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Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies (part of Historical
Society of Pennsylvania)
1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
“They hail from several
dozen countries, speaking a range of languages and practicing varying
religions. They come to flee political turmoil,
to study, or to seek their future.
More than 50,000 African immigrants make their home in Philadelphia,
representing a diverse and growing community with one common thread: they are
transnational citizens – extended between two worlds – connected to their
homeland while creating a new life here.
Extend your understanding of the newest neighbors in our midst through
cultural experiences, compelling stories, and stimulating discussions.”
Tomas Mebrahtu
Eritrean Community of Philadelphia, Inc.
The Balch Institute for Ethnic
Studies recently held an exhibit opening for “Extended Lives: The African
Immigrant Experience in Philadelphia”.
Extended
Lives is dedicated to documenting the rich and diverse
experiences of over 50,000 African immigrants in the Greater Philadelphia
area. Also included among the
recent arrivals to the City of Brotherly Love are a small but growing
community of Eritrean Americans (estimated population of 800 – 1000).
The concept of Extended Lives is truly a
day-to-day living reality for many immigrants in the United States; it is no
different with Eritrean American families.
Extended
Lives is described by the Balch Institute as “an interactive
exhibit which explores different aspects of African immigrant life including
family, community, education and work, religious life, and refugee
experience”.
Among the several case studies
included in the 6-month exhibit (October 2001 – April 2002) is the story of a
former Eritrean “tegadalay” – a story that is familiar to many Eritrean
families in the Diaspora. John
Kidane’s experience is symbolically representative of the lives of tens of
thousands of young Eritreans who left their homes and families in droves in
the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s in order to join the liberation movements in their
nation’s 30-year struggle for self-determination and independence. A struggle that was finally realized
in 1991, at much cost, leaving Eritreans with numerous challenges of
rehabilitation and reconstruction from war, as well as nation-building and the
ongoing process of institutionalizing democracy. After several years in the Eritrean
“mieda” or “field” and refuge in Sudan, John eventually immigrated to the US
and currently serves as the Coordinator for Refugee Services at the
Nationalities Services Center in Philadelphia. Although fully immersed in his professional world, John
continues to strengthen intimate ties to his community in Philadelphia as well
as family and friends in Eritrea: a good example of someone “extended between
two worlds”.
One of the early links between
the Eritrean community and the African Immigrants Initiative at the Balch was
made through the efforts of Tricia Redeker Hepner. Trish, also known as TrHas among Eritrean friends, joined
the Balch as an ethnographer to conduct some of the initial fieldwork for the
project. As the work evolved,
many of us met and became friends with the project staff at the Balch,
including Kate Wilson (Project Director), Leigh Swigart (Ethnographer), and
Vera Viditz-Ward (Photographer), and several other staff members. As part of their research on the lives and experiences of
members of the Eritrean and other African communities, the Balch staff
attended and observed our meetings, language and computer courses, youth
programs, education programs, picnics, cultural celebrations, dinners,
spiritual services, dinners, walkathons, fund-raising events, community center
renovation, and the list goes on.
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Also included in Extended Lives are pictures
and memorabilia from several activities of the Eritrean Community, including
one of recent special occasions: the long-awaited raising of Eritrea’s
national flag on the Ben Franklin Parkway on July 7, 2001. It’s all there for Philadelphians and
the rest of the public to come and share in the lives of Philly-area Eritreans
and their fellow Africans, in the form of photographs, films, dance workshops,
roundtable discussions, music and related cultural artifacts.
Extended Lives also documents the ongoing
process of coalition-building and strengthened networking among the diverse
African communities in Philadelphia.
As the exhibit preparation continued, parallel efforts quickly got underway to
form the “Coalition of African Communities – Philadelphia” or AFRICOM. The Eritrean Community of Philadelphia
is actively involved in these efforts and will soon be one of the founding
member-organizations of AFRICOM.
Some of the video documentaries
for Extended
Lives were produced by Reel Voices, Inc. Reel Voices, Inc. is a
recently-established non-profit organization with the mission “to promote and
leverage the creative arts as a medium to express and document diverse
indigenous experiences”. During
the past two years, Reel Voices, Inc. has produced the following video
documentaries:
·
“Eritrea – it’s where we’re from”: a
documentary on a children’s art program, Expression on War and Peace at the
Eritrean Community of Philadelphia during the recent Eritrea-Ethiopia border
war.
·
“Ana Sudani Ana”: a short on
the experience of a Sudanese refugee who along with 80 others resettled in the
Philadelphia area in October 2000.
·
“Stop Killing Taxi Drivers”: a
documentary of a Philadelphia Taxi Driver Association demonstration in August
2001 in response to the shooting death of a Senegalese-American taxi driver.
·
“African Worship Services in Philadelphia”: a journey
into African worship services in Philadelphia highlighting indigenous
infusions into chant and music.
According to Filmon Mebrahtu,
Founder of Reel Voices, Inc., an additional objective of the new organization
is “to provide technical workshops on video documentary production, film
editing and music overlay”.
Philadelphia-area residents founded the Eritrean
Community of Philadelphia, Inc. in 1983 with non-profit / 501 (c) 3 status in
order to pursue the following mission:
·
to preserve values and cultural heritage of Eritreans,
·
to promote mutual assistance among Eritreans, and
·
to promote understanding and cooperation between Eritreans and other groups in
American society
For additional information on
Philadelphia’s Eritrean Community, please contact:
Ghebreiesus
Yimesghen, Director of Public Relations
Eritrean
Community of Philadelphia, Inc.
Philadelphia,
PA 19139
Tel: 215-473-3013
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