World Refugee Day at Our New Workshop
World Refugee Day at Our New Workshop
Monday, June 20 th , was World Refugee Day. According to the UNHCR (the United Nations refugee
agency), World Refugee Day is “an international day designated by the United Nations to honour
refugees around the globe.” It “celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to
flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution.” (“World Refugee Day”)
Peace of Thread honors refugees and celebrates their courage every day in Clarkston, GA and
Chattanooga, TN. But we’re also doing it at a new location: the Learning Cottage at Grace Fellowship
Church on New Hope Road in Lawrenceville, GA. And we’re doing it with a new group of people:
Ukrainian refugees! On June 6 th , we began training six Ukrainian women referred to us by the Southeast
Co-Op.*
If you’ve been following the news for the past four months, you know that the Ukrainian people have
been devastated by war. Ukrainian refugees arriving in the U.S. have been through unimaginable
trauma. But World Refugee Day emphasizes that refugees are not passive victims of their
circumstances. Instead, they have “resilience in rebuilding their lives.” (“World Refugee Day”).
Refugees need help, but they don’t need to be “rescued” once they have reached safety. Instead, the
host country’s duty is to treat them with kindness and respect.
Kindness and respect are core to Peace of Thread’s ethos, and I saw that ethos on full display when our
new trainees came to the Learning Cottage on World Refugee Day. We hugged the artisans as they
entered. One of them showed off the quilt her sewing teacher had made for her in anticipation of her
new baby’s arrival. (See photo below). Another brought her baby with her, a reminder of Peace of
Thread’s commitment to welcome and empower families.
As always, the training session opened with prayer. And I saw immediately how our founder, Denise
Smith, gave dignity to our new friends. She invited one of them, G, to lead the prayer “in English or in
your language”-indicating that there’s no one “right” language to speak and pray in. G prayed in
Russian**. Though I couldn’t understand her, I was struck by the beauty of her words.
After the prayer, Denise explained to the refugees that many people in America wanted to help them by
donating stuffed animals, household decorations, etc. But many of the items people wanted to donate
were “trash” (broken furniture, for example). Denise emphasized that we only wanted to give them
“the very best.” She also said that she didn’t want any of them to feel obligated to accept an item they
didn’t want just because someone wanted to be kind. She wanted them to have the freedom to say
“no.”
This is important. Sometimes refugees are afraid to say “no” to assistance because they fear offending
their host communities. But being able to say “no” allows them to regain the agency they lost when
they were forced to flee from their home countries and gives them dignity. ***
After Denise’s talk, the artisans practiced making Jurdis (small wallets). The cottage was filled with the
whirr of sewing machines. Denise examined each Jurdi and offered gentle correction, emphasizing that
mistakes are a normal and acceptable part of the learning process. One of the women, M, did a great
job with her Jurdi.
“I’m so proud of you!” Denise exclaimed.
M’s face broke out into a big smile, and she high-fived Denise. M has a lot of work to do before she’ll
be able to “graduate” to a full seamstress but seeing her celebrate her accomplishment was another
reminder of the abilities that refugees have to succeed when a guiding hand comes alongside them.
No one knows when the war in Ukraine will end or what kind of condition the country will be in when
the fighting stops. But Peace of Thread will always be here for our new friends from Ukraine and all our
friends who have come to us from around the world. If you would partner with these women while
they rebuilt their lives, you can donate to Peace of Thread here. Or you can become a mentor and walk
alongside a woman personally, helping her to learn English and acclimate to life in America. No degrees
or special qualifications required! Just a desire to be a friend.
Happy World Refugee Day!
Citations
UNHCR - World Refugee Day Accessed June 20, 2022-An excellent place to learn more about this
holiday.
*For more background on how these new friends came to be with us, read the article "Making A
Difference: Ukraine Refugees Welcome" by Beth Volpert Johansen in the June 2022 digital issue of Our
Town Magazine. Pages 13 and 16.
** Although Ukrainian is the official language of Ukraine, Russian is both a common first and second
language. See Wikipedia article "Languages of Ukraine" for more details.
***To learn more about these important concepts, you can read the excellent book When Helping
Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor and Yourself by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert