The Charlotte Jewish News - January 2011 - Page 20
Hebrew Cemetery
Association
Resettlement Brings
Opposing Forces Together
By Lorrie Klemons, publicity
In the book Life Can Be This
Good by Richard Carlson, the
author talks about life as a few
dozen white spots
against a background.
The white dots repre
sent the “highlights” of
life - birth, weddings,
promotions, achieve
ments, and so forth.
The background repre
sents the rest of it - day-
to-day life. While most
of us are tempted to see
only the highlights as
miraculous and excit
ing, the trick is to see the rest in
the same light.
How do we find miracle and
excitement in our day-to-day life?
How does one find the awesome
ness of God’s creation in the mun
dane of everyday living? Once we
find out how to achieve that,
everything changes as we realize
that life can truly be magnificent.
One of the ways we can find
the magnificent excitement in
everyday living is by becoming
God’s partner in spreading good
deeds and good will. By entering
into such a partnership, we
become one with God, truly being
created in His image. By doing
mitzvot, it is as though we com
plete the divine mis
sion here on earth. By
reaching out to our fel
low human beings, we
create an angelic cho
rus of mitzvot and
holiness that fills the
universe with melodi
ous harmony. What a
miraculous feat for
mere man and woman
to achieve.
At this secular time
of year when everyone promises
to make “good” resolutions, make
a commitment to yourself to see
mundane life as miraculous and
exciting. Only then can you really
appreciate the sanctity of every
day life and the awesomeness of
God’s creation. In this year of
2011 (5771), sanctify your own
life by sanctifying the eternal life
of Jews who preceded you in eter
nal life. You can do this by
becoming a member of the
Charlotte Hebrew Cemetery
Association. ^
By Karen Brodsky
A personal story Ellen Dubin,
executive director of Carolina
Refugee Resettlement Agency
(CRRA), likes to tell relates the
meeting of a Bosnian Muslim and
an Eastern Orthodox Serb follow
ing the collapse of Yugoslavia.
The Bosnian arrived in Charlotte
and was resettled by HIAS NC as
the agency was called. He accli
mated very well.
Dubin asked him to help reset
tle a Serb family. It made sense.
They spoke the same language.
The Bosnian was hesitant. “No,
they smell bad,” he said. Dubin
was insistent, citing all the help he
had received from HIAS, so he
acquiesced. When the Serb
arrived Dubin told him that a
refugee from Bosnia was going to
help him get acclimated. The Serb
wasn’t happy. “Can someone else
help?” he said. “They smell.”
Then they met each other and
discovered an absence of olfacto
ry offense. Still, the Bosnian only
reluctantly helped the Serb. Dubin
repeatedly threw them together In
the end they visited each other’s
homes and broke bread.
Often among refugees CRRA
resettles, many of the traditional
negative beliefs they hold are
shattered. The shared experience
and the trials of resettlement bring
them together Beginning in 2005,
Jews came from Uzbekistan,
Moscow and Ukraine. Christians
came from Moldova and Ukraine.
Muslim Meskhetian Turks (who
also speak Turkish) arrived from
Georgia and Uzbekistan. United
by the Russian language, religion
was not a day-to-day issue for
these refugees. Remarkably the
groups mixed.
They also came to realize that,
once in Charlotte, they were more
alike than different.
CRRA’s clients are resettled in
various apartment complexes in
East Charlotte. Thus CRRA has
created “pseudo communities,”
or little villages - a patchwork
quilt of Bhutanese, Burmese,
Montagnards, Somalis, Iranians
and Iraqis, to name a few. They
come to Charlotte with little or no
experience with diversity. Some
have only negative experiences
with diversity. They come from
relatively homogeneous commu
nities. Here they leam to accept—
and respect—each other. Recently
a friendship has blossomed
between a Bhutanese man and a
Somali man.
Ever since Englishman Israel
Zangwill coined the metaphor of
the melting pot from his play The
Melting Pot in 1908, various other
authors, sociologists, and presi
dents have debated and opined
that the idea of an American melt
ing pot is erroneous. President
Jimmy Carter said, “We become
not a melting pot but a beautiful
mosaic. Different people, different
beliefs, different yearnings, differ
ent hopes, different dreams.”
In the refugee community,
CRRA has found that the yearn
ings, hopes and dreams are very
similar All hope their children
will become self-sufficient and
educated. Several dream that they
will be able to buy a house or a
car Many have.
They all share the hope with
every American that they will
enjoy good health and happiness.
CRRA provides hope for the
hundreds of refugees it resettles
each year. Last year alone the
agency resettled 345 refugees —
the largest number CRRA ever
resettled in a single year CRRA
needs your help to continue its
important work. Call 704-535-
8803 or e-mail info@car-
olinarefugee.org to donate furni
ture. Donate online at www.car-
olinarefugee.org. ^
“Only for God does my soul wait in silence, for my deliverance is from God. Only God is
my rock, my deliverance, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.”
- Psalm 62:6-7
Hebrew
Cemetery
Association
o
Charlotte Jewish Preschool
2011 Enrollment begins at our
OPEN HOUSE
Friday, January 14 • 9:30am
Half & Full Day Preschool
Ages 1 to 6
Qualified, experienced teachers
Safe, secure nurturing environment
Educational excellence
A BENEFICIARY AGENCY OF
JEWISH^
fedemtion€
ATER CHARLOTTE^^
5007 Providence Road, BIdg. F • 704-944-6777 • www.cjpkids.org
CJP is a collaboration of Temple Beth El, Temple Israel and the Levine Jewish Community Center.