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Today is October 27th, 2022. I am here with Allison Politziner on TheirStory. Do I have your permission to record this interview, Allison? Yes. Thank you very much. So, first of all, hello Allison. Thank you for agreeing to speak with me today. My pleasure.

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Could you first start by telling me a little bit about yourself? How long have you lived in Princeton? And where did you grow up? Okay, great. I grew up not far from Princeton in Highland Park, which is about thirty-five to forty minutes north of here, near New Bruinswick. I went to college in St. Louis and graduate school in New York City. After living in New York for a few years with my husband, we moved to Princeton in 1975. So, we have been living here a long time. And we were fortunate to raise two children here. I'm a social worker, and I had a great career here. I did other things beforehand, but in Princeton, I worked for Corner House Counseling Center, which is a counseling center that has an arm of treatment and an arm of prevention work. I got into the field of prevention in 1990, which was early for that field. I ran a lot of groups in the community and the public schools about substance abuse, prevention and education. Wow, that's amazing. What made you want to get involved in that? I wish I had more of a background in substance abuse, but um, I was interested in prevention, work as opposed to treatment work and I had already volunteered a lot in the schools as my children were growing up and during this on my children are continuing to grab up, there was still in the schools and I liked, I liked the idea of working with a general population to help educate people and support people as they made a choice. Aces. And so I worked with middle school, students. I ran a couple of groups in the Princeton middle school and then high school students running peer education groups and that was a lot of fun. And the pure education movement was really in the beginning. At that point. Not quite for stage, maybe second stage. And so it was a lot of fun to create things real. I always had wonderful kids in my groups and, and they created skits and programs for younger kids. Explain and support them in making decisions that would help their lives move forward in a positive way. So I liked working on the positive sector.

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scepter, that's amazing. Wow, that is such a, such a great experience. Yeah. And so, how, and she mentioned Princeton are, and I know that you are involved in the Jewish Center. Princeton could you tell me a little bit? About that, like, how you became a member and yeah okay. I grew up in a family that were Temple-goers, and we were reformed use, and I still consider myself reform, do all that the Jewish Center is a conservative congregation, and my parents were Temple goers, and I got involved in wasn't a big fan of Hebrew school, but my God, I was very involved in the youth group. And that was sort of where that was, that was where I develop some leadership skills and land appreciative that and the social justice social action work of Reform. Judaism was very much integral to my growing up. And when we moved here, the Jewish Center was the only congregation around and I didn't David. And I also really value of community. So although there were reformed Congregations, not all that far away. We wanted our children to go to a place where they could walk to where they could walk from school with friends and said, there'd be a real sense of community and it was a good choice. So so I've been reformed you in a conservative congregation for a long while and the Jewish Center has been great, lots of programs I've not. I've been involved with sort of room, parents and supportive and on the social action committee. But I haven't really done so many leadership thing. They are until the refugee group and I love to tell you more about the refugee group. Yes, that was mine. That was my next question. Right, we're very much in sync. Okay, so it's interesting the history of the refugee group in the Jewish Center is interesting. We it started this group started a long time ago in the 60s welcoming. Well, first of all, after the Holocaust, the unwelcoming, People, but not that, that wasn't, there's not much history about that. So I can't, I can't really speak on a slate of what I know about that. There were when the Russian Jews started coming, we didn't, there were a number of them that were settled in this area and the Jewish Center helps help settle them. There were a group of people, some of whom were still alive and at this point in their 90's who were instrumental in helping bring the Russian Jews here, helping them set up and getting them involved in public housing and the Jewish Center supported them all on the way. I don't know if any of those families are still alive or still here and then more recently, in 2005, a Burmese family came in, our Rabbi heard about this family and a little group of the Jewish Center. I was I he's working at the time and I was not a part of this, a little group of the Jewish center help. Support this family. Got them jobs. They're doing great now they're working. They live in Princeton Community Village. May be familiar with that is

