family; family history; ada morrell; family history chart
Ada Morrell
Utah State University, Merrill Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives, USU_P0355, Box 6, Folder 4
Ada Morrell; scrapbook; binding; book
Utah State University, Merrill Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives, USU_P0355, Box 1.
Utah State University
HIST3770group5:Mr and Mrs Elmer T Smith announcement
wedding announcement; marriage; 1950s; lds wedding
A wedding announcement from Mr and Mrs Elmer T. Smith sent to Ada Morrell.
Ada Morrell; Bridget Baldwin editing
Utah State University Special Collections and Archives
baby announcement; pun; 1950s
A baby announcement punning a new shipment arrival sent to Ada Morrell
Ada Morrell; Bridget Baldwin Editing
baby announcement; baby boy; 1950s; scrapbooking
A baby announcement from a relative sent to Ada Morrell
wedding announcement; lds wedding; 1900s wedding
Wedding Announcement for Mr and Mrs Joseph England in 1909.
Utah State University; Merrill-Cazier Library Special Collections and Archives SCAP 0355 Bx004 Fd04
HIST 3770 Group 5: Joseph and Ada with Baby
Morrell; grandparents; posterity
Picture of Ada and Joseph Morrell with a baby.
mormon; temple recommend; lds temple
A temple recommend given to Ada Morrell that allowed her to enter LDS temples.
Utah State University; Merrill-Cazier Library Special Collections and Archives SCAP 0355 Bx006 Fd 08
baby; hair; family record; William England
Photo of William England's baby hair as a child
Ada England Morrell; scrapbooks; books of remembrance; Cache Valley; Logan; Utah; Mormon; genealogy; pioneers; Utah; Idaho
Ada Morrell; Emily Crumpton editing
Utah State University, Merrill Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives, COLL P0355, Box 6, Folder 12
Reproduction for publication, exhibition, web display or commercial use is only permissible with the consent of the USU Libraries Western and Mormon Americana curator, phone (435) 797-2661 or the USU Libraries Manuscript Curator, phone (435) 797-0891.
photograph
cedar, breaks, utah, national, park, sandstone
Adam
Barbershop, Business Card
Ken's Barber Shop, 61 Conanicus Ave., Jamestown, Rhode Island
Adam @ Ken's
Barbershop, Map Pin, Screen Shop
Ken's Barber Shop, 61 Conanicus Ave., Jamestown, RI 02835
DAPL protest
Image of a protest in Chicago against DAPL
Adam Blaszkiewicz
Outdoor Product; Catalog; 2019
Adidas
Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives, Outdoor Recreation Products Catalog Collection (Book Collection 72, A-18, 2019)
Utah State University Libraries
Digital Initiatives Unit, Merrill-Cazier Library
In copyright, https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en
Outdoor Product; Catalog; Adidas
Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives, Outdoor Recreation Products Catalog Collection (Book Collection 72, A-18, 2020)
6hoh Strolling Violinist at an Ale House Door
Strolling Violinist at an Ale House Door, Renaissance, Ale House, Haven of Health, seventeenth century, Adriaen van Ostade, watercolor, pen and ink,
Strolling Violinist at an Ale House Door
Adriaen van Ostade
Wikimedia Commons, Metropolitan Museum of Art https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Strolling_Violinist_at_an_Ale_House_Door_MET_DP800545.jpg
Wikimedia Commons
usu; art; design; concatenation; exhibit
A collection of different images displayed on a board. Created by Adrienne Smart in 2017
Adrienne Smart
Reproduction for publication, exhibition, web display or commercial use is only permissible with the consent of Adrienne Smart.
