![\"Ingrid](\"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/is\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2016\/05\/ingrid-300x169.png\")
<\/a>The West African country broke out in its first civil war in 1989. According to the U.N., 150,000 people, mostly civilians, died. About 850,000 people fled Liberia.<\/p>\n
Cortes, 55, moved there from the Philippines in 1978 when she was 18 because her father was a doctor working for the Liberian government. He stayed in the country through the conflict as well.<\/p>\n
Cortes graduated from the University of Liberia with a degree in zoology and minor in chemistry. She fled the country with her children to live with her mother and stepfather, who lived in Springfield, Mo.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was tough,\u201d Cortes said. \u201cIt was very tough.\u201d<\/p>\n
She worked many jobs in Missouri until she was offered a job at the Cargill meat distribution facility in Mount Crawford in 2008. Cortes currently lives in Weyers Cave.<\/p>\n
Cortes is one of the storytellers who spoke during the Many Voices of Harrisonburg, a May 21 event at Memorial Hall highlighting the changing face of the Shenandoah Valley.<\/p>\n
Growing diversity<\/strong><\/h3>\nThe free event was on the same day as the U.N.\u2019s International Day for Cultural Diversity and Dialogue.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/is\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2016\/05\/Doris-300x169.jpg\")
<\/a>The film also included stories of people whose families have been in the area for generations, such as Doris Allen, who grew up in Harrisonburg’s Newtown neighborhood.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nSponsored by Church World Service\u2019s Harrisonburg Immigration and Refugee Office and the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, the event featured a documentary film along with several storytellers who are immigrants or refugees who settled in the Valley, along with children\u2019s activities and games for an enriching multicultural experience.<\/p>\n
[Watch Part I<\/a>\u00a0 and Part II<\/a> of the film.]<\/p>\nThe event was funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities awarded to the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities called \u201cChanging Faces of Virginia.\u201d The foundation then split the $50,000 grant between six selected cities in the commonwealth.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have more and more immigrant communities coming into the state,\u201d Lisa Lynn Porter, an assistant professor at JMU\u2019s Sociology and Anthropology department and organizer of the event, said. \u201cThey chose six sites in Virginia that have growing immigrant populations that have the most significant change, and Harrisonburg is one of those communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, Harrisonburg has one of the largest concentrations of Latinos in the state, a population that has grown 280 percent in 16 years. About 200 refugees are resettled to the Harrisonburg area every year, said Rebecca Sprague, community program coordinator of CWS Immigration and Refugee Office.<\/p>\n
The other five cities participating in the grant program include Arlington, Richmond, Roanoke, Norfolk\/Virginia Beach and the Eastern Shore town of Onancock.<\/p>\n
Porter said the Harrisonburg region also has growing Iraqi and Kurdish populations.<\/p>\n![\"Pishdar](\"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/is\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2016\/05\/kurd-300x169.png\")
<\/a>Pishdar Mirawdali from Kurdistan, Northern Iraq. The filmakers asked people how they or their families arrived in the area and what their life is like now. They also asked them about their hopes and dreams for themselves, their families and the area.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cIf you look at our local school system, in January the reporting showed fifty-one different languages represented among students,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Power of storytelling<\/strong><\/h3>\nInstead of hosting a book or film festival, Porter said, the organizers thought storytelling and narrative would offer a more powerful picture of the refugees\u2019 experience.<\/p>\n
The storytellers shared their experiences of resettling to the area as well as the struggles they went through.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a powerful piece in understanding our community,\u201d said Porter.<\/p>\n
Mikhala Lantz-Simmons and her husband Mohammad Rasoulipour directed and produced the documentary film bearing the same name of the event. The 40-minute film features interviews from eight immigrants or refugees who have settled to the area.<\/p>\n
[Watch Part I<\/a>\u00a0 and Part II<\/a> of the film.]<\/p>\nLantz-Simmons, a recent graduate of Eastern Mennonite University\u2019s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, said the goal is to have the film available to show at area schools.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope to tell the stories in a way that honors the participants and is really respectful for them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n![\"Everett](\"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/is\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2016\/05\/junior-may-300x169.jpg\")
<\/a>Everett “Junior” May’s family has been farming the same land in Bergton, Va., since the beginning of the 1800s.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nLantz-Simmons found that the Friendly City has lived up to its name by providing a welcoming environment to newcomers.<\/p>\n
\u201cHarrisonburg is called the Friendly City, and from what people were saying, that really resonated with them,\u201d Lantz-Simmons said. \u201cI think all of them talked about how welcomely they were received and that it feels like home.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/a>Sponsored by Church World Service\u2019s Harrisonburg Immigration and Refugee Office and the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, the event featured a documentary film along with several storytellers who are immigrants or refugees who settled in the Valley, along with children\u2019s activities and games for an enriching multicultural experience.<\/p>\n
[Watch Part I<\/a>\u00a0 and Part II<\/a> of the film.]<\/p>\n The event was funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities awarded to the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities called \u201cChanging Faces of Virginia.\u201d The foundation then split the $50,000 grant between six selected cities in the commonwealth.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have more and more immigrant communities coming into the state,\u201d Lisa Lynn Porter, an assistant professor at JMU\u2019s Sociology and Anthropology department and organizer of the event, said. \u201cThey chose six sites in Virginia that have growing immigrant populations that have the most significant change, and Harrisonburg is one of those communities.\u201d<\/p>\n According to the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, Harrisonburg has one of the largest concentrations of Latinos in the state, a population that has grown 280 percent in 16 years. About 200 refugees are resettled to the Harrisonburg area every year, said Rebecca Sprague, community program coordinator of CWS Immigration and Refugee Office.<\/p>\n The other five cities participating in the grant program include Arlington, Richmond, Roanoke, Norfolk\/Virginia Beach and the Eastern Shore town of Onancock.<\/p>\n Porter said the Harrisonburg region also has growing Iraqi and Kurdish populations.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you look at our local school system, in January the reporting showed fifty-one different languages represented among students,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Instead of hosting a book or film festival, Porter said, the organizers thought storytelling and narrative would offer a more powerful picture of the refugees\u2019 experience.<\/p>\n The storytellers shared their experiences of resettling to the area as well as the struggles they went through.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a powerful piece in understanding our community,\u201d said Porter.<\/p>\n Mikhala Lantz-Simmons and her husband Mohammad Rasoulipour directed and produced the documentary film bearing the same name of the event. The 40-minute film features interviews from eight immigrants or refugees who have settled to the area.<\/p>\n [Watch Part I<\/a>\u00a0 and Part II<\/a> of the film.]<\/p>\n Lantz-Simmons, a recent graduate of Eastern Mennonite University\u2019s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, said the goal is to have the film available to show at area schools.<\/p>\n \u201cWe hope to tell the stories in a way that honors the participants and is really respectful for them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Lantz-Simmons found that the Friendly City has lived up to its name by providing a welcoming environment to newcomers.<\/p>\n \u201cHarrisonburg is called the Friendly City, and from what people were saying, that really resonated with them,\u201d Lantz-Simmons said. \u201cI think all of them talked about how welcomely they were received and that it feels like home.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a>Power of storytelling<\/strong><\/h3>\n
<\/a>