For my Campus non-IA/community event, I chose to attend the viewing of the Columbus Crossing Borders Project film Breathe Free and the accompanying panel afterwards at Gateway Film Center on Sunday, September 16th. For the panel discussion, the speakers were Ohio filmmaker Doug Swift, Columbus Crossing Borders Project Director Laurie VanBalen, leaders of Community Refugee and Immigration Services or CRIS, and local refugees. This event relates to the topic of International Affairs naturally because it deals with bringing awareness to our country’s corrupt immigration policies and our country’s mistreatment of refugees and their stories of immigrating to America. The film allows its viewers to meet several male and female refugees and follows them on their journey and resettling in the United States. It also includes an emotional, heart-wrenching segment of the refugees sitting down and telling their story of why they decided to leave their home country and the high stakes of their decision. They told detailed stories of what happened as they crossed their borders leaving their country to seemingly safe. Hearing their truths was hard to process. I felt like I hearing stories from a scary, horror storybook. They were bravely revealing things that were hard to imagine and understand. The film also shows how America’s border issues and the refugees’ stories led to local artist Laurie VanBalen being inspired to create the Columbus Crossing Borders project. She eventually recruited 34 Ohio artists to translate the refugees’ life experiences to artwork. The project is now touring the country.

From this event, I have gained more academically and personally. I have grown academically by learning so much about immigration policy and what Columbus is doing to help incoming refugees. Before this event, I did not have much background about this because I only knew about CRIS and what it was doing to help teenage refugees by providing willing mentors from our campus. I did not know what was being done for adults to acclimate to America. Personally, I learned to show even more compassion, love, and respect to refugees because it’s the right thing to do, and you truly don’t know what they have gone through. To me, they’re walking miracles because of their struggles to become an American citizen and live a better life. When I, or any other American who can sometimes take their blessings for granted, heard their experiences in that movie theater, it rendered us speechless. What can you say to that?

This event relates to a topic  one of my Spanish classes have discussed in the past. It is the topic of immigration laws and what all these laws and Trump’s wants and suggestions on this issue imply for undocumented  Hispanic immigrants. We talked about different incidences in California of Hispanics being caught while undocumented and being disrespected in the process of being deported and what the effects are for families and the stigma already surrounding immigrants. After attending the event, I don’t have further questions because my main question was answered during the panel. That question was “What now?” “What more should be done and how can any regular person get involved and help?” The answer was to make a difference by spreading awareness with word of mouth and by showing up to support and/or volunteer at the existing immigrant services organizations in Columbus. This was an event and conversation that I am so glad I was able to join.