Logan, Utah
Outdoor Products; Catalog; Adventure 16;
Adventure 16
Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives, Outdoor Recreation Products Catalog Collection (Book Collection 72, A-1, 1971)
In copyright https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en
Magen Olsen and Headphones during Afeworki Woldemichael's interview on May 17, 2015
Afeworki Woldemichael--Photographs; Fieldwork; Recording; Refugee; Africa, Eritrea; Logan, Utah; Heidi Williams--Photograph
Magen Olsen Megan Olsen, graduate student and recordist, preparing the recording equipment before the interview of Afeworki Woldemichael for the Library of Congress' Voices: Refugees in Cache Valley field school project hosted by Utah State University on May 17, 2015 around three o'clock in the afternoon.
Afeworki Woldemichael
Williams, Heidi 1989-
Berhane Debesai Abraha 1980-
Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives, Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project, FOLK COLL 58
Digitized by : Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library
Hilary Warner-Evans
Reproduction for publication, exhibition, web display or commercial use is only permissible with the consent of the USU Special Collections and Archives, phone (435) 797-2663;
Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project
An inventory for this collection can be found at : http://nwda.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv67608
Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project Digital Collection
Photographs;
image/jpeg;
1248514 Bytes
tir, eng
Image; Still Image;
Eritrea; Ethiopia; Idaho, United States; Utah, United States;
Berhane Debesai Abraha (left), Afeworki Woldemichael (middle), and Hilary Warner-Evans (right) filling out the translater form, May 17, 2015
Afeworki Woldemichael--Photographs; Refugee; Africa; Eritrea; Logan, Utah; Heidi Williams--Photographs
Berhane Debesai Abraha, Afeworki Woldemichael, and Hilary are laughing at the poor translation of the translator form.
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Afeworki Woldemichael and Berhane Debesai Abraha on May 17, 2015
Afeworki Woldemichael (right) and Berhane Debesai Abraha (left) sitting at the kitchen table in Afeworki's apartment in Logan, Utah on May 17, 2015. This picture was taken before the interview started. Hilary Waren-Evans (interviewer) and Megan Olsen (audio recordist) were present. This picture captures Berhane's (interpreter) smile and Afeworki's nervous focus. .
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Afeworki Woldemichael looking over the letter of information, May 17, 2015
Afeworki Woldemichael--Photographs; Refugee; Africa; Eritrea; Letter of Information; Logan, Utah; Heidi Williams--Photographs
Afeworki Woldemichael holding the letter of information that explains the Library of Congress/USU field school project, ""Voices: Refugees in Cache Valley"" and how the interview recording and pictures will be used in a digital collection, exhibit, and be physically housed in the USU Special Collections and Archives.
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Berhane Debesai Abraha explaining the letter of information to Afeworki Woldemichael, May 17, 2015
Hilary Warner-Evans explaining the letter of information, with the assistance of Berhane Debesai Afeworki, to Afeworki Woldmichael before the interview began. Afeworki gave Hilary the glass of orange juice that can be seen on the table. The research teach moved the kitchen table in the living room for more room. Heidi, the photographer is sitting on the single-person leather couch chair that Afeworki moved closer to the table.
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Afeworki Woldemichael, Smile, May 17, 2015
Afeworki Woldemichael posing for a photograph. Afeworki Woldemichael is from Eritrea, Africa. He arrived in The United States of America as a refugee. He moved to Cache Valley to work at a meat processing factory called JBS or Millers. His wife and two boys (ages 2 and 4 as of May 17, 2015) are still in a refugee camp in Africa. He wants the people of Cache Valley to know that. He dreams of having his family with him in the states. He wants to be able to speak English well so he can communicate with the people here.
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Afeworki Woldemichael signing the release form, May 17, 2015
Afeworki Woldemichael--Photographs; Refugee; Africa; Eritrea; Logan, Utah; Release Form; Heidi Williams--Photographs
Afeworki Woldemichael signing the release form for the Library of Congress/USU field school project, ""Voices: Refugees in Cache Valley"" to use his interview in a digital collection and exhibit. Berhane Debesai Abraha made the comment about signing documents that you don't know what they say. He joked about signing a mortgage without knowing it. Making some incredible points about the difficulty of language/literacy barriers.
