Supporting CAC with her music

On Monday, December 22, San Francisco-based singer songwiter Jenna Lavoie is holding a virtual concert via Giving Stage to benefit Calling All Crows. Learn about why Jenna chose to support CAC below, and click here for details about how to support her show!

I chose Calling All Crows because what they do resonates with me. When Piper, CEO of Giving Stage was introducing me to all of the charitable organizations that they partner with, she mentioned that Calling All Crows was founded by Chadwick Stokes from the bands Dispatch and State Radio. Just hearing that made me want to check them out because Dispatch was a huge part of my life during a very transformative, significant time for me.  

When I was first introduced to Dispatch, I was a teenager and starting the journey of discovering who I am. I remember driving around in my car listening to "Hey, Hey" on repeat, feeling how big the world was, wanting to be a part of it, and I realizing that I could. I think all I did for a while was listen to Dispatch and that was the first time I start to feel on my own, free and realize that I am music and that's what I needed to do. Dispatch was also a huge inspiration for me musically. The emotional dynamics of their songs has influenced my own style of song writing that I continue to carry with me.  

When I went to their website and read up on Calling All Crows and saw what they're all about, I was blown away by the work that they do. There are all different kinds of lack energy and struggle going on the world and it’s shown, manifested, and created in many different forms. We choose different avenues and usually focus on one issue at a time, which is great, but there's something about Calling All Crows where they seem to connect to every avenue and cover many issues at once. I think it’s because they create change from the healing foundation of music. Music is so powerful. It is the universal language. Music alone connects to every being and heart on this planet, and creates healing, and positive change. Music helps us know that we're all ONE, that we are not alone. Music connects us to who we really are in our core, in our soul so that we can go out and live our purpose and create. All of that magic is created just from listening to music or performing it. So, if we take that notion of what music already is and put that energy into the form of taking physical action to create change in the world...you have Calling All Crows. To me, Calling All Crows dissolves the line of separation between the music, fans, audience and the community. They partner with the musicians and fans that are being transformed by this music and allow them to take action on that inspiration and healing change within themselves and spread it towards the community. 

Calling All Crows is putting the healing power of music in people's hands and inviting them to take that power and do service acts all around the world. It's like me in my car listening to Dispatch, singing and feeling so much love and inspiration.... then seeing someone in their car broken down on the side of the road, and deciding to pull over and help them. Calling All Crows does this but at a much larger level. I am honored to be putting on this concert for Calling All Crows through Giving Stage. I am excited to bring people together through music and spread the magic. 

Taking part in a movement

Earlier this year, Calling All Crows Volunteer Dylan Landay joined over six hundred other activists from around the Northeast for the annual Amnesty International Northeastern Regional Conference. He shares his story and pictures below.

CAC is dedicated to sharing information about and providing opportunities for volunteers to learn and explore social justice issues so that they can fully participate in a growing community of activists who have the power to change the world.

Being a part of Calling All Crows had been by far one of the most beneficial decisions of my life. Not only for the experiences, but the opportunities passed on through them. This is how I first heard of the Regional Amnesty International Conference. I jumped on this opportunity instantly. Arriving I figured it would be mainly adults, but to my surprise it was largely college students roughly my age. The conference consisted of organized panels and two open slot panels of which you could choose. My day consisted of learning about topics ranging from gun violence, to women’s rights, to the media's influence on societal views.

My most memorable moment during the conference was during the panel that addressed gun violence. While the session was wrapping up they asked if any questions would like to be asked to the panel. I leapt up and joined the line. I was second to go asking a question in a room of probably 300. My voice quivered a little as I asked my question about media’s role in gun violence. A woman roughly my age who was from Sandyhook, CT on the panel answered. She discussed the many ways other organizations are helping and great affiliates to link up with. I was thanked and returned to my seat. What I realized though, is if not for Calling All Crows I would not have had the courage to get up and ask my question.  

Refugee Camps

This year’s “Forced to Flee” tour is dedicated to bringing awareness to refugee issues throughout the world and promoting activism among the Calling All Crows community. The Crows’ Nest blog will feature articles by Trish Becker-Hafnor discussing the complex elements of the refugee experience, from conflicts affecting communities across the globe, to the challenges of living in a foreign country after resettlement. You can read previous installments here and here.