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Yep. Yes in affordable housing there and have raised two children. Someone was able to get the help. The dad got a job at McCaffrey's. He's now the head of of the meat department, you know? I mean people have really these started, he had no way Was he started by gathering the carts in the parking lot and yes, and worked his way up and he's great. And so a group of us like to go in and say, Hi man and the middle of shopping. So that was the early early 2000s. And then in 2015, when you're horror of the Syrians, you know, being leaving in big numbers, came a group of people again. I was not part of that went to a rabbi and said, we need to, we need to activate this committee again we need to help them help some, get some serious, you know, help whatever the Syrians need. And then we help Syrians who came to the area we had. And it became clear that we as a group could not handle it all, there's a lot to do. So we reached out to the churches and the community and asked If they would like to work with us and so we could all work together and we established the Interfaith on Refugee resettlement group. And we are a very active Interfaith group. Now, with the Afghan movement, which is where we've been so involved the last year where we have a wonderful partnership with a mosque that's in East Windsor that month wasn't here when you lived here, they that it was built with the last, maybe five years, okay, It's gorgeous and it's down near Mercer County College and with a very active community. And so it's been delightful to get to me people from the mosque and work together that way too. So so we are truly and religious group. I think it's so interesting that the, the crossing of all these different religions and how they come together to work on this one. You know, big big issue and the, you know, all these people are coming together and I think that's so great. Exactly, that, that is, you know, that, that that brings a lot of the good feelings about. The work is making friends with people that I wouldn't have known before, you know.

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Yeah. And do you think that you're the community that, you know, you seem to have because you've been In the Princeton area. You know, it seems like, and correct me if I'm wrong but that you have established on your sort of at a younger age, you've established your own community and then it sounds like you're helping others to establish their own community and make themselves feel like they're a part of the community. It's nicely said really, really nicely Saturday for. Yes, I know. Yes. I mean that that is the goal to help them feel Integrated into the communities in which they're settled. It's a lofty goal. It's hard. But you know, we've just been at it a year or so things aren't measured in years. Maybe decades. Yeah. No definitely. And, and do you work at you personally worked a lot with these refugees? Yes. So this actually to bringing us up-to-date. So we started this inter-religious group and we've met once a month. And we helped we helped a woman from Cameroon who was here with her children. We helped another family from Syria who came? We did this as a religious group. Um we somewhere between I was involved at this point, from 250, from 2015, on we at some point. Louise, Sandberg who is great. Who's the head of this. Who's the head of our group. She professionally had worked with Refugee resettlement. So we're very, lucky member of the Jewish Center, terrific woman, and really knowledgeable, because this had been her professional work before she retired. So, that was, that was great. She knew of a group that had started in 2012, in Highland Park as I said before, it's about 35, 40 minutes, north of here. And, um, And so our group, she brought to our group, should we connect with this group? You know, we'll get, we have a professional organization here and we all said of course. So, we connected with them, and they're called Interfaith Rise. And they, they started a very charismatic, terrific, pastor of the Second Avenue Reformed Church in Highland Park, we brought in, why am I forgetting the term? She gave Refuge. Not refuge. What's the word, sancturary.

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Sanctuary? Yes. He opened his Church for Sanctuary for a few different people, and that really began this movement, you know, he then realized that people needed help, they needed help and safety. They need help getting through the system, they needed help in every aspect of living. So by the time we got involved with them and maybe 2017, they were already an immigration ligitimate organization, not that they were never illegitimate, but they were already a bigger immigration group. And so having with the Afghans, we've had the professional support all along the way. We, you know, they've, they've helped the Professionals of help get them on Medicaid, help them get money for food. Helped helped get them housing. We've helped a few as word of mouth we've helped with housing but mostly we're not, you know, we're we don't know do housing. Yeah. So what and the was it a pastor that you said that what was his name?

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Yes, If anyone wants to check out the website and I know you have his name is Seth Kaper-Dale. He's terrific and he understands what needs to be done, and he has grown that agency, of course the amount of refugees who are coming in now are just an enormous amount. And so it's very hard for the professionals to keep up with things so the volunteers are very important. Yeah, that's so that's great. What do you think made him. What do you think helped him to come to the decision to open the doors and you know as a sanctuary and like what do you think made him do that? That's a good question. And I think I knew that answer at one time. It's okay if you dont.

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You know, I don't remember. I don't remember exactly what, how these men there were men that he gave sanctuary to at the Church. I don't remember how they came to him, but I will tell you there have been things written about them. They've been on the news at different times, so it is something that's readily available to Google. That's great. Yeah. Well, I will definitely look into that. What, and with working with refugees, I suit, do you have? Have you personally worked with a lot of refugees and if so like what are some of the challenges? Okay, Okay, that would take more than I have at this point.

