St. Louis Joins Protest on World Refugee Day
Hundreds gathered at the International Institute in St. Louis yesterday afternoon to lend support for refugees.
The demonstration was held in honor of the June 17 World Refugee Day. World Refugee Day started in December of 2000 when the United Nations General Assembly decided that June 17 would be celebrated as World Refugee Day for the world’s refugees. The St. Louis demonstration was just one of many held around the country.
Men and woman of all ethnicities and all ages displayed signs that showed support for the refugee community. The signs said things like “give me your tired and give me your huddled masses that are yearning to be free,” “we support refugees,” “St. Louis welcomes refugees,” and “justice for immigrants.”
More than one educator participated in the demonstration. Angela Westholm, an early education Montessori teacher, attended.
“We have a very diverse student body,” she said. “They’re all children younger than five and many of them are immigrants. My heart is broken to see what’s happening in the last couple of weeks with this no tolerance policy. I thought this was a good way to go out and show we’re not going to let this happen here.”
Some attended out of a general dissatisfaction with the political mood toward refugees and immigrants in contemporary America. This describes Connie Cominsky, Westholm’s friend and neighbor in St. Louis.
“I came out today because I don’t like what’s going on in our country right now and I’m not going to be silenced,” Cominsky said. “I’m going to speak out every time.”
Alexis Goldfeld, a resident of St. Louis who teaches first grade in the Ritenour School District, held a sign that said “families belong together.”
“About 50 percent of my kids are English language learners,” Goldfeld said. “We’re all here supporting refugees on Refugee Day.”
Mary DeLia, a resident of Manchester who teaches Spanish at Ladue Horton Watkins High School, also attended the St. Louis demonstration.
“I think that educators see different students with different and diverse backgrounds,” DeLia said. “It makes our community rich. We know how important diversity is.”
St. Louis resident Cathy Hartrich said she joined the demonstration because the issue of refugees “was too important.”
“I hope for a tipping point,” she said. “Have we gone past the point of no return? I hope this pushes people over. There’s too many other issues but on this one we’ve really broke the moral boundary.”
Jane Palisch had a very personal story to tell about refugees. Her father, Frank Dinka, came to the United States from Communist Czechoslovakia in the 1950’s.
“I’m here for the refugees we’re fighting for here in St. Louis but also because my father was a refugee,” Palisch said.
Palisch’s father lived in a refugee camp in Germany before coming to the United States.
“These people are your neighbor,” she said. “Everyone deserves care and kindness and that’s what they came here for and things seem to be changing, but I hope all of these people here will reverse that.”
International Institute Vice-President of Programs Blake Hamilton talked about the welcoming tradition of St. Louis when it comes to refugees.
“St. Louis has enjoyed a very welcoming climate for refugees for a very long time,” he said. “There are a lot of people here who are motivated by what they see in the media to come out and support when there are policies that are restrictive of refugee arrivals coming to the United States. In October of last year and every year, the President – in consultation with Congress – comes up with the number of refugees to be resettled. This year’s cap was set at 45,000. We are three-quarters of the way through that program year and we’ve seen only 33 percent of those arrivals make it. There are a lot of voices here advocating for those in danger to be placed in safety and for folks who have already been authorized to travel to come here.”
Hamilton said the Trump Administration has placed restrictions on travel that are keeping many refugees from coming to the United States. International Institute President Anna Crosslin addressed the crowd before the march and told them that are more than 65 million refugees and displaced people in the world, more than any other time since World War II.
After the initial gathering, the protestors moved away from the International Institute and walked down Louisiana Ave. and then travelled to Grand Blvd. via Magnolia Ave. Once on Grand Blvd., they walked to Rooster restaurant, located on Grand Blvd. The demonstration was defined by silence as the participants used their signs to convey their message.