As the Forced to Flee Tour carries on, Calling All Crows continues to explore the various elements of the refugee experience from worldwide conflict to the challenges that face those that choose to resettle.  Refugees have 3 possible solutions to displacement: repatriation (returning to their country of origin), integration into the community to which they have fled, or resettlement into a third country.  The journeys of refugees vary widely, but the refugee camp is an experience that is shared by many.

There are nearly 40 million people currently living in refugee camps in 125 countries.  This is according to official numbers from the UN High Commissioner of Refugees and doesn’t include the countless makeshift, unofficial camps that line the borders of conflict-ridden nations.  Nor does it include the estimated 26.4 million internally displaced persons, or the millions more that live “illegally” in host communities in neighboring countries.  

Refugee camps vary in size, style and permanency.  In newly established or growing camps, families gather under tents stamped with the UNHCR logo, as war rarely allows time for permanent home building.  In countries where conflict has persisted for generations, refugee camps can seem more like villages with wooden homes, restaurants and bustling markets.  This was the case with Umpiem, the camp that I lived in for two years on the Thai-Burma border.

The civil war in Burma has lasted for over 60 years, and ethnic minority groups have been living in camps in Thailand for the duration of this time.  Umpiem is home to 20,000 people and is the second largest camp on the Thai-Burma border.  For some perspective, Hagadera Camp in Kenya is the world’s largest refugee camp with 138,000 people.  Because it has existed for so long, Umpiem resembles a small city with hundreds of shops and restaurants, 2 high schools and 2 junior colleges and several internet cafes.  The homes are made of bamboo and concrete and, at times, have multiple levels.  When I first arrived in Umpiem, I was struck by the beautiful gardens surrounding the homes, a sobering indicator of the permanency of the camp, and of the refugee status itself.

Umpiem is unique in many ways, but is also a representative image of many camps throughout the world.  Like most camps, it has a governing body of local residents.  Unfortunately, the local governments are often tied to militia groups who offer protection in exchange for fees or a portion of refugees’ rations.  Refugee camps are typically home to schools, places of worship and community centers, but are also characterized by rumors, uncertainty and an inability to escape.  In Umpiem, security was especially strict, as Thailand wanted to ensure that refugees from Burma were contained within the camps, and not working or finding refuge in border towns.  Refugees often face such discrimination and violence within the country that they’ve escaped to, as racism and nationalism influence policies and local attitudes.

The Refugee Camp is only one element of the refugee experience, but it is a crucial one.  For many, it represents safety and shelter after traumatic experiences, violence and war.  For others, it may be yet another challenging obstacle on the journey to a safe and fulfilling life.  However, it is an experience shared by many of the refugees that belong to our local communities, and for that reason, it is an experience to be honored and shared.

The Decision to Resettle

This year’s “Forced to Flee” tour is dedicated to bringing awareness to refugee issues throughout the world and promoting activism among the Calling All Crows community. The Crows’ Nest blog will feature articles by Trish Becker-Hafnor discussing the complex elements of the refugee experience, from conflicts affecting communities across the globe, to the challenges of living in a foreign country after resettlement. You can read the first installment here.

“I came here lonely,” he said, with a slow nod of the head.

“Do you mean you came here alone?” I ask, “You moved to this refugee camp without any family or friends?”

“Yes, I came here alone.”

The slip of the tongue is rare for Ko Aye,* a handsome 26 year-old with near perfect English (in addition to the five other languages in which he is fluent). Ko Aye is a refugee from Burma, living alone in Umpiem Camp as his family has either resettled or remains in Burma. He works in the camp as a translator for a resettlement organization and dreams of moving to the United States one day to be reunited with his family. He wants to be an engineer.

Ko Aye sits beside me at a dusty teashop in the heart of the refugee camp where I have been living and working for the past year. He patiently answers a barrage of questions about the resettlement process – a subject he knows like the back of his hand. He explains the history of refugees from Burma, and the sad realities that face the vast majority of those hoping to resettle. Because countries like the US only accept a limited numbers of refugees each year, refugee camps throughout the world are filled with people who have nothing to do but wait. Less than 1% of worldwide refugees are resettled to a third country, a result of limited funding coupled with sharply increasing numbers of displaced persons. 

