Join us for a public forum and discussion on the stories, struggles, and successes of immigrant and refugee populations in Rhode Island.

The panel concludes a month of programming organized the Guantánamo Public Memory Project, which explores the history of the United States’ use of GTMO to house immigrants and refugees, as well as its post-9/11 use as a prison for suspected terrorists.

This moderated discussion will link the history of the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to contemporary experiences of immigrants and refugees here in Rhode Island, drawing out some of the Project’s themes: What is a refuge? What legal barriers do immigrants and refugees face? How does one make a home in an unfamiliar place? How do these populations respond to and shape their own experiences?

Featuring Josie Shagwert (Executive Director of Fuerza Laboral), Marta Martinez (Project Director, Latino Oral History Project of RI), Patrick Sylvain (Professor of Haitian Creole, Brown University), Silaphone Nhongvongsouthy (President, Laotian Community Center), and other speakers to be announced.