By Tihut Tamrat, Contributing Writer
On Saturday, June 22, The San Diego Refugee Forum hosted World Refugee Day at Cuyamaca College, a free multicultural community event to celebrate the many diverse cultures that reside here in San Diego.
World Refugee Day, designed to celebrate and honor refugees from around the world, was first established on June 20, 2001 by the United Nations. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR), also known as the UN Agency, World Refugee Day is marked each year by a variety of events in many countries around the globe in support of refugees. These activities are led by or involve refugees themselves, government officials, host communities, companies, celebrities, school children, and the general public, among others.
In San Diego this year, World Refugee Day was celebrated with presentations, offered in various languages, from Legal Aid Sociey of San Diego, Survivors of Torture, and the National Conflict Resolution Center, as well as various booths of support, resources, and fun and games for the whole family to enjoy. Entertainment included cultural dances from the countries of Burma, Ukraine, and Haiti, with the Karen Organization Youth Dance Group, Ukrainian Saturday School: House of Ukraine, and Naurah-Lee “Jane” Joseph Haitian Cultural Dance. Music was also performed by the country of Mexico with the Mariachi Victoria City Heights School of Music and DJ Music From Around the World.
Kicking off the event, Dr. Jessica Robinson, President of Cuyamaca College, represented by Victoria Marrón, Vice President of Student Services welcomed everyone to Cuyamaca College, and informed us about the rich history of the Kumeyaay, whose land upon which Cuyamaca College sits. The name “Cuyamaca” is a tribute to the land, acknowledging and honoring the people which have lived in the area for thousands of years. Marrón was proud to announce that Cuyamaca College “is the only college in the nation that provides a degree in Kumeyaay studies,” a testament to the Native-American immigrant population in San Diego.
Next to follow, Fourth District Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe, gave her remarks on world refugee day, commending the San Diego Refugee Forum, a professional association of organizations that advocates serving all populations fleeing persecution and seeking refuge in San Diego, for all their hard work along with sponsors. Steppe also told of the various resources offered by the county to help aid in this effort, mentioning that as a County Supervisor she’s here, “to help [refugees] seek safety and economic and social inclusion.”
Various organizations that came out in support of refugees included: Survivors of Torture, El Cajon Collaborative, Feeding San Diego, the Health and Human Services Agency, American Red Cross, Live Well San Diego, Molina Healthcare, Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District, World Relief, License to Freedom, San Diego County Foster and Adoptive Family Services, National Conflict Resolution Center, Legal Aid Society of San Diego Immigration Services, and Cuyamaca College, among others.
Each one of these organizations offered something unique and helpful for refugees seeking safety here in San Diego, providing them with resources to alleviate the burdens of being a refugee in American society.
Reported by the UNHCR, as of June 13 2024, there are a total of 117.3 million people worldwide that were forcefully displaced at the end of 2023 as a result of persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations, or events seriously disturbing public order. 43.4 million are refugees, 31.6 million refugees under UNHCR’s mandate, 5.8 million other people in need of international protection, and 6 million Palestine refugees under UNRWA’s mandate. 68.3 million are internally displaced and 6.9 are asylum-seekers.
According to the Courthouse News Service in San Diego, a report gathered by the police states, “38% of the reported hate crimes were related to ethnicity.” Refugees, people who have been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster, are usually of different ethnicity. They face these hate crimes too. These organizations that came together on World Refugee Day are there to prevent hate crimes, and more alike from happening.
Protecting Refugees is a responsibility that we all share, we all can do more to show solidarity, no action is too small!
This resource is supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library in partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to https://www.cavshate.org/.
