It was a privilege to be part of the first ever TEDx event in Red Deer this year.  The event was all about connections and there was a great line up of speakers.

Here’s my talk, followed by a reading from She Has A Name, a scene where JASON has a Skype conversation with his wife ALI who is at home with the kids in Canada while he is far off in Bangkok investigating a human trafficking case.

My thanks to Christopher Schulz, Lisa Spencer Cook and Burnt Thicket Theatre’s James Popoff  for their offering their talent and energy to this day.

View all of the TEDx Red Deer videos here.

I had the privilege to speak at a Peace + Literacy event at the Dawe branch of the Red Deer Public Library last week.

As I prepared to speak, I was reminded of my grandparents who immigrated to Canada after the Second World War.  I was grateful I could share some of their story, including the challenges they faced as they came to their new country.  I admire new Canadians, especially those who speak English as a second language.  I can only imagine the obstacles they face as they work out their new vocabulary, just as I can only imagine the challenges my grandparents faced.

But they made it.  Lived beautiful lives, and like so many others, set up their children and grandchildren for an abudant and blessed life.

I was thankful, too, that I was able to share during my short presentation some of my experience in Malaysia working on the book Disappointed by Hope.  It was meaningful to reflect on the time and share the challenges migrants and refugees in Malaysia face which are both similar in some ways to those of new Canadians, but in other respects quite different.

One in four workers in Malaysia is foreign.  Malaysia is also a country of refuge to some 100,000 refugees or asylum seekers each year.   Because the country is not a signatory of the UN Convention for refugees, those who come to the country as legitimate refugees are automatically considered to have “illegal” or “irregular” immigration status.  This creates an environment that makes such individuals and communities considerably vulnerable to exploitation.  I saw some of that exploitation and vulnerability up close.

It was humbling and challenging to encourage those gathered at the Peace + Literacy event to be literate in the lives of others, aware of needs and anxieties in the lives of others and to offer help.

May they be words I, and you, live by.

I was also thankful to connect with a lot of different people.  There are incredible volunteers tutoring ESL speakers through this program, just as there are incredible ESL speakers being tutored.  A highlight of the night for me was to break into small groups and learn portions of the stories of new Canadians arriving to our fine country from Eastern Europe and Eastern Africa.

Here’s two photos I was sent from the event (courtesy of Lois Prostebby, Coordinator  of the Adult Literacy Program that runs through the Dawe Library):

I was pretty excited today to get two different packages in the mail.  The first was the Swedish translation of the new issue of Eye See Magazine, which is a social justice-focused magazine based out of Colorado.  Published into English and Swedish each issue, it is distributed in seven countries.  This particular issue features one of my reflections from my time spent with a Rohingya refugee from Burma named Noor during a recent trip I took to Malaysia.  Noor’s story is gut-wrenching!  I’m humbled to have heard some of it and to be able to share it with others.

The second translated work I got in the mail was the Dutch translation of 30 Days of Prayer for the Voiceless for which I wrote a number of stories back in 2004 (and a few more in 2009).  The book has gone around the world, which is so exciting, because it means thousands of people from all kinds of places have had a chance to learn what they may not have known about the realities of gender-based injustice.  The book has been translated into a number of different languages… but this is the first non-English version I’ve got my hands on (though I’ve seen it in Japanese and Korean).

Thanks Hanneke for sending me a copy.  I wore my Oranje jersey in honour of the mother tongue.

And the winners are:

Thanks to everyone who entered.  I had entrants from Malaysia, Europe, Canada, and the USA!

Just because you didn’t win, doesn’t mean you can’t have your own copy.  Order your own copy of Disappointed by Hope today!

I don’t want anyone to feel left out or go home empty handed.

SUMMER READING SALE:

Save $5 by ordering Ten Silver Coins: The Drylings of Acchora on my site (Was $15.99 – NOW $10.99)

Save 50% when you purchase the TSC ebook: get the code here! (Was $9.99 – NOW $4.99)

Download my award winning short story Nazar here for FREE!

You set the price on my Reflections from Africa: Remembering Names.

Disappointed by Hope: Migrants and Refugees in Search of A Better Country examines the plight of refugees and migrant workers in Malaysia through photographs and stories based on case studies and interviews with transients who have experienced abuse.