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Afeworki Woldemichael signing the release form with Berhane Debesai Abraha, May 17, 2015
Afeworki Woldemichael signing the release form with Berhane Debesai Abraha explaining that the release form is for the interview to be included in a digital collection, digital exhibit, and kept physically in the archives at Utah State University Library. Picture was taken at the kitchen table (moved into the living room) in Afeworki’s apartment in Logan, UT on May 17, 2015. He wants people to know that his wife and two children (boys ages 2 and 4) are still in a refugee camp in Ethiopia. He seemed pleased with being interviewed. He wants to speak English well so he can comunicate with the people in Cache Valley.
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Hilary Warner-Evans outside Afeworki Woldemichael's apartment complex on May 17, 2015
Afeworki Woldemichael--Photographs; Field Worker; Utah State University; Logan, Utah; Release Form; Heidi Williams--Photographs
Hilary Warner-Evans waiting outside Afeworki Woldemichael's apartment complex so as not to be too early to the interview appointment.
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Afeworki Woldemichael talks about his future dreams, part of the interview with Afeworki Woldemichael in Logan, UT on May 17, 2015.
same as the interview with Afeworki Woldemichael on May 17, 2015
Interview transcript with Afeworki Woldemichael in Logan, Utah, 2015 May 17
Eritrea; Eritreans; Families; Refugees; Ethiopia; Logan, UT; Culture; Tigrinya; English; Education; International Refugee Commission; Refugee Camps; Work; Eritrea-- Food; Afeworki Woldemichael-- Interviews
Afeworki Woldemichael talks about his family and home in Eritrea. He discusses his time in a refugee camp in Ethiopia, where he met his wife and had two children, his journey to the United States, living in Connecticut, Idaho, and Utah. He discusses his adjustments to life in the United States, and expresses hopes to improve his English to be better able to communicate with the people of Logan. He talks about what the future of his family will be like when his wife and children come join him.
Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Afeworki Woldemichael Page 1 CACHE VALLEY REFUGEE ORAL HISTORY PROJECT TRANSCRIPTION COVER SHEET Interviewee: Afeworki Woldemichael Present: Afeworki Woldemichael, Heidi Williams, Magen Olsen, Berhane Debesai Abraha, Hilary Warner-Evans Place of Interview: Mr. Woldemichael's apartment in Logan, Utah Date of Interview: 17 May 2015 Language(s): Tigrinya; English Interpretation: Berhane Debesai Abraha: Live translator Interviewer: Hilary Warner-Evans Recordist: Magen Olsen Recording Equipment: Tascam DR-100mk11 linear PCM recorder; Senal ENG-18RL broadcast-quality omnidirectional dynamic microphone Transcription Equipment: Express Scribe Transcribed by: Hilary Warner-Evans, May 21, 2015 Transcript Proofed by: Hilary Warner-Evans, May 25, 2015 Brief Description of Contents: Afeworki Woldemichael talks about his family and home in Eritrea. He discusses his time in a refugee camp in Ethiopia, where he met his wife and had two children, his journey to the United States, living in Connecticut, Idaho, and Utah. He discusses his adjustments to life in the United States, and expresses hopes to improve his English to be better able to communicate with the people of Logan. He talks about what the future of his family will be like when his wife and children come join him. Reference: HWE= Hilary Warner-Evans (Interviewer) HWEI= Hilary Warner-Evans' words being interpreted by translator AW= Afeworki Woldemichael (Interviewee) AWI= Afeworki Woldemichael's words being interpreted by translator BDA= Berhane Debesai Abraha HW= Heidi Williams NOTE: The interview was conducted with the assistance of a live translator, Berhane Debesai Abraha. The interpreter arrived about ten minutes later than the interviewer, photographer, and recordist but is present from the beginning of the transcript. False starts, pauses, or transitions in Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Afeworki Woldemichael Page 2 dialogue such as “uh” and starts and stops in conversations are not included in transcript. All additions and added information to transcript are noted with brackets. TAPE TRANSCRIPTION [00:01] [Checking microphone. Indistinguishable talk from HWE, BDA, and AW. AW tapping mic.] HWE: Okay. It's May 17th 2015. This is Hilary Warner-Evans interviewing Afeworki Woldemichael, a member of the Eritrean community here in Logan, Utah. And we're at his apartment in Logan. Also present is Berhane Debesai Abraha, who is translating, from Tigrinya and Magen Olsen, who is doing the recording, and Heidi Williams, doing photography. So, can you give your full name again and your birth year? