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A32 FEATURE
Tuesday 3 March 2020
Crafts can help refugees find community, and maybe a living

This March 21, 2015 photo taken in Aurora, Colo., shows neck-
laces made at A Little Something.
Associated Press

This May 15, 2019 photo shows A Little Something participants Khei Hung from Burma, left, Sabah
Almobarak from Syria, Eh Gay Ju from Burma, and Mounira Kuru from Syria, as they work through
frustration and creative challenges in their first lesson making wire-wrapped necklace pendants
in Aurora, Colo.
Associated Press
By MOLLY SPRAYREGEN is being used as a tool to ists from 45 different coun-
Associated Press help refugees — and es- tries, many of them seeking
When Bahija Karim arrived pecially women — get ac- political asylum. The or-
in Idaho as an Afghan refu- climated to a host country, ganization hosts a festival,
gee in 2005, she knew little learn skills and, sometimes, provides workspace, offers This January 2018 photo taken in Aurora, Colo., shows A Little
about American culture. earn a living. French classes, and helps Something participants showing off their pay for jewelry they
She didn’t speak English. A “We provide a venue for artists find grants, residen- created.
volunteer directed her to refugee women to craft to- cies and jobs. If they need Associated Press
Artisans for Hope, a local gether, build a community, lawyers, psychiatrists or ac-
crafts initiative for refugees. make some friends, and commodations, aa-e helps refugees connect to mar- Depaule, too, hopes to
There, she was taught craft- have a safe way to interact find those too. kets where they can sell change attitudes, aiming
ing skills and English. Artisans with each other and talk “When you get to a coun- their products. to hold more aa-e festivals
for Hope took Karim on field about what they’ve been try in the way of exile,” De- Made51’s Global Man- in countries where taking in
trips. They found her a job through,” says Sharon Mc- paule says, “you can have ager Heidi Christ says that refugees is controversial.
with a seamstress, which Creary, who in 2007 helped a lot of bad experiences, after forming a success- And back in Idaho, Artisans
she held for nine years, and found A Little Something, a very hard, very traumatiz- ful partnership with Virgin for Hope worked to change
then they helped her start women’s refugee crafts or- ing experiences. And when Megastores in the United hearts and minds through
her own custom drapery ganization in Denver. you are waiting for papers Arab Emirates, the Made51 a traveling quilt project. In
business, The Golden Nee- A Little Something also sells it’s very hard, too. Because team is now working to ex- partnership with the Idaho
dle. the crafts and gives artisans you don’t know if they will pand and grow its direct- Commission on the Arts,
Karim says Artisans for Hope 75% of the earnings. say yes or not, so (art) is a to-consumer market. the artisans created story
helped her feel like an em- In Paris, the Agency of Art- possibility to start to build “We see lots of possibil- quilts and traveled around
powered member of her ists in Exile (aa-e) supports something, and to start ity,” Christ says. “People Idaho, Oregon, and Utah
new community. With their professional artists — from thinking about something love the storytelling behind to display them.
help, she says, “all the peo- painters to photographers else.” Made51, love the idea of “It was for me a very good
ple know we are human to dancers to musicians The United Nations High being able to buy from experience,” says quilt proj-
beings. We could make — who come to France Commissioner for Refugees refugees in many different ect participant Wafaa Al-
something for ourselves, for as refugees. Founded in also runs a craft-based ini- countries and do it in a way wan, “because I was see-
them, for the country, for 2017 by Judith Depaule tiative, Made51. It partners that also supports local ing support from people.”
the community.” and Ariel Cypel, the group with local groups around business growth in these Alwan came to the United
Around the world, crafting works with about 200 art- the world to help artisan developing countries.” States from Iraq, and was
She hopes a ripple effect connected to Artisans for
of Made51 will be to shift Hope after opening up to a
people’s perception of ref- friend about struggling with
ugees. homesickness.
“Despite the conditions “It’s not just a center for
that a refugee artisan is liv- crafting,” she says. “It’s a
ing in, they’re able to make healing center for us. It’s
this beautiful product,” she really a second chance
says, “And then the way for refugee ladies to find a
the consumer can think place to live and prosper in
about refugees changes.” the community.”q