Nepal and Bhutan are two small countries perched on the top of the world in the Himalayan mountains between India and China. In the 1880’s, one ruler united the Kingdom of Bhutan. He subsequently invited people to come from the neighboring country of Nepal to help build agriculture & infrastructure. Fifty-one Nepalese clans came to Bhutan. Now neither country wants the descendants of those families. Even after all these years, they still have not assimilated into Bhutanese culture. They still have their language, culture and religion. They are largely Hindu, while Bhutan is largely Buddhist.

Bhutan began persecuting the Nepali minority, about 1/3 of the population, and many fled back to Nepal. Nepal would not receive them back as citizens, and has been holding them in refugee camps for twenty years. Generally, any Bhutanese Nepali under 20 coming to the United States was born in a refugee camp. The population of Bhutanese Nepali refugees in refugee camps in Nepal is now 107,000. In the camps many of them have learned English and skills, such as tailoring, sewing & looming. The world is now beginning to take these refugees in. About 60,000 will be coming to the US, and will be settling in every state except Hawaii. The 50 Bhutanese Nepali in Utica are some of our most recent refugee arrivals.

Bosnians love American culture; freedom and diversity is what makes the United States so special. Look at our city of Utica. So many different nations live here; so many different cultures, traditions and religions, and we all get along. How many cities can claim that? Bosnia has many different religions, with three major ones: Catholics (Croats), Orthodox (Serbs), and Islam (Muslims). We are big soccer country; soccer is a main sport and part of our culture and tradition. Bosnia came to the world’s attention in 1984, when the Winter Olympic Games were held in our capital, Sarajevo.

In the early 90’s, a bloody war escalated in Bosnia. Over 200,000 innocent people died. Who knows for what reason? I will never understand it. Between 1994 and 2000, perhaps 300,000 Bosnians came to live in America and Canada. The reason why we came here? We had no place to go. Either it wasn’t safe to go back home or homes were gone and destroyed by war. Some didn’t want to go back because they just wanted to try to forget about the war. Everybody had their own reasons, and it was hard to leave our homes.

If you ever plan to vacation overseas, go to Bosnia. You will not regret it. My home country is so beautiful.

Senad Sabic

Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, have recently been joined by Rwanda and Burundi to form the transnational “East African Community.” Currently this is a common economic market. However, it does have the potential to develop into a political federation. East Africa can sometimes also refer to a much broader region, spanning as many as 19 territories or countries from Egypt to Madagascar.

The geography of East Africa is often stunning and scenic. Shaped by global forces that have created the Great Rift Valley, East Africa is the site of Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya, the two tallest peaks in Africa. Some parts of East Africa have been renowned for their concentrations of wild animals, such as the “big five” of elephant, lion, buffalo, leopard and rhinoceros, though populations have been declining under increased stress in recent times, particularly the rhino and elephant.

East Africa is generally considered to be the Cradle of Man, the region where modern man evolved. The cultures of East Africa are diverse, but there are common threads that run through much of the region. Many countries have a shared heritage of Western colonialism, Islamic conquest and subsequent independence. At times, multiple countries have been joined under a single African Empire, colonial territory or sultanate.
As much as these countries have in common, so, too, do they differ; in fact, even within a single nation there may be as many as a hundred different cultures, dozens of languages and very distinct views of their national identity.

There are hundreds of languages spoken throughout East Africa, ranging from those spoken by only a few thousand to those spoken by millions. The most widely-spoken language, by far, is Swahili, with more than 5 million native speakers, and millions more who speak it as a secondary trade language.

Guatemala covers an area of 42,042 square miles (108,889 square kilometers) and is bounded on the west and north by Mexico; on the east by Belize, the Caribbean Sea, Honduras and El Salvador; and on the south by the Pacific Ocean.
The name Guatemala, meaning “land of forests,” was derived from one of the Mayan dialects spoken by the indigenous people at the time of the Spanish conquest in 1523.

