Release date: June 9, 2009

It is no longer necessary to travel to far-flung places to learn first hand about foreign cultures: the world is coming to Portland, and the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO) is its point of entry.

Real People, Real Needs, a World Refugee Day event, gives people in Portland an opportunity to meet recent refugees, learn about the refugee experience and consider opportunities to become engaged in supporting their transition to living in Portland.

Fahim Faqiri will give attendees a behind-the-news, first hand account of life in Afghanistan and the physical and philosophical struggles between the Taliban and the majority of Afghanis. Faqiri, who has been in the United States for only 3 months, worked as a translator for the U.S. Army, and has a unique perspective on the work and the role of the U.S. forces in rural Afghanistan.

Moses Rain, a refugee from Myanmar who has been here less than one year after spending eight years in a refugee camp in Thailand, will give a testimony about the life under the totalitarian dictatorship in the country formerly known as Burma and present a picture of life in a refugee camp.

Djimet Dogo sought asylum in the United States when his own government in Chad tried to murder him for his work to promote peace and human rights. Having been here for 10 years now, he often welcomes refugee families at the airport. Djimet will share humorous and poignant anecdotes of their experiences and thoughts during their first hours and days in a modern, technological society after coming from places without electricity or running water.

IRCO and its three active refugee resettlement partner agencies, (Catholic Charities, Lutheran Community Services, and Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon/Sponsors Organized to Assist Refugees) extend this opportunity to Portlanders to step out of the United States for a few hours and experience life from other places and other perspectives.