LEARN
Every year millions of families flee their native countries to find safety and stability, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Few people fully realize the hardships refugee families face once they have landed in a new country with very little to their name. Through still photographs, New Roots aims to document the first year of resettlement for a refugee family as they come to America and settle in Rochester, New York.
As of June 2013, the total population of concern to the UNHCR has reached an all-time high at 37.8 million people, including 11.1 million refugees, as well as asylum-seekers and internally displaced people. Multiple refugee crises are occurring, caused by ongoing violent conflicts in the Syrian Arab Republic, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The UNHCR expects the total population of concern to exceed 40 million people. Many host countries are unable to provide refugees with a permanent home, and limit forcibly displaced people to refugee camps or settlements with crowded living environments and sparse opportunities for education and employment. The United States offers a permanent new home to a limited number of refugees that cannot return safely to their native countries. 69,930 refugees arrived in the US during the fiscal year 2013. According to Catholic Family Center (CFC), 20 percent of refugees that arrive in the state of New York are resettled in Rochester.
Over the past few decades, Rochester has grown into a community for refugees of many nationalities. Over 15 organizations offering assistance to refugees have sprung up in the city, providing essentials and services, including clothes, furniture, and English classes. Often times, former refugees will give back to their community by assisting new immigrants as they arrive and volunteering with organizations that help with resettlement.
I am working with Catholic Family Center, the largest provider of family
As of June 2013, the total population of concern to the UNHCR has reached an all-time high at 37.8 million people, including 11.1 million refugees, as well as asylum-seekers and internally displaced people. Multiple refugee crises are occurring, caused by ongoing violent conflicts in the Syrian Arab Republic, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The UNHCR expects the total population of concern to exceed 40 million people. Many host countries are unable to provide refugees with a permanent home, and limit forcibly displaced people to refugee camps or settlements with crowded living environments and sparse opportunities for education and employment. The United States offers a permanent new home to a limited number of refugees that cannot return safely to their native countries. 69,930 refugees arrived in the US during the fiscal year 2013. According to Catholic Family Center (CFC), 20 percent of refugees that arrive in the state of New York are resettled in Rochester.
Over the past few decades, Rochester has grown into a community for refugees of many nationalities. Over 15 organizations offering assistance to refugees have sprung up in the city, providing essentials and services, including clothes, furniture, and English classes. Often times, former refugees will give back to their community by assisting new immigrants as they arrive and volunteering with organizations that help with resettlement.
I am working with Catholic Family Center, the largest provider of family