The forty-year period of social unrest, violence, and civil war (1956–1996) resulted in massive emigration to Mexico and the United States and has been estimated to have resulted in one million dead, disappeared, and emigrated. Some of the displaced have returned from United Nations refugee camps in Mexico, as have many undocumented emigrants to the United States.

The culture of Guatemala is diverse and rich. Textiles, especially those woven by women on the indigenous backstrap loom, are of such fine quality as to have been the object of scholarly study. 

Music has been important in Guatemala since colonial times, when the Catholic Church used it to teach Christian doctrine.

There is a national symphony as well as a ballet, national chorus, and an opera company.

The national culture has been influenced by the arrival of other Europeans, especially Germans, in the second half of the nineteenth century, as well as by the more recent movement of thousands of Guatemalans to and from the United States. There has been increased immigration from China, Japan, Korea, and the Middle East, although those groups, while increasingly visible, have not contributed to the national culture, nor have many of them adopted it as their own.

More than four million Iraqis have been displaced by the war in Iraq and its aftermath. There are approximately 250 Iraqis in the Utica area. Finally, we want to say that in spite of the wars, the Iraqi people hope for the peace of all countries. Out of a population of 30 million, 500,000 innocent people have been killed without any reason in our country. We offer special thanks for this great country, America. Thanks to everyone in the United States for helping and supporting the Iraqi people. We love all our brothers.

The Karen (pronounced “kah REN”) are one of the ethnic groups from Burma.

Burma is located in Southeast Asia between India and Thailand and south of China. It is roughly the size of Texas. Karens live mainly in the east and southeastern part of the country (see map). After the ethnic Burmese, they are the largest ethnic group in Burma.
When Burma gained her independence from the British in 1948, the Karens asked for their own autonomous state. However, their requests were ignored. They have been fighting for their own land since 1949, which makes that conflict the longest running civil war in the world.

The Karens in Utica are refugees who fled from the war and systematic ethnic cleansing by the Burmese military regime. Most of the Karen youths here were born in the refugee camps in Thailand and have never set foot in Burma. Karens make up the majority of the 2000-3000 people of the various ethnic groups of Burma living in Utica today. We are a very simple and humble people. We are hard workers. We value sincerity, honesty, loyalty, and respect for our elders and peers.

Liberia lies on the west coast of Africa. The name comes from the English word “liberty” and refers to the nation’s origin as a colony of free Africans repatriated to Africa from the United States. In fact, Liberia’s capital, Monrovia, was named after our President James Monroe. Even though the official language of Liberia is English, there are more than 20 indigenous languages, a few of which have their own unique alphabets.

It is comparable in size to Tennessee. Liberia’s dense, humid rainforests – some of the most extensive in West Africa – are alive with the screeching and twittering of hundreds of birds, who are kept company by forest elephants, pygmy hippos and other wildlife padding around the forest floor. Along the coast, there are deserted white-sand beaches that alternate with river deltas and tidal lagoons.

Liberia is known as the home of the “classical” African mask. The artistic ability of its wood carvers is widely recognized. Many masks are commissioned by the Poro and Sande societies for use in their initiation rituals; some powerfully charged masks may be seen only by initiates, while others are used in public masquerades. The range of forms produced by carvers is impressive as is the continuity of some styles over time. Other indigenous art forms include murals painted on the exterior walls of buildings, pottery, weaving, music, and dance.

Not only does Liberia have a rich literary tradition, which has existed for over a century, Liberia has its own ancient music and instruments. While Liberian music is part of wider West African music heritage, it is also distinct from its neighbors. There are several different types of drums used in traditional music.

Burma (Myanmar) is in Southeast Asia. It is a Buddhist country and Burmese is the official language. In addition to the ethnic majority Burmese people, there are more than 150 minority ethnic groups, such as the Ka Chin, Ka Yar, Ka Yin, Chin, Mon, Rakhaing, Shan, Pa-O, Lar Hu, Pa Loung, A Kha, Le Su, etc. They each have their own languages and letters.