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya] AW: Okay. May 24, is birthday next Monday [laughs] BDA: [quietly] Sunday. AW: Yeah, my–. Yeah, next Sunday. Yeah. AWI: His birthday is May 24th [unclear] AW: Yeah. HW: [to BDA] And yours is twentieth. BDA: Mm-hm AW: May 24. HWEI: [Speaking in Tigrinya to interviewee.] AW: 1979 AWI: Yeah. May 24th 1979. HWEI: [Speaking in Tigrinya to interviewee.] AW: Afeworki Woldemichael. HWE: And what languages do you speak? Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Afeworki Woldemichael Page 3 AW: Tigrinya. HWE: Can you tell me about your family? AW: Yeah. HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: Okay. HWEI: [Speaking in Tigrinya to Interviewee.] AW: Okay First, my brother, Nguse Gebreyohannes [??]. Gebreyohannes. And the last name, Woldemichael. Woldemichael. By Tigrinya, Woldemichael. By English, Woldemichael. [laughs] [02:16] HWEI: [Speaking in Tigrinya to interviewee.] AW: Yeah. AWI: Yeah, his oldest brother is Nguse Woldemichael, but the way we write it is different so we– [Speaks in Tigrinya to interviewee.] AW: Gebreyohannes. AWI: Nguse Gebreyohannes Woldemichael. Okay. AW: Second– My mother born ten people. HWEI: [Speaking in Tigrinya to interviewee.] AW: Yeah. HWE: Wow. AWI: His mother have ten children. AW: And we have seven people. And three people is died. AWI: He's got seven siblings and three of his siblings, they died. Deceased. Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Afeworki Woldemichael Page 4 AW: Two brothers in the independence. [Speaking in Tigrinya.] HWEI: [Speaking in Tigrinya to interviewee.] AW: [Speaking in Tigrinya.] AWI: One of his brothers, he died when we're struggling for independence. That means before 1991 against Ethiopia, the war. And the other brother died when we were defending our country in the second war between 1997 to 2001. And his eldest brother he died from too much alcoholism. AW: [Speaking in Tigrinya.] [04:12] AWI: Do you guys need the names of all his siblings? HWE: [hesitates] Probably not, but– HWEI: [Repeating statement in Tigrinya] HWE: –I don't know. AW: [Speaking in Tigrinya.] HWEI: [Speaking in Tigrinya.] AW: Nine boys and one girl. [laughs] AWI: He got eight brothers and one sister including him as one of the ten. So now he got six brothers and one sister. AW: Yeah. HWEI: Five brothers? AW: Six brothers. One– HWEI: One sister. AW: One sister. HWEI: Or five brothers. [Asking question in Tigrinya] AW: Yeah. [laughs] [Speaking in Tigrinya] Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Afeworki Woldemichael Page 5 AWI: He has five brothers and one sister. Including him there are seven surviving siblings. HWE: And you have a wife too, right? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: Yes. HWE: Yeah. Do you have any children? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: Yeah. Two boys. HWE: And are they back in Eritrea? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] AWI: They are in the Ethiopian refugee camp. HWE: Okay. How old are your children? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: One, four years. And the other, [speaks in Tigrinya.] AWI: His oldest is four years and his youngest, he will be two in September. [06:04] HWE: What ethnic or religious community do you consider yourself to be a part of? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: Orthodox. HWEI: Eritrean Orthodox mission? AW: Yeah. AWI: He is a follower of the Eritrean Orthodox church. Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Afeworki Woldemichael Page 6 HWE: And you are a follower of the church here in Logan, right? Or, I mean, not Logan but in Utah. HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya]. AW: Yeah. HWE: Can you tell me about your birth county? