Category: Immigration

World Refugee Day 2021 Event, June 30

Sharing the Journey Together: Celebrating World Refugee Day
WEDNESDAY June 30TH 6:30PM to 8PM
Reformation Lutheran Church
1118 Union St.
Columbia, SC 29201
outside event. 
Join us for an evening of cultural sharing and networking in celebration of World Refugee Day.  Hear an update from Lutheran Services Carolinas about the expected increase of new refugees arriving in Columbia this summer and how you can get involved.  Lutheran Services Carolinas is the agency that receives and resettles all new refugees in Columbia.  Learn about the refugee experience and the cultures of refugee communities through sharing. 
Mask wearing and social distancing encouraged.
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
RSVP/Share on Facebook

Sponsored by the Carolina Peace Resource Center and Lutheran Services Carolinas.
____

CALL FOR CULTURAL CONTRIBUTIONS…
There is still space in our program for cultural contributions that reflect the refugee experience and/or the culture of resettled refugee communities, including:
    •    Personal Stories/ Storytelling
    •    Poetry, your own or from others.
    •    Songs/Musical Performance
    •    Dance Performance or Teach us Your Dance!
    •    Fashion show of traditional dress.
    •    Due to Covid precautions, we are NOT asking for food contributions this year.
    •    Anything else you think would be a good idea.
Cultural sharings should last about 5 to 10 minutes to allow us to hear from many voices.  Please share only as your are comfortable sharing with a public audience.
CONTACT: David, david@carolinapeace.org or text/call 803-215-3263.

ACTION ALERT: Act to Save Refugee Resettlement

 

 

 

 

 

ACTION ALERT: Act to Save Refugee Resettlement
The Trump administration has not announced further drastic cuts to the Refugee Resettlement program for FY 2020 yet, so there is still time to advocate against the cuts and for raising the refugee ceiling.   Administration officials have been batting around numbers such as 10,000 or 15,000 a year (half the current 30,000) or even zero.  Under the last year of the Obama administration almost 85,000 refugees were admitted; the historical average is 98,000/year.  The Trump administration must consult with Congress before finalizing.  Your voice is needed now!  A few phone calls and letters add up when we act together.

5 ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE & RESOURCES…

Continue reading “ACTION ALERT: Act to Save Refugee Resettlement” →

Pass the #DREAMActNow Rally at the SC Statehouse Tuesday Jan 30th

Pass the #DREAMActNow / #No Wall
RALLY
TUESDAY Jan 30th 5PM-7PM
SC Statehouse, 1100 Gervais St.
Join us for a rally to push Congress to pass the #DreamActNow, putting legal protections into law for DREAMers, the 800,000 young undocumented Americans who received protection under the DACA program until the Trump administration ended it.  We will also demand #NoWall, opposing Trump’s misguided plan to waste $18 billion of taxpayer money.
Sign line vigil from 5pm-6pm.  Speakers after 6pm.
Bring a sign, some provided.  No profanity or highly partisan messages please.
Spread the word! #DREAMActNow #NoWall
Facebook Event
Sponsored by the Carolina Peace Resource Center

Deportations & Forced Migrations in Honduras Talk Wed Oct 18th

 

 

 

 

 

Deportations & Forced Migrations:
The View from Honduras
with Neesa Medina
WEDNESDAY Oct 18th 7PM
Heyward Street United Methodist Church, Fellowship Hall
2501 Heyward St. Columbia, SC

Neesa Medina speaks on the impact of US foreign policy on Honduras. Since the 2009 military coup in Honduras, murders and attacks against Honduran human rights defenders have reached alarming levels. The U.S. continues to send tens of millions of dollars in aid to the Honduran police and military who have been involved in human rights abuses. In addition, the U.S. backs neoliberal projects that lead to displacement and migration.

Neesa Medina is a Honduran feminist sociologist and she currently works as a Security and Gender Analyst at CDM (Centro Derechos Mujeres/Center for Women’s Rights) in Honduras. At the national level, she has been active on the issues of violence against women, reproductive rights and women’s rights. She helped draft and present the Alternative Report to the United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and has testified as an expert on more than a dozen cases of women seeking asylum in the United States.

FREE and open to the public. Donations accepted in support of the speaking tour.