But not every refugee wishes to resettle, and in fact it is a decision that tears families and communities apart. Refugee camps provide a temporary point of refuge for many families who have fled their homes, a place to wait out armed conflict and hope for peace in the near future. The wait is unpredictably long, and the uncertainty can be unbearable. In Umpiem Camp, where Ko Aye lives, refugees have been waiting for peace for over 60 years. Rumors constantly weave throughout the camp, giving families false hopes of democracy and repatriation, and prolonging their wait for a safe return home.  

For some, waiting is not a solution. Instead, they choose to apply for resettlement, a process that can take years. With a resettlement application, people often face stigma from their communities and are labeled as deserters. They place the futures of themselves and their families in the hands of a governing body whose rules and preferences fluctuate with the changing of political alliances. And even if resettlement is approved, families are often separated, lovers torn apart and communities dismantled. The decision to resettle is a challenging one, and this is before considering the struggles that await refugees in a third country.

Ko Aye, like many young refugees, dreams of attending university and building a livelihood for himself and the family he hopes to one day have. He is young, brilliant, educated and ambitious. For him, resettlement is his best option, as it will provide an opportunity for education, prosperity and a new life.  So here he waits – unchallenged and unfulfilled, but with hopes of a future free from violence, fear and being alone.

*Names and other identifying information have been changed to protect the individual’s privacy.

The Refugee Crisis

Trish Becker-Hafnor is a Colorado kid, who just completed her Masters in Social Work at the University of Washington. For two years, she lived and worked in a Burmese refugee camp in Thailand, coordinating a public health program, providing training, and fundraising for disaster relief. She has also worked in refugee mental health in the US, providing trauma-focused therapy for resettled refugees from around the world. She is passionate about social justice, positivity and the power of community to create change and will be sharing her expertise and experience on refugee issues with us during Forced to Flee.

This year’s “Forced to Flee” tour is dedicated to bringing awareness to refugee issues throughout the world and promoting activism among the Calling All Crows community. For the next five weeks, the Crows’ Nest blog will feature articles discussing the complex elements of the refugee experience, from conflicts affecting communities across the globe, to the challenges of living in a foreign country after resettlement. Please join CAC in our mission to create awareness by learning and sharing these blogs, joining us on the tour, and promoting justice and human rights for all.

Currently, there are over 51.2 million forcibly displaced people in countries throughout the world. The current conflict in Syria is the “biggest humanitarian emergency of our era,” and there is unprecedented need for global action to promote nonviolence and support for those who have been displaced. At this moment, nearly 16 million people wait in refugee camps around the world, 30 million seek refuge from violence within the borders of their own nations, and hundreds of thousands struggle to adapt to a life in a foreign country after being resettled. 

The statistics are staggering, but still must be placed within the context of the individual lives and experiences; collective stories of refuge and of resilience. Ahmed,* a policeman from Iraq who has lived in the US for five years, still jumps at the sound of passing trucks as it stirs vivid memories of being attacked in front of his home as his family watched from inside. Mu Paw, an 80-year-old widow in a rural Burmese village looks upon the ashes of what once was her home and all of her possessions, knowing that she has no resources to rebuild and no family to stand beside her amidst the rubble. And Esmeralda, a young female activist from Kenya spends her nights fearing footsteps beyond her locked door, as sexual violence plagues the unstable environments of war torn cities, refugee camps and border towns.

Calling All Crows encourages its supporters to become informed on the global refugee crisis, and to take action both locally and globally. The first step in activism is always to listen. We encourage you to seek out individuals in your local communities and learn about their experiences of being forced to flee. You can be involved, on a local level, by volunteering with resettlement organizations, refugee communities and ESL classes. You can continue to advocate for justice and human rights abroad with international human rights organizations, and by bringing awareness to your own networks. Finally, you can join Calling All Crows in our pre-show service projects and fundraising efforts for aid to Syrian refugees. Thank you, as always, for being a part of the movement.

For more information on the global refugee crisis, please visit www.unhcr.org. 

*Names and other identifying information have been changed to protect the individual’s privacy.