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Take your time. Just like what is some of the.. So I will tell you, I jumped in right away and said I will help with getting drivers for people to get to appointments you know as soon as they come as I said the professionals at I-Rise found them housing, they can't come obviously until those housing. So they've gotten them housing, they start working on Medicaid for them and, and on food, but used to be food stamps which is now SNAP for for them. And they need to have medical appointments. They need, the state department expects, there's a whole list of things that the state department says you must have when refugees come. So they need to have medical appointments and be, you know and be helped in any ways they need to be helped or else and have a clean bill of health and so it's been interesting. So our group is, is Mercer County oriented, we have people in our little group that I told you about the Interfaith group was really mostly 90% Princeton the, now that we have these wonderful new sisters and brothers from the mosque, that's where we're at. Some of them of course live in Princeton and then some of them live in West Windsor, East Windsor, Princeton Junction. So the so our families have been settled as you might imagine in Trenton because that's where that's the most affordable housing. And so I offer to be in charge of these rides. And so every day I am trying to get drivers to pick up people going from Princeton or going through East Windsor to Trenton and then drive to New Brunswick because the only federally accepted clinic for these initial medical appointments is in New Brunswick. It's a good Clinic. It's part of Rutgers or Robert Wood, Robert Wood and it's all fine, but it's a big distance so it's been very challenging to get people to pick them up early. Get them to their appointments at 8:00 a.m. wait and bring them back. And then one might say, well, how about ubering because there are uber drivers all around, but that's expensive and you know, these are a refugee group on, you know, on a very small budget but not a small budget, but there's not, there's not extra for a lot of driving. So it's been, it's been challenging and I've done of course a fair amount of the guys myself. And so, when you ask about my personal involvement so I know I picked up the families and it's been, it's lovely to know that that, you know, people have been appreciative. There's no one that I've picked out that I've driven has had any English with the exception of everybody wants to practice. Good morning, good night. Hello. Goodbye, all within the same breath and it's lovely. And you're smiling goes a long way and so it's been very, it's rewarding to help. There's no question, but the flip side of that is it's also challenging to get people who were willing to give up that much of their time, you know? And again most of our, the mosque group brings down the age of our group a lot, but a lot of us a real lot of us are retired. Yeah, that must be very, I can only imagine like convincing. I know that I've worked a lot with leading different groups and I know how challenging it can be to really get people to, you know, care about something so much that you know, after you know, even after a long day of work, if they're not retired, like to get them involved and get them, you know, to participate in this and, you know, but I think it's so important and it's definitely, I'm sure that you were very motivating. I tried but yes, your understanding completely, it's hard to get people to put themselves out even though their intentions are great, you know, they sign up, I have a lot of people who have signed up, you know, to be drivers but only a handful who really comes through and it's understandable. These drives take a long time. And, so it's a constant challenge and we've been ubering more than we want to. But we, this is a nice piece. There are two men who came in through I-Rise years ago and one from Pakistan and one I honestly can't remember from one of the African countries and I just can't remember which one right now and they they've lived here a while and they both do computer work at home and you know they're self-sufficient they have their lives are set in a nice way and so we've started hiring them for doing some of the drives. And so that that's a real win-win, you know, they can do their own work at their own time so they're usually very happy too. They are always very happy to be able to earn extra money and so that's that's been a great way of everyone wins. We have our own I-Rise has funding from the federal government, the state the county they're you know they're fully professional group. Our volunteer group has money just from donations and so people from the Jewish people from the house of worship anyone donate to it. But typically we get people from the houses of worship. The fund is, how is administered by the Jewish Center, the Jewish Center, very nicely offers their bookkeeper to handle the fund, but it is not a Jewish Center fund. It is absolutely a Community Fund and all the groups and individuals from all over to donate.

