Lisa Karrer (b. 1957)

Station 3 Ceramic Forms:  Bedouin “Black Tents” are a symbol of Arab hospitality, traditionally offering shelter and hospitality to exhausted refugees and travelers.

Baseera 
Afghanistan / Language: Dari

Baseera recites two poems in Farsi by Afghan Poets

For my pure land,
Kabul you are my land.
I am so far from you.
What happened on my own land?
Dead forever,
Far from pain and sadness.
The fragments of RPGS and Bombs should be far from your body (Afghanistan).
Green your name, and my body.
Be life, life to my country of Afghanistan.

**Please note: Baseera’s Dari narrative continues at Station#1, Station #4 and Station #5

Surja Khadka
Bhutan / Language: Nepali
(Surja spent 20 years in a Nepali refugee camp)

A Happy-Sad life story. We were born and raised in Bhutan, then the protest happened in Bhutan and we didn’t understand anything. Kicked out of Bhutan, fleeing to Nepal. In Nepal, we got the refugee status. We couldn’t become citizens of Nepal. At last, we had to leave there, and ended up coming to enormous America.

The kids are going to school, the bus is taking and bringing them back home. Jobs are available for healthy people, the elderly and disabled are living here happily. We have freedom to practice our traditions, our culture and religion. I guess living is just like this in America. Now where else should we go, if we left this country? We have everything, and now we are living happily here. Many-many thanks to the American government.

In the refugee camp, we had a small bamboo cottage provided by the Nepalese government. The government also provided the basic necessities, food and vegetables bi-weekly, which was enough to sustain life but not plenty. We didn’t have money, we were very poor, just like that, very poor. We lived in that refugee camp for 20 years. After 20 years they sent us here to America, the government brought us here and we became citizens of the United States. Living here is way better, there are medical facilities, the children go to school for free, and they are having opportunities here. For elderly and disabled people, the government arrangement has been made for them to live happily. Living here has so much convenience, now we don’t need to go anywhere else. We are so happy to be citizens of this great nation.

After coming to America, we are living in Buffalo, NY, we haven’t moved to any other state. By working hard, we have bought a house. Right now, we are living in Riverside in Buffalo. Thank you so much to the government.

Christina
Republic of Congo / Language: Swahili

Christina recites a poem she wrote:

My beautiful country,
the mountains and plateaus,
rivers and natural springs.
My beautiful country, the country of my father
I’m not going far, home is nice.
My beautiful country, my father and mother are living there.
My beautiful country, where I was born, I love so much.
My beautiful country, unity is strength
To divide is to weaken
My beautiful country, I work for it with my intelligence
My home is beautiful
My country I love you
Peace and unity
My beautiful country

Yelda
Afghanistan / Language: Dari

(My beautiful country is Afghanistan. In my country Afghanistan, you know there is fighting. It is not a good situation. Therefore I immigrated from Afghanistan to Iran. I lived eight years in Iran. I came from Iran back to Afghanistan and I have a huge family. It includes my parents, my sisters and brother. We had good times, and bad times too. As a family we supported each other through both)

My father had a good job in Afghanistan. We had a house and all of us were happy there. All my family lived around us, before we left for Iran. When we immigrated to Iran, my father couldn’t find a similar job. He had to work at whatever he found.

Unfortunately in Iran, there was no chance for Afghanis to find decent jobs. Afghanis had a very hard time there. If they found a job in Iran, my brothers had to work in hiding. They were not able to visibly work. People could not know about them. Afghanis could not go to school. They were not permitted. We spent eight years in Iran but these years were so difficult, they were not easy. So far from our country. We were poor. So difficult to find work. Life was not easy. But we still got through it.

Yelda chants a poem she wrote:

The world of happiness because the world is pleasure of him.
I love the whole world and whole world is of him.
You are a friend of God in the morning.
You are a friend of God in the morning.
If you save lives that is kindness from him.
Even the sky and angels are not the same.

I will eat the poison in front of the whiteness.
I will tolerate the pain because the healing is from him.
If my bloody wound doesn’t heal,
the coolness of that wound heals me every moment.

There is no difference between sorrow and happiness for a mystic.
There is no difference between sorrow and happiness for a mystic.

Accept the happiness which is coming after the sadness.
Kingdom and begging are the same for us.
Kingdom and begging are the same for us.
Because the worship is behind each of those.

If Saadi makes a house it is for life.
If Saadi makes a house it is for life.
You may have a strong heart because the foundation is from him.

**Please note: Yelda’s English narrative continues at Station #1