days ago I came home from a walk and saw on the other side of the street a lady who lives on the nearest crossing street, not far from my house. She has lived in this neigbourhood at least as long as I, but we were never formally introduced. I do not even know her name or her house number, but when we see each other we always say hello.

So she did this time, but she hesitated and then crossed the street. She said: “As I was ironing and looked out of the window the other day, when the street was very slippery, I saw you go out, cross the street halfway and then go back. I wondered whether you needed to do your shopping but did not dare go any further because it was too dangerous. Actually while I was ironing I saw a lot of people fall, maybe as many as 18 in just a brief span of time.”

And I said: “Oh how nice of you to think of that, I really appreciate it. But I remember the occasion: I only went back to get my iron contraptions (sorry, I don’t know the proper word in English and it is one of those words you don’t find in an ordinary dictionary) to put under my shoes so I wouldn’t fall.” I told her that I had done a lot of shopping the day before it got so slippery, because I had heard the bad weather forecast and had wanted to be prepared. I again expressed my appreciation of her thoughtfulness and went into the house.

Later that day Esther and I talked to each other and I told her about the event. Same reaction: Esther, too, said: “How nice of her”. But then I started to think. Suppose I really had needed to do some shopping…. It was nice that my neighbour had the awareness that I might have a problem, but without her actually offering any help, my shopping would not get done. Probably she did not know my name like I didn’t know hers, so she couldn’t look up my phone number but she could have seen from her window which house I went into, so if she had really wanted to help she could have come to my door.

Her awareness of a possible problem was a good first step, but why not the second step: actually offering help?

Next time I see her I’ll properly introduce myself and tell her that I will be glad to get her phone call when the streets are slippery again.

Question: Do you offer help to your neighbours when you think they need it, or, in case you are in a position to receive help, do you want to accept it? What is your reaction to an offer of help?

Questionnaires by Aukje de Vries

At least once a week I receive a questionnaire. It seems as if every agency - both for profit and not for profit - wants its relations to evaluate its products, services or whatever with a questionnaire. The senders always assure us: it will only take two minutes to fill it out! What a lousy questionnaire that must be.

I have noticed over time there is a pattern in my annoyance.

Questionnaires ask questions about topics about which I have no opinion. If it is an electronic questionnaire I have to answer these questions and make a choice out of several possibilities or else I cannot go to the next question. The choices I make in these cases do not represent my opinion.

A second possibility is that the questions relate to items about which I do have an opinion, but what I really think is quite often not among the proposed answers. It occurs only too often that here too I am forced to give an answer, which is not really what I think.

A third annoyance is that quite often there are other factors that have a decisive influence on my opinion about the product or service that are not in the questionnaire at all. Sometimes there is a space for remarks, but I have the impression they are seldom recorded, because the answers are dealt with electronically.

The sender, using my response, may believe that he deals with a true judgment but what he has got, has little to do with it.

Still companies and organizations use such responses as the basis for important decisions.

Conclusion: it is a nuisance to receive and fill out such questionnaires and the answers don’t provide the sender with valid information.

Some time ago I decided to boycott all questionnaires as a matter of principle and to inform senders about my objections. Sometimes I get a nice reaction, especially when I also give a more detailed opinion about the product or service, but more often I hear nothing.

Just recently I received a questionnaire (a real simple one, too simple as a matter of fact) from a European organisation, which receives a subsidy from the European Commission (EC). The EC requires the recipients of subsidies to provide certain data. I realized that not answering the questionnaire would work against this organisation, and because I like the organisation I let go of my principles and gave positive answers about issues that didn’t apply to me.

I wrote an accompanying message stating my objections with a copy to all others who received the questionnaire and I got a lot of positive replies.
The organisation will inform the EC of our objections to questionnaires (but it is doubtful whether the EC will listen).

I believe it is time to stop the hype that such poorly designed questionnaires, providing decision makers with faulty information, are necessary for the management of any self-respecting agency! They are a waste of time and money.

P.S. I was trained as sociologist so I don’t object to good questionnaires, used wisely!

Question: Do you believe that we should take action against the abundance of poorly designed questionnaires?

Snow by Aukje de Vries

Hi, I am back as blogger for Global Action on Aging. Maybe you remember that last year I shared with you my experiences as an active older person, living in The Netherlands. I stopped by the time spring came and I was about to go to some conferences abroad and had quite a few travel plans, so I knew I would not be in a position to keep writing for GAA. I still do not have a laptop and even if I had had one, I would not have taken it with me while travelling or on holidays. But the first few months of 2010 seem fairly quiet so I will be glad to have a go at some more weeks of writing about my life here in The Hague.

It is a cold city, I am writing from. We have had an unusually long cold spell, and right now it continues to be around 0 degrees Centigrade, light frost during the night and sometimes a little bit above zero during the day. There has also been snow and rain and a lot of streets are very slippery, covered with snow or ice. My friend and neighbour Esther and I are determined to try our best not to break our bones while going out. Last Friday, when the streets looked a bit better, we did a lot of food shopping, so we don’t have to go out the coming few days.

Yesterday I stayed inside all day because it was snowing, but today I want to go out. I am used to walking or biking about an hour a day. This is a rule of life, which my mother already taught me and I have experienced that I feel better when I get sufficient exercise. Right now I also want to escape from the very dry air in my house, caused by the central heating.

The street is too slippery to walk on so I use a contraption, which I bought years ago. It consists of broad elastic bands to be put around my shoes with iron spikes under the forefoot. Indeed, this works very well when I walk on snow, but on the bare pavement it feels horrible.

Therefore I decide to go to a small park not far from my house, where I usually do not walk, but this time it is nice to go there, the snow is still on the paths and grounds.

Over the weekend there was an article in the newspaper about older people who live in neigbourhoods where the snow is not removed so that older people do not dare go out and are completely dependent on help from neighbours or others, which can be problematic.

Fortunately Esther and I can still manage, even though our street is not cleaned.

Dear Reader, Do you, like me, turn to old but useful tools or “contraptions” to keep you safe outdoors or help you in the home? Please tell me about them. And I am also wondering if you find yourself snowbound and isolated because the authorities have not cleared the streets or roads? How does this make you feel?