Disappointed by Hope

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRLog (Press Release) – Jun 18, 2010 – Experts estimate there are between 1-2 million undocumented workers in Malaysia.  While many migrants come to the country with legitimate work permits, many are not so fortunate.  Foreign workers are often promised contracts in their home countries by various outsourcing agencies.  When they arrive in the country many are not given promised wages, have their contracts breached, and in some cases unsuspecting workers are trafficked for labor or for sex within the country.

Disappointed by Hope: Migrants and Refugees in Search of A Better Country is a new publication that explores the realities faced by many foreigners seeking labor or refuge within Malaysia. The book focuses on 26 specific issues and is based on case studies, actual accounts, and interviews with foreigners in Malaysia who have been trafficked for sex, deported, arrested, detained in Immigration Detention Centers, cheated, or who have fled violence and persecution in their country as legitimate refugees only to be granted no legal status by the Malaysian government.

The book features stunning images from Malaysian photographer Jonathan Kwok, Reflections by Melanie Hurlbut, and original short stories by Canadian writer Andrew Kooman. Former High Commissioner of Malaysia to Canada Dato’ Dennis Ignatius writes in the book’s foreword that Disappointed by Hope is “a siren call to … forever take from us our complacency to the plight of so many lost, lonely and hurting migrants.”

Disappointed by Hope is being released on 19 June, 2010, on the eve of World Refugee Day in Penang, Malaysia at 8 PM at the Penang House of Prayer (PenHOP). The book is published by Youth With A Mission Penang, which has a number of initiatives among migrants, refugees, and the urban poor in Malaysia, and Raise Their Voice Against Injustice, a society in Canada that addresses justice issues through story. Proceeds from the sale of the book will go toward establishing a school for the urban poor in Penang, Malaysia.

The book is available at www.raisetheirvoice.com and www.ywampenang.org.

# # #

About Raise Their Voice:
Raise Their Voice Against Injustice (RTV) is an official society in Canada. It exists to creatively and effectively address issues of global injustice. Based in Red Deer, Alberta, RTV has done work in television, documentary and feature film, and gives its strength to tell stories that capture the imagination of the heart on the page and for the stage — stories that affirm the value and dignity of the whole person.

— end —

The following is an excerpt from the forthcoming book Disappointed by Hope: Migrants and Refugees in Search of A Better Country
Visit www.raisetheirvoice.com for more details.

A Child Among Men:

Children in Immigration Detention Centres

“Mother!” Bao yells as the man in green uniform pulls her away. She stretches out her hand toward him and screams. The man grabs her by the waist and lifts her off the ground. Her hair falls over her eyes and all Bao can see is her mouth, screaming his name. Another man easily picks up Qui, his little sister, as she cries uncontrollably, watching the scene unfold. The man yanks her from the ground and shakes Qui roughly. “Enough!”

Before Bao can think he is on his feet, running toward the men who swooped into their small village to round up people without identification papers. Bao grabs Qui’s hand and tries to pull her away from the men. But just as quickly another uniformed man is upon him, strikes the boy across the face with his baton. Qui screams loudly, the guards push her into a truck. The look of horror on his mother’s ashen face the last thing Bao sees before everything fades to black.

* * *

Bao wakes with a start, calls out his mother’s name. It’s dark, and he’s lying on a cement floor. He has no shirt, no pants, wears only the underwear he had on when the officers raided the kampong. All around him lie men, sleeping on their sides, packed together like sardines in a tin can. Sounds of the jungle fill the night air, insects hum. Bao’s head throbs in pain. He moves to touch his forehead.

“No, don’t touch.” An old man’s voice. “Leave alone. Or else it won’t heal.” Bao runs his hand along his cheek and neck where warm, sticky blood has hardened to his skin. “How old are you?” the old man asks.

“14,” Bao says through swollen lips. “My mother. My sister!”

The old man hands Bao a cup that holds very little water. “Sip, but only a little. They give water twice a day. You need more than that to heal your head. They keep the women in separate blocks.”

Bao takes the cup, puts it to his lip. He forces himself to only sip, would swallow a whole river if he had the chance.

“Now lay down and rest,” the old man says. “You will need all your strength to last even one day in this place.”

::

Facts: The total number of detainees in Malaysia’s 13 Immigration Detention Centres from 2004 – 2008 was 235,397 persons (SUARAM Press Statement, August 2009, “Arbitrary Detention of Migrant and Refugee Children”). Of those detained 3,675 were children. 2,652 of the detainees were boys, and 1,023 of the detainees were girls. Detainees often suffer from over-crowding, poor quality of food, poor nutrition, insufficient clothing, and inadequate access to health services.