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That's great. That is so that's really amazing and so is there just you know, an interaction that you have had with the refugee that has really meant a lot to you or has been you know it can be challenging, but something that really impacted you and maybe just if you can walk us through that. Okay well that's yes, the answer is a resounding yes. So I do two things so these drives I organizers us and get the volunteers as best I can. And then let I-Rise know if we can't or can get our own drivers, but the more fun part is, there's a family that we found a place for in Princeton on a lovely Street in Princeton, and they're living in the basement and the rent is very good, very reasonable and the family who owns the house the woman was a Russian refugee she went to Israel and then came to and moved with her family as a child then came to the states. So she has a very personal understanding of what this is like and once they did their basement into an apartment and then realized they could use it to resettle a refugee family. They opened their doors, lovely lovely people. And so that family arrived last November and the woman young arrived at age, 22, the men arrived at age 26. They were newly married in Kabul in March and they arrived here pregnant. And they ended up giving birth like two weeks after she gave birth to weeks after they arrived. So talk about life-changing events, you know, just life-changing events, converging completely on. So I am the lead volunteer with that family and that is a joy you know, it's a lot of medical appointments. Baby was born premature doing well. A lot of helping them get on their feet with jobs, which they both do have. The baby is in daycare so I'm with them, you know, unless I'm away, I'm with them multiple times a week with one thing or another, there are a lot of wonderful volunteers in this area as I said. And so there we had someone who's helping with some of the paperwork because the paperwork is endless. I have someone who's helping the mother needs to do some online training for her work and that's, you know, I have someone who's in charge of that, there's lots of driving to Mom, Dad can take a bike to work mom and baby need a ride to day care and work. So that's going on to there's a lot. There's a lot of real hand-holding, you know, a lot of lot of sharing life and helping life, move forward, These were, these are lovely people and the wife had some English which made it easier. The husband is picking up English like crazy doing great and they've had ESL teachers, we mentioned ESL before we always set people up with ESL teachers, but the nature of their work is that they have different days off each week. They have different hours each week, so it's very hard to get a volunteer ESL teacher to, you know, to be that not flexible people are being flexible people are doing what they can, but we all have our own lives too. So that's, you know, that's, that's been a challenge. Taking them to the grocery store because, you know, it's Princeton is not known for great and we do have buses here. That's that is great. That's pretty good but we don't have enough buses that go to enough, new Shop Rite's and things and things are all out in stores. There are many challenges along the way. That sounds like it. And, you know, just I mean what are you talking about is just the constant coordination of things and, you know, it seems almost like as you're talking, just seeing me. Problems with the infrastructure system as well that you know, in a place like Princeton and Trenton as well be challenges that, you know, the sort of more, you know that the city itself is, you know, it's an amazing city, but it's very hard to, you know, you can get to one shopping center on the bus. It's not necessarily one can get to a whole bunch of them and especially as an economic aspect than seems challenging would be a lot easier on you if there was I'm sure you know, better public infrastructure. Yeah, yeah, so the families in Trenton are able to get to do some shopping on their own more than those in Princeton. thats great.

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That's great and so how the language barrier I know you mentioned that the family you're working with the wife speaks more English but how do you address the language barrier? And yeah. Well, there is a lot of smiling it's um It's difficult, it's difficult. You know, if I'm not driving the car and talking with them, if I'm in their home and talking pointing works, you know? Um, and you know, for the baby, there's lots of hands, you know, showing you rocking and that kind of stuff. It's difficult. The non you know, not being able to fully communicate is difficult. The wife's English is, as I said, she started with some English and it was enough to have basic conversations but like when she needs to have some medication for the baby, I go over it you know many many times I write it down. I asked her to say it back to me, you know, the important things where you really need to communicate. You know, takes a while takes. Yeah. It takes a while.

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Yeah, but again, the language barrier is when I'm driving people, I'm not worried about it. I don't really, I smile whenever they say. Good morning. Good night. Hello and goodbye. You know what? I realized that they want to be friendly, and they're telling me, this is what they know. And so, I, you know, I'll point to things and say, trees, you know, and give, you know, share some nouns along the way or, you know, Words, but I'm not. So where? I'm not so worried. I mean I know I need to get them where they need to go and beyond that I don't have to be concerned if I'm not really talking to them. But this one family I'm luckier than most because the husband has gained a lot of English on his job and he's smart. Yeah, that's great. And do you think, I guess depending on the family and what language they may speak? Do you ever feel that you have to learn you know something with their language or is it mainly just them because they're moving to the U.S. is it mainly them just learning English? That's a good question Rafer. So, I use google translate. I don't feel burdened by needing to use their language. Again, I can manage with the family that I am really involved with. With the other group I've used google translate when I need to, but they speak Pashto and Dari but I don't, I don't I, I know I'm not going to learn another language. Especially if there's multiple that you have to keep track of.

