JACKSONVILLE, Fla — Every year, hundreds of people from around the world call Jacksonville their new home. The city is in the top 100 cities for refugees to come to, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
As many new families begin their first holiday season here, a local nonprofit is working to make sure they feel welcome. Now, they want your help doing that.
The goal of the nonprofit WeaveTales is to help refugees and immigrants tell their stories and ensure they are heard and understood. This is the last week you can stop by the Journey to Jacksonville exhibit to learn their stories at Florida State College at Jacksonville's gallery downtown in Building A. However, there are many other options to learn about their lives.
"Having immigrants and refugees tell their own stories shifts the focus from the difference to the common humanity that lies underneath," said Dr. Leslie Kaplan, a professor at University of North Florida who's on the WeaveTales Board of Advisors.
Stories are what you remember and are what connect us. Right now Kaplan, WeaveTales Founder Basma Alawee, and House of Leaf & Bean Owner Wen Raiti say making those connections is more important than ever.
Florida is growing, and for the fifth year in a row is gaining more residents than any other state. Last year more than 5,000 of those new residents were refugees, according to the Florida Department of Children and Families.
Raiti, as a Chinese American, says she sees more racism now, and research backs that up.
"It's our problem. We need to work together to solve the problem," Raiti said. "When we are here in this country, we are Americans."
But the storytelling isn't just about eliminating unconscious bias; it's about instilling confidence in refugees.
"I actually was talking to a woman yesterday and I couldn't sleep the whole night," Alawee said. "Her story is devastating. She was ripped from her husband at the Kabul airport. She's eight months pregnant. So how can we help women like her? Her story, if she shares it, she will be able to advocate for her husband to come."
WeaveTales speakers also speak to classrooms and at different storytelling events. Their New American Speakers program, which teaches immigrants and refugees how to tell their stories, graduated 25 people.