Prayer: Father, Malaysia has ratified the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC). Please cause the government to uphold its obligation to protect
all children, including migrant, asylum-seeking, and refugee children. Please help and comfort those children presently in Immigration Detention
Centres or separated from parents who are detained in these facilities.

Action: (In Malaysia) Visit a refugee community and get to know the children there. Ask them about their experiences living in Malaysia. Ask if there are any children in
detention who you can visit. When you visit, buy them food, toiletries, and other basic necessities at the supply stores run by guards at the IDCs. Ask the guards if you can bring clothes and toys for them next time you visit. Contact UNHCR Malaysia – www.unhcr.org.my and www.unhrc.org; (Outside Malaysia) Connect with the work of YWAM Penang to help support them in their efforts to help migrants and refugees in distress -www.ywampenang.org.

##

All stories are adapted from actual accounts, case studies and interviews with migrants and refugees. They have been
fictionalized to protect their confidentiality. For the same reason the photographs are representations.

Photograph by Jonathan Kwok.  Story by Andrew Kooman.
© 2010 YWAM Penang and Raise Their Voice.  All Rights Reserved

Note:

I’ve put under erasure some of the things in this original post… but since it’s been popular and helpful info for the market in general, I’m leaving it up so people who want to locate the market can find it. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, we won’t be having a booth at the market this year. Thanks to all our friends who’ve supported us. We’ll miss seeing you there.

You can still get our meaningful product online at www.raisetheirvoice.com

photo by Tim Van Horn’s – www.CelebrateCanada.wordpress.com

The Red Deer Farmer’s Market launches its 40th year next weekend (May 22, 2010). The market runs every Saturday morning until Thanksgiving weekend and will run from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. [Here's it's location on the map]

For more info call Dennis at (403) 346-6443/(403) 350-5670

Be sure to check out our booth (we’ll be in the first row of vendors on the East side of the lot – Arena side).

We have some fantastic new products:

- stunning new photographs of Asia and Africa
- 2 brand new publications
- beverages that will delight
- Congo Child dolls

We’re especially excited to introduce you to some delicious and refreshing beverages at our Juice + Justice stand.

This summer we’re promoting work with refugees in South East Asia, as well as education for children in Africa. We’d love to talk.

So, come Have a drink. Stop and think.

I’m finding in the UNHCR very valuable resources re: refugees.  I’m currently working on a few articles that will appear in YWAM Publishing’s 2011 yearly day planner.  One article examines the accounts of Rohingya (a Muslim people group from Burma) refugees in Bangladesh refugee camps.

The reports are U.N.F.A.T.H.O.M.A.B.L.E.

They include pictures children and adults drew of their experience fleeing the military junta in Burma, as well as their experience in the camps.

Read the full report from the UNHCR, “Refugee Consultations“, from March 2007.

A passage of writing from personal reflections of my time in Malaysia with Burmese refugees will appear in the upcoming issue of EyeSee Magazine, a new socially conscious and globally focused quarterly publication based out of Colorado Springs.  The magazine is published in 7 countries and translated into Swedish.

I was pleased to learn via the magazine’s twitter feed (@EyeSeeMedia ) that the magazine will donate 25% of all profits from the forthcoming issue toward a Water Project in Kosovo.

Beside the great content (see below), the publishers’ generous hearts is another reason to subscribe to the magazine!

$4.50 / issue
$15.00/ year

Allies or Enemies? by Jonathan Russell - from the upcoming issue

In the next issue of EyeSee Magazine:

Allies or Enemies? Faces of Afghanistan
A Photo Essay by Jonathan Russell

True Nature, Engaging the world around you
by: Amy Henry

Culture War: Panama’s disappearing tribes
by Ryan Wojton

Hell on Earth
Photos from Nicaragua by Pablo Jiminez

Through My Eyes: Refugee From Democractic Republic of Congo to South Africa
by Pappy Orion

Reflections on my time spent with Burmese Refugees in Malaysia
by: Andrew Kooman

“When I was on this trip in Malaysia, my eyes were opened again to another issue that I wasn’t aware of: the plight of refugees.

“There’s about one million in Malaysia. Many come from Burma, fleeing violence.”

Kooman read the Rotarians a reflection he wrote about his experiences, which serve as the basis for a book of short stories and photographs set for publication in the next few months.

He talked about travelling around visiting refugees, often in secret as they hid from police, and the violations of human rights they had experienced.

Read the rest of Matthew Gauk’s story.