The Center for Immigrant and Refugee Community
Leadership and Empowerment
CIRCLE
"Our Voices" Newsletter (Spring, 1997)
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Newcomer Communities Protest Welfare Reform
Last fall, Vietnamese, Russian-speaking and Cambodian community leaders of all ages participated in the "Speak Out" against the new Welfare Reform Law.

Their actions served an important democratic function of informing key western Massachusetts lawmakers of the concerns of local refugee/immigrant communities. But even more importantly, it brought these communities together in a discussion of common experiences and issues. Sponsored by the Vietnamese Bilingual Citizenship program, and organized by Vietnamese community leaders, the November 19thevent linked members of citizenship classes, adult education classes and refugee/immigrant community leaders with local government representatives.

"It was good to be able to keep the community informed of the political changes that were taking place," said Arnold Chaban, President of the New American Russian Speakers' Association (NARSA) and an active participant in CIRCLE's Learning CART program. "We gathered 250 signatures from the Russian community asking President Clinton to revive the policies that affect the elderly population, benefits, and foodstamps." The simple act of signing one's name to a petition was a concrete action that people could do, asserted Chaban, and was a vibrant demonstration of advocacy in action.

The Speak Out publicized injustices of the new Welfare Reform Law on television and in the newspapers. As of April 1, 1997, the new law cut benefits to legal immigrants, including to elderly on Supplemental Security Income and disabled persons on public assistance. It also reduced one million dollars in food stamp benefits. Many immigrants are now applying for American citizenship as a result. But according to one report, the Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) now has a backlog of over a million citizenship cases and can take up to a year to process them.
· In November, pastors from churches in Springfield, Agawam, West Springfield, and Westfield met with Russion community leaders to discuss issues and collaboration.

· Letter writing campaigns, advocacy workshops, and welfare reform workshops were held throughout the fall to educate policy makers and show support for refugee and immigrant communities.

· Last September NARSA organized the Second Children's Festival at Szot Park in Chicopee. Over 150 people attended to enjoy songs in the Russian language, Russian games, and a variety of food.

· The Volunteer Vietnamese ESL Program offered citizenship classes last fall for Springfield-area Vietnamese preparing to take the citizenship test. The bilingual classes were team-taught by a Vietnamese and an American instructor.

· New training modules for community leaders and organizers are now available. The Learning CART series,"Leaders as Enablers"
features two modules on group process and community outreach that grew out of CIRCLE's partnership with CART community leaders.
"My sense of my own background and that of my people is the reason I work with the community. Some sense of what they're going through. Some compassion. It feels natural for me to do this work." - community member

"I can't imagine being separated from this life which is all around me. I'm part of this life. I do it not because I am special. I love to be with people. I'm involved with the people's process. To be a part of the community, you cannot be away from the community." - community member
Vietnamese Girls' Group Formed
Video Honors Tibetan Community
Vietnamese American Civic Association (VACA) director Juliette Nguyen and outreach worker Tama Nguyen assisted SAC members in organizing a girls' youth group to link girls with Vietnamese college student mentors. Together with Hong Kiem Luong, a Vietnamese outreach worker from Mercy Hospital, the Vietnamese leaders helped identify families, got permission from parents, and encouraged the girls to participate.
The Tibetan leaders are finishing final edits on a video-documentary they produced about their community. According to leader and CIRCLE member Karma Dolma, "We will have the video ready by the end of May. It takes a lot of time to do a good video for the community." The video will be shown at a local community gathering, and, possibly, at the upcoming Tibet Awareness Day on September 20, 1997. Amherst Community TV (ACTV) and UMass Educational TV have also expressed interest in showing the video.
Russian Community Organization Established
C I R C L E on Local Radio
As part of WMUA's weekly talk show, RCN leaders, CIRCLE staff, and SAC students shared with radio listeners what their work has meant to them. Russian RCN leaders talked about their community and about the impact of welfare reform. Staff talked about the experience of learning and working with various refugee/immigrant communities. SAC students described the voyage of self-discovery they go through in CIRCLE classes. Afterwards, one student talked about being on radio: "I was nervous. What was I going to be asked? What would I say? Then it wasn't as bad as I thought. The last part of the recording was about identity and meant a lot to me."
Russian leaders worked to gain non-profit status for the New American Russian-Speaking Association (NARSA), assisted by CIRCLE's Rita Raboin and a pro-bono lawyer. The leaders organized the community-based group to help strengthen and connect Springfield Russian-speaking communities. Working with groups inside and outside of their community, NARSA leaders hope to address needs while building on their people's strengths and resources. Already, NARSA has organized children's festivals, advocated for the rights of its community members, and educated others about the richness and diversity of the Russian