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Eager to learn the ins and outs of community organizing and civic engagement, two human rights advocates from the Balkans took up residence in Lawrence for four weeks.
Diana Dimova, from Bulgaria, and Kejsi Hysa, from Albania, arrived in Lawrence on September 8 after a stopover in Chicago. As their time in Lawrence drew to a close, the two took time to reflect on their impressions of the city and how they ended up in the Sunflower State, nearly 6,000 miles from home. them.
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Great Lakes Community Action Partnership selected local interfaith organization Justice Matters to host two professionals as part of its cultural exchange program, funded by the U.S. Department of State.
Dimova and Hysa visited with a plethora of stakeholders and leaders from area social service organizations such as the Ballard Center, Centro Hispano, Coalition for Homeless Concerns, Willow Domestic Violence Center and others. They followed members of the Justice Matters network and attended the organization’s annual listening sessions, also known as house or cabin meetings.
They also visited the Watkins Museum and the Lawrence Community Orchard, walked Mass Street, volunteered at LINK (Lawrence Interdenominational Nutrition Kitchen), and spoke with residents to learn about issues facing community members and families. faced, notably poverty and homelessness.
The goal of the internship program is to “empower active citizens to be strong advocates for citizen democracy in Eastern Europe” and to use the skills learned at Lawrence “to develop a project aimed at making advance civil liberties, social justice and civic engagement in their country. communities of origin,” according to a press release from Justice Matters.
Larger food portions and a bus system that proved difficult for Europeans contributed in part to what they described as an initial “culture shock,” but both men said they felt very lucky to visit Lawrence.
Hysa, 25, was happy to see people here openly practicing their religion, supporting each other through volunteering and commitment, and enjoying simple pleasures with family and friends, like drinking a cup of apple cider during a public gathering.
“You see the community getting involved in all the events that are happening around and that’s something you don’t see a lot in our countries, because people are always busy,” Hysa said. “We’ve really met some amazing people so far, and we have a lot of new friends coming into our lives, and even though it’s been a very short time, it’s been great.”
Dimova, 47, immediately noticed the cultural differences between social service providers here and her home country, Bulgaria, where corruption corrupts elections and the war in Ukraine led to increased economic instability.
“It is a big challenge because we lead and work in a very different environment when it comes to human rights,” Dimova said. “So it’s not easy to work with LGBT people, with new arrivals and asylum seekers coming from the border. And we face a lot of problems.
Every day is “absolutely unpredictable,” said Dimova, who works near the border between Turkey and Bulgaria. She is the founder and president of the non-governmental organization Mission Wings Foundationwhich supports refugees and programs to prevent violence against women.
The organization provides social workers, mental health support and cultural mediators to its clients. Above all, they campaign for the safety of children and adults with the aim of ultimately helping them obtain the tools they need to become independent.
“People are afraid of not receiving asylum from the state refugee agency, because if they talk about corruption, if they talk about what exactly happened at the border,” Dimova said. “And somehow we try to encourage them to be more courageous, and we support them with our lawyers, our social workers and our psychologists. »
Dimova said she and her team are well-equipped to provide social services directly, but face barriers and challenges in rallying community support for refugees and members of the LGBTQ+ community. The fight for social justice is underway there.
“It’s not easy,” Dimova said. “And we have a lot of stereotypes and negative attitudes in our home country. It takes a lot of effort, a lot of campaigning and a very clear strategy to help the community be more friendly.
According to the women, discrimination and harassment are daily occurrences for LGBTQ+ populations in the Balkans. The threat of street attacks and hate speech forces many gay and trans people into hiding, Dimova said. Being a refugee or Roma – an ethnic minority group who has experienced a genocide and endemic racism — might actually be safer, Dimova said.
“More of them are hiding, because in reality they are in danger,” Dimova said. “I am so embarrassed by the way my citizens treat LGBT people, but this is unfortunately the reality.”
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Hysa works in Tirana, Albania as a case manager at a shelter for LGBTQ+ adults aged 18-29. She said it was difficult to talk about sexuality and gender issues in her society. At Lawrence, she has observed that LGBTQ+ issues are discussed much more openly.
“That’s why we’re trying to advocate, so the community at large can understand that it’s just a human right and that’s it,” Hysa said. “It’s just a human right to be yourself.”
Women visit Lawrence on affordable stay housing crisis this coincides with the fact that hundreds of people live outside. They saw people camping in tents and living on the streets.
Dimova said homelessness has weighed heavily on her since she arrived. During listening meetings with Justice Matters, the women heard from two unhoused people who expressed the need for legal help in addition to affordable housing.
“The biggest problem is not that they sleep on the street, but they face many problems,” Dimova said. “Maybe we should listen to them more. They can give us ideas on how to solve this problem.
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Social workers agreed that reducing the number of people experiencing homelessness requires addressing the roots of its causes through adequate mental health care, substance abuse treatment and affordable housing. During their observations, they wondered whether the Lawrence community had provided so many ongoing, rather than temporary, services that it had led to a growing population of unhoused residents. They also questioned who should take a lead role in solving the problems that contribute to homelessness: the government or faith-based organizations.
“We also have homeless people, but we don’t have a LINK so that they can have at least one free meal. We don’t have that,” Hysa said, emphasizing the importance of empowering people. “Prevention is better than saving, because it is easy to start preventing now and therefore we do not need to make a lot of savings, because it costs more. And it costs more in terms of time, money and energy.
The two men left Lawrence on October 6 to meet with exchange leaders and interns in Washington. Together with Camille Debreczeny, outgoing lead organizer of Justice Matters, they invite community organizations who wish to visit them before their departure to send their request to the following email addresses: kejsi.hysa@gmail.com; dianadimova@abv.bg; and camille@justicemattersinkansas.org.
Hysa and Dimova expressed their gratitude to the people of Lawrence and Douglas County, especially the people they met during their visit. They shared a special “heartfelt” thank you for their host families, Ann and Tim Hossler, Janelle Johnson, and Kelly and Brad Wall.
“Thank you for opening your homes and your hearts to us, thank you for your hospitality, your generosity and for making us feel (at) home,” Hysa wrote in an email.
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Debreczeny said Justice Matters and its leaders were happy to have the opportunity to host the two men.
“I think it kind of spurred our listening process, because it’s exciting for our leaders to train an international organizer in the process,” Debreczeny said.
After returning to Eastern Europe, Hysa and Dimova plan to implement the new skills they learned into a project. Debreczeny will visit the women in their respective countries in the future as part of the exchange. She said she plans to leave her position at Justice Matters soon, following a debriefing period with her replacement.
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Stocks reporter Tricia Masenthin (she/her) can be reached at tmasenthin (at) lawrencekstimes (dot) com. Read more about his work for the Times here. Check out his team bio here.
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