"Refugees in America is a timely, important and deeply moving testament to the profound ways in which refugees have enriched our nation. By letting refugees tell their stories, Rabbi Lee Bycel reminds us of their humanity and our responsibilities to help them."
~Former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright
"It is not an easy road—but hope is the oxygen of my life." These insightful words of Meron Semedar, a refugee from Eritrea, reflect the feelings of the eleven men and women featured in this book.
These refugees share their extraordinary experiences of fleeing oppression, violence and war in their home countries in search of a better life in the United States.
Each chapter of Refugees in America focuses on an individual from a different country, from a 93-year-old Polish grandmother who came to the United States after surviving the horrors of Auschwitz to a young undocumented immigrant from El Salvador who became an American college graduate, despite being born impoverished and blind. Some have found it easy to reinvent themselves in the United States, while others have struggled to adjust to America, with its new culture, language, prejudices and norms.
Each of them speaks candidly about their experiences to author Lee T. Bycel, who provides illuminating background information on the refugee crises in their native countries. Their stories help reveal the real people at the center of political debates about US immigration.
Giving a voice to refugees from such far-flung locations as South Sudan, Guatemala, Syria and Vietnam, this book weaves together a rich tapestry of human resilience, suffering and determination.
Profits from the sale of this book will be donated to two organizations that are doing excellent refugee resettlement work and offer many opportunities to support refugees: HIAS (founded as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) and International Rescue Committee (IRC).
Lee T. Bycel is a humanitarian activist, rabbi, teacher and author, who serves as the Sinton Visiting Professor of Holocaust, Ethics and Refugee Studies at the University of San Francisco. He has visited refugee camps in Darfur, Chad, South Sudan, Rwanda, Kenya, Ethiopia and Haiti. He has written extensively about the plight of refugees, and has secured much-needed funding for medical clinics in refugee camps.
The event is co-sponsored by JCRC.
Registration is free. First 50 registrations will receive a free book.
Additionally, you can pre-order the book online for $26.95 and pick it up at the event.
Sunday, January 19
5:00–7:00 PM
Einstein Meeting Room (Bldg. E), Room E-104
Free with RSVP
Contact: Luba Palant | (650) 223-8656 | [email protected]