In the United States, many cultures prevail that coexist every day, which is why there are many caregivers, on their own initiative, who took actions to care for and protect different communities. These caregivers have implemented different ways of being heard through innovative projects.
The United States is a country with a large number of migrants, according to census estimates, there are more than 45 million people, 13.6 percent of the nation's population. In 2021, it was estimated that 10.7 million Mexican immigrants lived in the US, however, there was also an increase in immigration from other countries such as India and China, according to the Migration Policy Institute (MPI(see the following table).
Over time, different associations have become present that are dedicated to the care of different communities, a very important role, as they seek to create spaces of healing, coexistence and understanding for anyone, as experts pointed out during a conference held. by Ethnic Media Services where they asked to value the work carried out by the caregivers of any individual or community.
Neeta Patel is the interim executive director of Asian Americans United, and she explained that works to care for communities that are at risk and that have prevailed for more than 150 years thanks to social struggles.
Throughout the country, he said, these communities are at risk of disappearing due to large investment projects that seek to extract more economic benefits than helping people.
?We created intergenerational coalitions to show how low-income, non-English speaking communities can join together with other allies, multiracial coalitions to form the front line against the displacement that is impacting communities.?, he commented.
For her, it is very important to stay in the fight for the spaces that give rise to communities, as well as fight against the narratives of developers who aim to create investment spaces, displacing people.
Kalani Tonga-Tukuafu, director of Pasifika Enriching Arts of Utah (PEAU), PIK2AR's arts and culture division, pointed to some data collected during her project, where included a survey for caregivers, it was revealed that 50 percent do not have formal training, while 38 percent of them are concentrated between 35 to 45 years old.
During the project, a group of people were selected and interviewed. to understand, from the inside out, how xenophobia affects people. Among the topics with the most interest in the association was creating a community with more inclusion and transparency that will generate trust between different social groups.
Benny Lai, executive director of communications and events at the National Asian Pacific Center on Aging, shared some audiovisual projects that have been implemented since the beginning of this year, which seek to bring closer and better understand communities by changing narratives. They are 14 to 15 minute episodes that show the battles of some caregivers and what they have to face daily.
With them, we seek to generate empathy and understanding with the rest of the people. The project focuses on promoting this initiative so that other communities adopt it, since it is necessary to focus on the techniques and information of caregivers to project their feelings, showing the needs of each community including their particular concerns and traditions.
Likewise, Lai highlighted that work is also being done to address the language problem, since it must be translated into several languages so that it can reach more people and in this way achieve the expected impact by changing the narratives and the way of see and understand caregivers.
Dianara Rivera is part of the Asian American Resource Workshop, where they help people with migration issues, community issues and more. Recently, she said, she worked on a project called A Love Letter to the QTAPI Community, where the goal was to create healing spaces for people to tell their stories and be heard without fear of being judged.
Jessica Eckerstorfer is co-founder and director of the artistic community of Paranoid Tree Press, an organization that has more than a thousand members where they focus on sharing stories of encouragement to adults and seek to preserve their life stories, as a great legacy. culture for future generations.
The most important thing for this organization is the preservation and collection of stories "by us and for us," Eckerstorfer stressed.
?Work is being done to create healing spaces through visual art, a project was presented where 17 people participated and told their stories, which was joined by 20 older people and 20 emerging artists.?, he explained.
Specialists agree that the fight to protect different communities is difficult and tiring. However, it is necessary to continue giving voice, hope and encouragement to those who do not feel valued, so we will continue working together to make society more aware of the great work that caregivers have.
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