Oak Ridge Today

Exhibit featuring Syrian refugee artists on display at Roane State’s Oak Ridge campus through Feb. 9

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An exhibit of artwork by refugees from war-ravaged Syria will be on display at Roane State Community College’s Oak Ridge campus, 701 Briarcliff Ave., through Feb. 9. (Submitted photo)

An exhibit of artwork by refugees from war-ravaged Syria will be on display at Roane State Community College’s Oak Ridge campus, 701 Briarcliff Ave., through Feb. 9. (Submitted photo)

 

An exhibit of artwork by refugees from war-ravaged Syria will be on display at Roane State Community College’s Oak Ridge campus, 701 Briarcliff Avenue, through February 9.

Roane State’s International Education Department has coordinated with St. Louis Community College to bring the traveling exhibit to Oak Ridge, a press release said. The exhibit is located in the Coffey-McNally Building next to room C-120.

Scholar Rihab Sawah from St. Louis Community College organized the traveling exhibit. Sawah began presenting on topics related to Syria and the Middle East in her early 20s, when Amnesty International invited her to speak about her father, who was a political prisoner in her homeland, the press release said. [Read more…]

Yager, Ramsey plan state hearing on Syrian refugees in December

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Ken Yager

Ken Yager

NASHVILLE—Two state senators are planning to conduct a joint hearing in early December to look at federal plans to bring Syrian refugees to Tennessee, a move that has become controversial after the terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday.

The joint hearing has been proposed by Senate State and Local Government Committee Chairman Ken Yager, a Kingston Republican, and House State Government Committee Chairman Bob Ramsey, a Maryville Republican. They want to look at plans by the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement to bring Syrian refugees to Tennessee.

Reports indicate that Tennessee will likely receive some of the 10,000 Syrian refugees for resettlement under President Barack Obama’s admissions plans, a press release said. There has been widespread disagreement, including on the presidential campaign trail, over whether the United States should accept Syrian refugees after reports emerged that one of the men involved in last Friday’s terrorist attacks in Paris might have slipped into Europe with other migrants using a fake Syrian passport.

On Monday, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam asked federal officials to suspend placements in Tennessee until states can become more of a partner in the vetting process. [Read more…]

Jewish Film Series features ‘Kedma’ on Saturday

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Jewish Congregation Tree

The Jewish Congregation of Oak Ridge will have its monthly Jewish Film Series on Saturday evening.

Each month, Rabbi Rashkovsky picks a different Jewish film ranging from comedy to drama, from fiction to documentary, a press release said. This month’s film will be “Kedma” (Israel, 2002, NR, 100 minutes).

“Having just survived the holocaust, a small group of Jewish refugees boards a ship and reaches the shores of Palestine,” the press release said. “One week later, the state of Israel will be established, launching them into another violent and confusing period in their lives.” [Read more…]

Corker returns from Middle East, visits East Tennessee on Tuesday

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Bob Corker Meets Nouri Al-Maliki

U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, left, a Tennessee Republican, meets with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, second from right. (Submitted photos)

After a week-long trip to the Middle East that ended Saturday, U.S. Sen. Bob Corker said the recent expansion of violence there threatened the region’s security and America’s national interest.

Corker is a Tennessee Republican and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. From Aug. 10-17, he visited with U.S. and foreign officials in Turkey, Iraq, and Jordan. The trip focused on regional political and security issues important to the United States, including the violence in Egypt, the conflict in Syria, and the threat of sectarian violence and terrorism in the region, a press release said.

Corker will be in East Tennessee on Tuesday, with stops in Knoxville and Maryville. He spent the first week of the Senate’s August recess in Middle Tennessee and will be making stops throughout Tennessee this coming week. [Read more…]

One of ‘Lost Boys of Sudan’ speaks at Roane State on Wednesday

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Mathiang Gutnyin

Mathiang Gutnyin

Mathiang Gutnyin, one of the “Lost Boys of Sudan,” will speak at Roane State Community College’s Oak Ridge campus on Wednesday.

Presented by Roane State’s Office of International Education, the event starts at 6 p.m. in the City Room and is free and open to the public. The campus is located at 701 Briarcliff Ave. in Oak Ridge.

The phrase “Lost Boys of Sudan” describes thousands of children, mostly boys between ages 7 and 17, separated from their families and forced to live in refugee camps during the Second Sudanese Civil War from 1983-2005. Approximately 3,800 “Lost Boys,” a description coined by aid workers in Africa, were allowed to settle in the United States in 2001.

[Read more…]