HeaderLogo

May 25, 2011   
faces

InThisIssueIn this Issue:

Burmese boy

Oakland's Burmese:  

A study on

lives in transition  

 

Russell Jeung and Mai-Lhung Ne examine the conditions and most pressing needs of the multi-ethnic Burmese community in the East Bay.

  Jump to this article 

Washington DC at night

The Summer Institute

in Washington D.C.

 

Three Latino students from SF State were chosen to participate in the intensive Summer Institute for Latino Public Policy in Washington D.C.   

  Jump to this article 

cover

A new brochure on CCI 

 

We've re-done our general information booklet.

 

Get an overview of where CCI is at, and where we're going.

 

Download it here.   

Refugees from Burma:

Assessing the needs of a new  

Bay Area immigrant community 

participants

  Burmese girls and young women with SF State students


 

BurmaA small inner-city park in East Oakland is an unexpected place to find a piece of Burma. Yet on Saturday May 7, dozens of refugees gathered in a community event organized by the Burma Refugee Family Network and two SF State researchers.  

 

A grant from the Institute's Community-University Empowerment Fund, awarded earlier this year to Drs. Russell Jeung and Mai Nhung Le (Asian American Studies Department), is supporting an

on-going needs assessment of this under-recognized, underserved community. 


Jeung and Le
Prof. Mai-Nhung Le, left, and Prof. Russell Jeung, right, with student Amy Gua

Both festive and serious, the event in the park was the latest in a series of community health fairs to help build community and conduct much-needed health screenings.They also aim to collect valuable new information on the daily life situations encountered by local refugees from Burma, and expose Ethnic Studies students to the realities of community-based research. 

  

From refugee camps to an American inner city

Navigating a new culture is always difficult. Much more so is the transition from a refugee camp along the rural Thai-Burmese border - camps that thousands of war-displaced

Male discussion group

Men's discussion group

Karen and Karenni  have called home for up to 20 years - to a gritty, foreign city enduring the worst recession since the Great Depression. Once here, they immediately encounter high crime, expensive housing, low wages, scarce job opportunities, limited social services, poorly funded schools, a multitude of subcultures, and few ways to provide for their loved ones.

 

The new arrivals are generally ill equipped

Female interview participant

One of the women who agreed to be interviewed at length for the study

to plunge into their new life here: Over 70% were not able to complete high school, and 1/3 have not had any education at all.  A mere 14% can speak English well, in a city where English as a Second Language classes have been completely cut. Only 1 out of 5 has found a job. Not surprisingly, the combination of experiences - from the long-running war and military oppression at home to the poverty, culture shock, marginal housing and the harsh odds against finding employment - almost half of the refugees are suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome or other mental health problems.

 

Making a difference

Starting in 2008, the Burma Refugee Family Network's social workers and health professionals have been evaluating this population's pressing needs and successfully advocating for appropriate services. The first task was to address the multiple

A little girl who was unsure of receiving a face-painting

One little girl was unsure about getting a face-painting.

language barriers faced by a population comprised of seven distinct cultural groups, each with their own language. Dr. Jeung's activist and social research background are allowing him to get to know the refugees' needs and the changes that need to occur at the level of policy, programs, and long-term planning.  

 

Dr. Jeung and his colleague Dr. Le are conducting the additional research needed to generate the first comprehensive report on this topic, entitled Oakland's Refugees from Burma: A policy Report of Community Needs and Assets

 

Students from Dr. Le's Asian American Community Health Issues class at child with balloonSF State provided huge support at the May 7 health fair, raising needed funds, painting the faces of the many children gleefully running about, helping adults fill out research questionnaires, and serving a home-made lunch to everyone.  

 

When asked about her experience taking this brief look at community based research, one of Dr. Le's students commented that "the little things we gave out were so appreciated, like candy and toys. I sense that they
haven't been given much before, (like) love from people who really care and are concerned about their well-being."

 

 

 Photographs courtesy of Matthew Van Saun

View all his images from this event at his website.  

boy at event

Back to top 

 

 

2011 Summer Institute for Latino Public Policy

latino students on Capitol Hill

 

As a member center of the national Inter-University Program for Latino Research, the Ch�vez Institute is able to facilitate participation in IUPLR's Summer Institute for Latino Public Policy. This summer, three upper division undergraduate students will be sent to Washington DC with expenses paid, for a unique combination of technical and practical experience in public policy work and leadership.  

 

InstituteStarting on June 12th, students from around the country will participate in an intense one-week training and orientation to public policy and legislative processes through seminars, workshops, site visits to national organizations and meetings with Congressional representatives.   

 

The Institute is pleased to be able to send Karla Henr�quez, Margarita Gonz�lez and Miguel Torres to this year's gathering, selected competitively from among students on campus. Karla is originally from El Salvador and is working on an undergraduate degree in Latina and Latino Studies - she is on the Dean's List and is interested in exploring Latino access to higher education. Margarita is working on her BA in International Relations and Economics. She represented SF State at the National Model United Nations Conference this past April where she received an Honorable Mention Award. Miguel is originally from Los Angeles and is pursuing a BA in Latina and Latino Studies. Currently Miguel is working at the Youth Advisory Group, funded by the Ford Foundation, helping to conduct research with the purpose of shifting public and political discourse regarding sexuality and reproductive health among Latino youth.  

 

The hope is that these students will expand their critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills, as well as develop their nascent leadership qualities.

 

Congratulations to our three students!

Back to top 

Issue: 8
faces2

From our mailbox

mail icon 

 

 

 




event logo

American Sabor

Latinos in U.S.  

Popular Music 

May 26 - August 7

Sacramento 

AmericanSabor  

 


 



Garcia painting

A tribute to Rupert Garc�a

a leader of the Chicano Art Movement in the 1960s who continues to use art to address social and political concerns and inequities.

de Young Museum

Friday July 15

6:30 PM Lecture

Koret Auditorium

Private Reception in the Piazzoni Murals Room 

Proceeds benefit

SF State College of

Ethnic Studies

RSVP






 Logo

Against Fear and Terror:  Una Nueva Conciencia Sin Fronteras

Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambio Social

Summer Institute

California State University, Los Angeles

August 3-6, 2011

 MALCS 

 



 

 

 



 Logo

Peace & Dignity Journey 

Running for Sacred Water 

Continuing in the spirit of the ancestors, every four years Indigenous communities from North, Central and South America receive Peace and Dignity Journey runners with ceremonies, stories, song, and dance. Runners start simultaneously in Alaska and Tierra del Fuego, Argentina then traverse the entire continent by foot from community to community, joining together for a final gathering in Panama, Central America.

Peace & Dignity Journey  































 

______________ 



Support  

the work  

of the

C�sar E. Ch�vez  

Institute

 

Logo and Chavez image

Your tax-deductible donation can be

made on-line.

 

Simply scroll down to the section entitled "About Your Gift", click the drop-down menu under  

"I would like to support", and select the Institute.

 

Thank you!   

 

______________ 

 

 

 

 


 

logo 

C�sar E. Ch�vez Institute

College of Ethnic Studies

San Francisco State

1600 Holloway Ave.  PP750

San Francisco CA 94132


Contact us 

View our website