Cincinnati focuses on plight of innocents in country

ARCHDIOCESE — Catholic Social Services of Southwestern Ohio held its fourth World Refugee Day Celebration June 23 at the Athenaeum of Ohio, marking the local recognition of the work CSS does on behalf of the dispossed coming to southwestern Ohio.

CT PHOTOS BY E.L. HUBBARD

Two children from Burundi, Philbert and Amoni, share a chair as they eat.

"Although the UN designates June 20 as World Refugee Day, we have chosen June 23 in order to accommodate the attendance of as many of Cincinnati’s refugees as possible," said Molly Dickens, coordinator of the Refugee Resettlement Program for CSS.

"The purpose of the event being held by Catholic Social Services of Southwest Ohio is to honor the journey of refugees — their struggles, successes and hopes — and to acknowledge the work of Catholic Social Services," said Rod Huber, director of Family Services and Refugee Resettlement for CSS. "We also want to honor the diversity and community that refugees bring to Cincinnati."

Earlier in the day, Ibrahim Parlak, a Turkish Kurd who has been accused of past ties to terrorism by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and now is fighting for his right to stay in the country, was a featured member of a panel discussion at the Athenaeum called "Welcoming the Stranger: Asylum and Refugee Stories in Hamilton County."

Parlak told a fascinating story of how he escaped persecution and torture in Turkey, seeking and being granted asylum by the United States government, only to be arrested in the wake of Sept. 11, 2001. Currently Parlak is awating a decision by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati about his case.

Afghanistanis Samim M. Tokhi, from left, Yousaf A. Akbari, Ajmal A. Akbari and Zabi Tokhi perform a song during World Refugee Day at the Athenaeum of Ohio. The event features ethnic foods, traditional games, dance, music and information tables featuring countries from across the world that have refugees here in the Greater Cincinnati region. CSS placed 61 refugees in the Greater Cincinnati area in 2006.

The music from any culture is just about all it takes for people from every culture to dance, as evidenced during World Refugee Day at the Athenaeum of Ohio. At right, World Refugee Day volunteers Michael Palmer and Shannon Duffy chat with Julu Garley and Kwame Afrane.