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New videos promote cultural understanding Living
in one of the nation’s most diverse states allows Californians to learn about
people from different countries without leaving home. But finding information on
some cultures isn’t always easy. Luckily, California has two new video
projects that offer glimpses into two newer Californian peoples – Hmong and
Somali refugees. The videos were produced under California Cultural Crossroads,
a library-based program which promotes ethnic cultural programming through
library and community collaborations.
Who Are the Hmong?
The Brave People, a collaborative effort of the Hmong International
Culture Institute and the Stockton-San
Joaquin County Public Library, tells of the Hmong journey through several
continents for thousands of years. The Hmong way of life, the video shows, has
flourished despite tremendous hardship for the Hmong people in China, Southeast
Asia, Laos, Thailand, the United States and other countries. The video runs
approximately 58 minutes and is available for interlibrary loan from the
Stockton-San Joaquin County Public Library. Produced by teens, and
designed to raise awareness about the African refugee experience, the digital
stories in Refugee
Voices: Somali Stories record and preserve the experiences of East
African refugees living in the San Diego area. Refugee Voices, which
includes the shorts Where is Home? and Girls Working for a Better
Tomorrow was made possible through a partnership between the San
Diego Central Public Library and the Media
Arts Center San Diego. Since 1960, Somali
people have struggled for unity and control of their destiny. Where is Home?
illustrates that struggle as two Somali refugees describe growing up in the
United States, and dreaming of returning to their homeland to help those still
in need. In Girls Working
for a Better Tomorrow, Yasmin Hamud, a community leader who mentors San
Diego’s young Somali girls, shares her vision of a more united San Diego. She
states in the video, “I would like to see a community that is more united and
that works with one another so we can solve our own issues. It does not matter
if you are an African American, Hispanic, or a Somali American, what matters is
the community and the need for leaders and the potential of these children and
their want to succeed.” For more information
on Who Are the Hmong? The Brave People, contact Alex Bailey,
Stockton-San Joaquin County Public Library at alex.bailey@ci.stockton.ca.us
or by phone at (209) 937-7701. For more information about Refugee Voices:
Somali Stories, contact Lynn Whitehouse, San Diego Public Library at lwhitehouse@sandiego.gov
or by phone at (619) 236-5821, or Ethan Van Thillo, Media Arts Center San Diego
at ethan@mediaartscenter.org. Both videos were
supported in whole, or in part, by the federal Institute
of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services
and Technology Act grant funds administered in California by the State
Librarian. However, the opinions expressed in the videos do not necessarily
reflect the position or policy of the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library
Services, or the California State Library, and no official endorsement should be
inferred. For additional
information about this project, contact Library Programs Consultant Kathy Low
at
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