Welcomers ‘26: Refuge America UNGA Storytelling Night & Reception
It was a busy week in New York, with UNGA and National Migration Week both happening around the city. The presence of governments from different countries brought priorities on ending the endless wars causing displacement all over the world.
Refuge America held our yearly gathering during this week. We gathered asylum seekers, advocates, lawyers, and friends of the community for an evening to fortify why this matters and to remind ourselves of the responsibility to continually build a nation of welcome for LGBTQ asylum seekers.
Refuge America was born out of the necessity to create a space for LGBTQ migrant issues to be centered. As James Baldwin said, "The place in which I'll fit will not exist until I make it."
Edafe Okporo, Executive Director of Refuge America, said in his opening remarks, "Refuge America is a rejection of the idea that we can have conversations about us without us in these rooms."
We know there is fear in our communities; many of our friends seeking asylum have chosen to self-deport due to fear, as the current administration has made it very difficult for people to seek protection of any kind. Lawyers are burnt out, spiritual mentors are frustrated with the heaviness of attacks from multiple angles, and activists are wondering if they should fight or be free. That sentiment was echoed in the remarks by our opening storyteller:
"Growing up queer there (Aceh, Indonesia), you learn very early when you can be yourself, when you have to be quiet, and when you must hide... I still love where I come from. Indonesia is my country, and Aceh will always be part of who I am. But loving your home and feeling safe there are two very different things."
— Teddy, asylum seeker
The evening was a genuine space for collective imagination, and we couldn't have achieved that without our guest speaker, Staceyann Chin, who had a fireside chat with Refuge America co-founder Dan Friedman. She spoke about the need to protect everyone, her experience searching for home as a lesbian from Jamaica, and why New York feels most like a chosen home among many places.
On stage: Dan Friedman, co-founder, left; poet Staceyann Chin, right.
Her exuberant performance of some of her selected poems gave the room a high-octane energy closer—a sense of why we should create a foundation for people like her to be part of America. People with fire in their bellies and joy in their eyes belong to the American project.
Thank you to the West Side Community Fund and their representative, Jalen Lisbon, for being present, and to our Ally Sponsor, the Reilly Family.
The evening ended with remarks from board member Tim Ceci, who called us to take action. He spoke about his personal obligation to take small actions and how a commitment to making America more welcoming was one of the reasons he joined the board. He issued a call to action for folks interested in being part of the next phase of our journey and expansion.
Last but not least, we are working on an anthology; if you would like to learn more and support it, please reach out to Dan Friedman via email at fdan@refugeamerica.org. For all other inquiries about Refuge America's work, please reach out directly: admin@refugeamerica.org