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Yes, yes I do want to add something else that I think is interesting. So the family that I'm working with was from Kabul and they both graduated high school and then they were working. There are other families that I-Rise and we together have settled in this area who are from Afghanistan. And in the mountains, you know, where the, I mean, all of these people, it's in connection with the military, right? So that's why they came here so quickly. When the military pulled out in August 2021. And so, a lot of them lived in little mountain towns who lived in very, very rural towns. And I don't know exactly what they did for the military because we were told very clearly not to be asking, you know? But as you know, people start chatting a bit but I'm not going, I won't share that, but some of those people are illiterate in their own language. So we've had families with nine, ten children and there's been no schooling. Sometimes the older children has gone to some kind of a school after a while, but there is they've lived very, very simple lives. They have their own farms and their farming. And they're growing what they eat, what they eat. And there are I don't have a full sense of it, you know? This is just kind of conversations that I've had with other, you know, that some of these bigger families. But it's really the adjustment is is just impossible to imagine to be here and So then we get the kids into school. That's the other thing I didn't mention. That's pretty huge. We've been managing to get the kids into schools and that's helpful. And then we set up support for this one large family. They were housed in Hopewell and beautiful School District. Wonderful school district. And so, the school district was great and welcoming but it was clear that the kids there was just no There was no, let that they spoke their own language, but they didn't know how to even write their own language. So nor did Mom and Dad. So they so our group arranged for different volunteers to go in and tutor and each classroom. The five days a week. Yeah, people have been people have been just wonderful. I mean, it's that's why it's great to work with this group of people. Yeah, no. That's such an important point because the education aspect is ultimately you know, one of the I just I can't imagine how difficult it is, if the parents are also, you know, not able to communicate, you know, in writing and I guess, you know, one of the things it sounds like it's very the that you as you individually and the organization, you work with are really having to work. With, you know, within communities, but also with, you know, school districts and how can you, maybe talk about that and how has that been and how have you handled working with different school districts? Okay. So, I don't want to brag on anybody but, uh, but on Trenton's and difficult, School District, Trenton, you know, there's just a lot of problems in the city of Trenton a beautiful old city and with my heart a little bit to know and it's not doing so well in their education area. So we're haven't been super successful people that the kids are all admitted to school, there's no question about that, but then they haven't been so open to have support, you know, or people go in and support and they're a lot of challenges. Huge challenges in the school district. So, The new kids come in, I think they're doing their best on. I think, you know, I honestly think they're doing their best, but it's hard. We now have a little girl, she's has gotten some press, she was on also the Today Show. A family of three from Ukraine, who came in and they're being housed in Princeton in also a basement apartment in a family that's charging them no rent. So, you know, just lovely, lovely, lovely family, and the child is going to Little Brook School, right near where I live and she's in third grade and the school district can't do enough for this child to know, the parents in the classroom are just thrilled to have her there, you know, there's an outpouring of love and support for this family [Hums in agreement].

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And they're going to do fine. Yeah. This is the Hopewell district with this large family from Afghanistan. These children were so cute and friendly and open, you know, they're trusting and happy to have somebody new coming to the house and thrilled with a new coat. And, you know this, you couldn't ask for sweeter people was just a lovely family and the school district loved working with them. They've moved to Sacramento actually there is a large Afghan community in Sacramento, they had friends and family who were there and so after being here for eight months, maybe the end of the school year. Moved to Sacramento. Wow that's a big change but it just sounds like I know I keep touching on this but it sounds just like the constant communication is a real you know the work that you and your organization do and how you get you both of you guys get and all of you get these people to trust you and to you know come from a different country and to trust you to help them and you don't speak a different language, and I think that speaks a thousand words about, you know, more than that about how important this work is. So, thank you for doing that. And one of my other questions that I kind of want to go into is about your, you do the work in the time. So, it's when you reflect on your work, in time that you spend How would you describe your personal satisfaction with working, with these organizations?

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Day to day, day to day? And there's a different answer? This morning, I took the mom and the little almost 11 month old little boy, to get his flu shot. And that was, that was wonderful. I got up and the appointment wasn't too early and it wasn't too late. So we went to the clinic. I will say that after everyone has their initial Health appointments, with this Clinic, which is federally funded in New Brunswick, they then can go to other clinics. So that we are not constantly forever driving people from Mercer County areas into New Brunswick, which is in Middlesex County. So this family goes to a nice clinic right in Plainsboro, so it was lovely. You know, we had a chance, I had a chance to hold and play with this little baby who's precious really precious and his mom is lovely. And so we, you know, we chatted and did, you know, two moms sitting in a, or a grandma and a mom sitting in a doctor's office and that was great. And then I got them to work and to daycare and so that that was great. I came home and there was just only one appointment scheduled that came across that I needed to get new volunteers for. So I took care of that. I didn't get a volunteer yet, but hopefully when we get off someone will have come up and so today this is great. You know, this punctuates my day, the rest of the day, I walk on a beautiful day, I take care of what I need to do and I cook a good dinner. So, you know, this is a great day, there are other days when those appointments keep coming at me and or coming out, they're not directed to hurt me but yeah they keep coming out and that's a lot. Then this family needs to get to the endodontist by tomorrow. And then you know, there are just a lot of your shadowing people's lives with this work and when you're the lead, volunteer with the family and so everything that comes up in your life, or my life comes up in, there's two, and it's just, but it's that much more complicated and try to find an endodontist who takes Medicaid, you know, you have to, you know, travel to the Moon. You know, it's the specialty that the doctors there were many clinics around, but once you get into the specialties and everybody seems to need something. And so so you know, it's frustrating and sometimes it can something has to happen tomorrow and I have plans of my own for tomorrow and then I shift them. And so yeah, that's not such a good day. Well, oh, that's great. And do you think that the sort of your work with the family and specifically the child. And, you know, because you said that you've known this child since it was born. Yeah, exactly. And so, how is that been, you know, sort of, formulating and forming a relationship with the child you know, when it's growing up, it's probably very challenging because of the different languages. But is it nice to be able to communicate with them without having to talk and sort of getting that trust without needing to talk?

