Tucson's New World-Class Musicians

On Friday, March 15th, I had the joy of accompanying Tamara Khachatryan and Fadi Iskandar to the Tucson Symphony Orchestra's performance of Beethoven's "Pastoral". Tamara and Fadi, asylum seekers from Syria, were concert violinists in Aleppo, as well as college-level music educators. Between them, they speak five languages: Russian, Arabic, Armenian, French, and English. They will soon be looking for work here in Tucson.

I met Tamara and Fadi at the Tucson International Alliance for Refugee Communities' fundraiser Violins Against Vandalism. I was so impressed with their talent that I asked them to play at Iskashitaa's fundraiser at La Cocina earlier this year. The crowd loved them! At that same event, I had the chance to meet Dawn Calista, a violinist with the TSO, who, upon hearing their story, arranged for complimentary tickets to the TSO. We are grateful to Dawn and the TSO for this opportunity! After the TSO performance, Tamara, Fadi, and I went backstage to meet the musicians and learn about the audition process. We would not be surprised if someday soon our new friends were invited to join the TSO!

If you would like to hear these talented performers, join us for A Night in the Courtyard at the YWCA on May 2nd at 6:30pm at 525 Bonita Ave. Please click Courtyard Concert to purchase tickets.  They are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. Food will be available for purchase from Dishes & Stories, Iskashitaa's joint venture. The concert will begin at 7pm, preceded by a meet-the-musicians reception. For questions about the event, please call 520-884-7810. In the meantime, you can get a glimpse of Tamara's talents on YouTube.

 
Natalie Brown
Development Director

Honors College Students Step Off-Campus to Broaden Horizons

This spring, Sloan and I came to Iskashitaa through an internship class offered by the Honors College at the University of Arizona, Honors Civic Engagement Team.  We had never heard of Iskashitaa before, but through our experiences volunteering over the past month and a half, we have become well acquainted with the organization and come to love it and the people involved.


Before Iskashitaa, I never realized that Tucson possessed such a large and vibrant refugee community. One of the most amazing things I noticed through my interactions with them was just how cheerful and happy they were to be here. I asked one refugee if he missed his home country, and he responded that he did not because America was his new country. It's hard for me to imagine leaving the US and settling down in an entirely foreign place due to persecution. Perhaps because of this, I find it so unbelievable that after all of their hardships, the refugees are still some of the most positive people I have ever met. Each week during our harvests, we have at least two refugees help us. Our goal is to harvest fruit, distribute some to our refugee helpers, and at the same time, help the refugees improve their English. Many of them have managed to pick up English very quickly. To my surprise, one of our regular refugee harvesters has only been in the States for 3 months, but can already hold a conversation and even text. Besides interacting with the refugees, harvesting itself is also very calming and heart-warming. All of the homeowners are very willing to help and receptive to our work. By the time we bring the fruit back to the Iskashitaa office each harvest, we have encountered several wonderful people that leave us feeling amazed, fulfilled, and positive.

Angela Wu
HCET Intern



The Iskashitaa program has provided me with a wonderful experience to learn more about the culture of the refugees. Angela and I have had the pleasure of planning harvests every Tuesday and having refugees accompany us. They are always so polite and eager to help, and it's so endearing to see how far these people have come since they were forced to flee their countries.

We also attend food preservation workshops to use some of the different fruits we harvest to make dressings, jams, and other yummy items. I never knew you could make so many delicious food items out of normal, everyday fruit from our trees in Tucson! One of my favorite times so far was going to a movie with a refugee and his brother. They taught me a few words in French and talked about how different it was in Africa, where they are from. It has been a lot of fun being able to meet these refugees and working with people from Iskashitaa who dedicate so much hard work and time to keep this program going.

Sloan Sonksen
HCET Intern

Mother's Day with Iskashitaa!

May 12th from 10am-4pm to share our stories and local foods. Mothers and grandmothers will enjoy free admission!

Iskashitaa invites volunteers and supporters who want to treat refugees to a special Sonoran day of outdoor fun at Tohono Chul.

Contact: tucsonrefugees@gmail.com

The Art of Eating with One's Hands

After preparing Lenga Lenga, Mchele and Kuku, Marie Bampamulolwa welcomed the visitors in three different languages: karibu in Kiswahili, kota in Lingala and welcome in English. She started introducing herself in Kiswahili while high-school intern, Rehema Divine, was interpreting. Later on, Marie told the visitors all the ingredients she used to prepare the food. Everyone took a plate but noticed there were no spoons available. The reason why spoons were not there is because we wanted to teach the Borderlinks participants a new technique of using one's hands to nourish the body, which is a common African tradition. Everyone was directed to wash his or her hands before eating. Marie told the visitors how important it is to use one's hands as eating utensils because it whets the appetite and connects people to their food directly.

DIvine and Jordan

Other reasons for using our hands are to communicate with food and earth, and to show our appreciation for the cook's efforts. Using our hands to eat is a symbol of love.

Following the introduction, everyone started practicing. Little by little they adapted to this system, which also saves time because you can put as much food as you want into your mouth when using your hands, as opposed to spoons or other utensils.

Would you like to try this? Come volunteer with Iskashitaa and make the human connection that is so important to newly arrived refugees. Contact volunteer@iskashitaa.org.

Food is one of the common denominators of all peoples. Iskashitaa has hosted Iraqi and Congolese refugees who revealed their culinary wisdom to Borderlinks groups. The next cooks will be a Bhutanese couple. Cooking for Borderlinks is a great way for our global friends to hone their presentation and demonstration skills while also sharing their culture through food. Contact us if you know of any refugees who may be interested in this opportunity.


Rehema Divine, DRC
Rincon High School