Burma has seven divisions and seven states. The capital city is Rangoon (Yan Gon); however, the military government tries to say Nay Pyi Daw is the capital. They have also changed the traditional name of the country, “Burma,” to the modern, official name, “Myanmar.”

In 1988, there were big riots, and the army took power until now. This means there are no rights and no freedom for the people. The government wanted to control everything and most people got in trouble. Some of them found they could not live there because of different situations, such as political and religious movements and human rights violations. Because of this, the Burmese peoples have fled to different countries as refugees. Today there are approximately 2,500 people from Burma living in Utica. They are mainly from the Burmese, Karen, Arakanese, Pa-O, Mon, Karen Ni, and Shan ethnic groups.

Ma Kyi Kyi Min

Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees

The MVRCR, or, “the Refugee Center,” is a world class refugee resettlement agency.  Known nationally and internationally, they are studied and emulated around the world. They have championed the motto, “Many Cultures, One Community.” Some of these many cultures include individuals and families from Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq, Nepal/Bhutan, Burma, Liberia, and the former Soviet Union.  Largely due to their efforts, Utica has gained a national & international reputation as “the town that loves refugees.”

The MVRCR hosts “UNSPOKEN,” a conference and international art/film festival which has become a significant event in the national discourse regarding human rights and refugee resettlement issues.

According to their website, www.mvrcr.org, they:

• Promote the well-being of culturally diverse individuals and families within our community by welcoming our new neighbors, refugees and immigrants, and by providing individual and community-centered activities designed to create opportunity and facilitate understanding.
• Aid immigrants by enabling individuals and communities to promote and sustain their cultural identity.
• Aid refugees by providing people displaced by persecution with a
 renewed certainty of home and life.
• Aid our community by forging cultural competence and by building bridges 
within the community.

The MVRCR offers a combination of programs and services that:

• Teach refugees practical life skills that enhance their ability to integrate into the community.
• Build individual and community capacity to integrate our new neighbors into the local Utica community.
• Foster an atmosphere of understanding and tolerance through the engagement of individual clients, the refugee/immigrant community and the local community.

For more information or to volunteer, please visit mvrcr.org or call 738-1083.

Polish

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, more than one million Poles immigrated to the United States.  Now there are an estimated 10 million Polish Americans, representing about 3.2% of the population of the United States.

“During the 19^th century, Poles began to come to central New York. Poles began arriving in larger numbers again as refugees of World War II and veterans of the Polish Armed Forces in Exile unwilling to return to a Communist dominated Poland in the post-war period. The years of Communist domination also witnessed the movement of Poles to the area for both political and economic reasons, while the years following the triumph of Solidarity brought new skilled and professional people seeking an opportunity to expand their careers.”

“By 1990, Polish Americans comprised the third largest ethnic group in Oneida County. A vibrant community, Utica Polonia, is represented by many organizations. For example, the Kopernik Memorial Association promotes and preserves Polish culture and traditions. The White Eagle Association serves as a communication link for post-World War II immigrants, and the General Casimir Pulaski Memorial Association Inc., sponsors the annual Pulaski Day celebration”  (www.utica.edu/academic/institutes/ethnic/polish.cfm).

Did you know:

• Poland boasts 17 Nobel prizewinners, including four Peace Prizes and five in Literature.
• Polish born astronomer Nicolaus Kopernik (Copernicus), whose statue stands at the corner of Genesee and Eagle Streets, was the first person to propose that the earth was not the center of the universe.
• Another Polish astronomer, Johannes Hevelius (1611-1687) published the earliest exact maps of the moon.

Przystanek Woodstock is the biggest open-air festival in Europe–an annual free rock music festival in Poland, inspired by and named for the Woodstock Festival.