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Well yes, yes, yes, this baby, it's very easy for this group of predominantly women, retired women, who are grandmother's of their own or grandmother wannabes, and to have this little baby in our lives. So, as I said there, Was a very nice support group around this family and, you know, everyone who drives them to work, we put the car seat in the car. We, you know, we are very connected to this child. This child will grow up speaking English. I mean, mom and dad will continue to speak Pashto at home, but they'll also speak English at home because as I said, they do, their English is getting better by the day. And because he's in daycare, he's hearing English and he hears English from all of us. And so, this child has a lot of Grandma's very many, very many Grandma's. He's a sweet little boy, and we're all planning his first birthday party. So seems like he's a great hands. So, he's in good hands are not just mine many, many hands are involved. And it's, this is a very sweet when you're just going through life events and there are no surprises and then no, no health issues. And then, it's just joyful. Well, that sounds really important and amazing and I have my final question for you, is, when you consider your own background is there something you see that connects you personally to the difficulties of refugees or resettlement in general?

00:44:24.200 - 00:47:37.860

Yeah, I think when Louise speaks to groups, you know, she always starts with her, you know, her parents or grandparents came here because of the programs and it's easy to relate to what people are going through. So I would say the same. That's very special. Well, is, are there any questions that you think I should have asked, or that you would like to talk about? A very full interview Rafer, wonderful speaking with you and really have enjoyed this time a lot. I'll just mention one other thing, so I-Rise every year, have a big fundraiser. A walk around Highland Park and it's really interesting if you or anybody who listens, would care to participate, it's on Sunday the fifth of November and what they do it's just it's so interesting. The model is great when they first started settling refugees, they settled them all in the town of Highland Park that I mentioned earlier, I grew up in Highland Park. It's not a, you know, there's nothing super special about it. But it's a lovely town. a lot of Rutgers people. Um, it's a nice sweet town in which to grow up, but it's also clearly a very liberal town and, and an open, you know what, just an open town. And so, the first refugees as I just said were in Highland Park and the school district opened their hearts and the mayor's office opened every group in the library had special programs and so what they do with this walk where a group of you know, hundreds and hundreds of us are walking. We meet at the church, which is where I-Rise's offices are and we walk around the mile of Highland Park. It's a small town and we go to the middle school and we hear from the principal about the children that have come through and the school is serving, the needs of the Immigrant population or the refugee population. We go to one of the temples there are a number of temples and synagogues in Highland Park and we hear from the rabbi there about what they've been doing to open their doors. We go to a number of churches and here with their pastors and we go to the library, the high school, the mayor's office. I think that may be a bit. We walk as a group, there's a lot of singing and a lot of celebration and, and it's tremendously inspirational, you know, to hear what each group is doing. And then there are also Refugee speaking and instead of the refugee speaking at each of these spots as well. And they all tell of their experiences from, you know, just a short few short words, so it's a nice fundraiser. If you happen to be up in this area. That is great and I will, I will keep that in mind. And you said November 5th correct?

00:47:38.200 - 00:48:27.900

It's Sunday the sixth. So it's a week, That seems like an amazing event. I will, and thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview today. It is not only been informative, but a very valuable contribution to understanding the story about Refugees and the story about them coming to the U.S. and I'm really grateful that you took the time. So thank you very much for that. It's my pleasure, you were a delightful interviewer and the fact that you smile so easily makes it really just very easy to respond to you. Your questions were great and happy to speak. Thank you so much.

00:48:28.500 - 00:48:29.100

Thank you.