RSVP/Share on Facebook

Sponsored by
Carolina Peace Resource Center
Witness for Peace-Southeast

Support the DREAM Act of 2017 & Oppose the RAISE Act

Help mobilize support for beneficiaries of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), otherwise known as Dreamers. Also, express your opposition to the RAISE Act, which reduces the number of legal residency and refugee visas the United States issues. No human being is illegal!

Petition by iPetitions

var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push([‘_setAccount’, ‘UA-307455-4’]); _gaq.push([‘_setDomainName’, ‘ipetitions.com’]); _gaq.push([‘_setAllowHash’, ‘false’]); _gaq.push([‘_setAllowLinker’, true]); _gaq.push([‘_trackPageview’]); (function() { var ga = document.createElement(‘script’); ga.type = ‘text/javascript’; ga.async = true; ga.src = (‘https:’ == document.location.protocol ? ‘https://ssl’ : ‘http://www’) + ‘.google-analytics.com/ga.js’; var s = document.getElementsByTagName(‘script’)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);})();

Protect “DREAMERS” by signing your support for the BRIDGE Act

Dear South Carolina Friends,

As you may know, Congress is reviewing the BRIDGE Act introduced by Senator Graham and we are calling for our South Carolina Congressional Members to work across the aisle and with the new administration to see that we support our Dreamers. This legislation will protect the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program recipients. Continue reading “Protect “DREAMERS” by signing your support for the BRIDGE Act” →

Refugee Task Force Holds Winter Clothing Drive

South Carolina is famous for its mild winters.  But we still have to bundle up for the cold, which can be a problem for those from even warmer climes…  or those forced to leave everything behind.

Carolina Peace’s Refugee Task Force is holding a Winter Clothing Drive for Refugees now through Friday March 10th.  Most refugees arrive with very few possessions.  Please donate winter clothes of all sizes.  We also welcome donations of children’s clothing.  Items benefit refugees resettled here in South Carolina.

DROP OFF LOCATIONS:

Redeemer Lutheran Church
WEDNESDAYS 6PM-8PM
(February)
525 St. Andrews Rd Columbia

2931 Blossom St.
Columbia, SC
Please leave items  in box on porch.
Look for sign saying REFUGEES WELCOME!

Reformation Lutheran Church
FRIDAY March 10th 10 am-Noon
1118 Union St. Columbia, SC
If you would like to give your donation directly to a refugee family, please join us 10am at Reformation Lutheran Church.

Another Location, Arrange a Pick Up
Text 817.881.8199 for Katrina.
____
Email: Refugee Task Force, rtf@carolinapeace.org
Facebook: South Carolina Welcomes Refugees

A Thousand Protest Trump Executive Orders on Refugees, Travel Ban

On Tuesday January 31, the Carolina Peace Resource Center held a United We Stand: Immigrants and Refugees Welcome Rally at the South Carolina State House. The rally was a protest against the executive orders signed by President Trump that curtail refugee resettlement and indefinitely suspended resettlement of refugees from Syria as well as instituting a travel ban from seven nations into the United States.
Close to a thousand people attended the protest, forming an expansive sign line across the State House grounds. Carolina Peace provided materials for protesters to craft their own signs, and the finished products combined with signs brought by other attendees to make a visually stunning show of support for immigrants and refugees.

Carolina Peace President David Matos led the crowd in cheers that welcomed immigrants and refugees. After his initial remarks, the protesters lined Gervais St. to chant and hold signs for nearly two hours.

Local voices for peace attended the march, such as poet Nikky Finney, pictured above. The crowd made an impressive sight to passersby and vehicles driving by the State House.

As the sun began to set, the crowd relocated to the grounds in front of the State House grounds to listen to several informational speakers including a representative from the American Civil Liberties Union and Omari Fox from Simple Justice: Black Lives Matter.

The crowd continued to rally and cheer on the grounds and the overall mood was one of goodwill and acceptance. Several local press sources covered the event. Below are links to articles about the event:

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/2017/01/31/donald-trump-statehouse-protest-sc/97289334/

http://www.postandcourier.com/news/crowd-of-about-gathers-in-columbia-to-protest-president-donald/article_690c23b4-e80f-11e6-b6d7-273522ccd18d.html

http://www.thestate.com/news/local/article129896284.html

Overall, the event was an exciting show of support for immigrants and refugees and an inspiring event for Carolina Peace. We are grateful for the outpouring of support that was shown and are excited to see what we can accomplish together in the future.