Jane Kramer | Photographs and Stories of Refugee Women: Perseverance, Dignity, Strength, Hope, & Peace
Black and White, Fiber Photographs | 2004

Artist Statement
As an instructor of English as a Second Language for twelve years, I  had the privilege of meeting incredible people from around the world.  While teaching ESL in a nursing assistant training program for new Americans, I began my relationship with the five women whom you are about to meet. 

All five women completed the program successfully and are currently working in the health care field.  All five came to the U.S. not because they wanted to, but because they had no choice - four are refugees and one is an asylee.  They had fled their countries due to war as well as political and religious persecution.  Now they are facing new challenges of integration into American culture.

As a teacher, I had heard bits and pieces of their personal lives during breaks or over the lunch hour.  However, I wanted to know more, not only to satisfy my own curiosity, but also because I wanted to share with others all that I admired and respected about these women.   Why did they leave their countries?  How have their past experiences shaped who they are today?  How are they making a place for themselves in our communities? Do they want to return to their countries one day?  Are they able to maintain their language and culture?  What do we have in common?  What are their dreams for the future? And most important, what do they want others to know about being a refugee or asylee?

As a visitor to this exhibit, you will gain some insight into the struggles that many refugees face in coming to this country.  I am hopeful that you will see these women not as immigration statistics, but instead as mothers, sisters, classmates, co-workers, neighbors, and fellow citizens who are contributing to the fabric of American society. 

This project was supported in part by the 2003 Minneapolis/St. Paul IFP Access Grant.   It is dedicated to my father, Rev. Ronald Koch (1939 –  2004).