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: [Speaking in Tigrinya.] HWEI: [Speaking in Tigrinya.] AW: My country very good, has mountains. All the mountains. Utah, the same in Utah. [laughs] Good country. [Speaking in Tigrinya.] AWI: He says, Eritrea is beautiful. It has so many mountains just like Utah. It has highlands and lowlands. It has two seasons. HWE: And are you– You're from the highland part? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] AWI: He is from the lowlands. HWE: Oh, okay. So, what did your family do for work? Were they a farming family? [8:07] HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] AWI: They were irrigation farmers. HWE: Okay. HWEI: [Speaking in Tigrinya to interviewee.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Afeworki Woldemichael Page 7 AWI: Yeah, they are irrigation farmers. AW: Yes. HWE: What kinds of crops did they grow? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya] AWI: Corn, Sorghum. Do you guys know Sorghum? It grows like corn but there's grains on the top. AW: [Speaking in Tigrinya]. AWI: And Dagusa. AW: [laughs] AWI: I told you, remember, it's used for local drinks. They raise it, but– [speaking in Tigrinya to interviewee.] AW: [Speaking in Tigrinya.] [laughs] AWI: He doesn't know how to call it in English, but we just call it Dagusa and we use it for drinks, local drinks. And, is it called sesame? It's a grain. They use it for oil? Sesame. HWE: Yeah, sesame. AWI: Yeah, sesame. HWE: How long did you live in Eritrea? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: All day. [Responding in Tigrinya.] AWI: All my life until I moved to the Ethiopian refugee camp. HWE: How old were you when you went to the camp? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Afeworki Woldemichael Page 8 AWI: He was twenty-seven going to twenty-eight years. HWE: Why did you leave Eritrea? [10:00] HWEI: [Repeating the question in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] AWI: There was no job and no job opportunities so I just wanted to improve my life and I moved for a another place. HWE: And what was the experience like of leaving? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] AWI: His home town is near the border of Eritrea and Ethiopia and it was a war. Eritrea and Ethiopia, they are in kind of semi-war yet. And where he raised, the area he was raised, he knows everything, where to go, which to go and he knows which front line, which lines are Ethiopian front lines. So it's easy for him. He can go daytime or nighttime because he knows who is where so it was not a big deal for him to cross the border. [12:00] HWE: So when you crossed the border, you went to Ethiopia. And were you trying to go anywhere– What was your final destination you were attempting to go to? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya]. AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] AWI: Yeah, when he leaving his home town in Eritrea, he got two options. His first option was to stay in the refugee camp and to work to America and other countries, maybe Europe, maybe Australia. If that option was not possible, his second option was to go to Sudan, Libya, cross the mediterranean and to go to Europe. HWE: Okay. What was your experience like in the refugee camp? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AWI: [Responding in Tigrinya.] Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Afeworki Woldemichael Page 9 [BDA's phone rings and he turns it off.] [14:00] AWI: He said, life was tough in the refugee camp because they didn't give them anything. At first, they were giving them only fifteen kilos of wheat. AW: Per month. AWI: Per month. Sometimes you don't have money to grind them and make them into bread or something. Sometimes he just boiled them, put salt on it, and just eat it. But after that, some of them, they get money, borrow it from friends and some of them they just get– Or they have to work for themselves in that area, farming, whatever they can. HWE: And did you end up working while you were there? HWEI: [Repeating the question in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] AWI: Yeah, in the surrounding areas near the refugee camp they were working physical work, laborers, sometimes on the grain harvest. In seasons they work as weeders because we have to weed the fields by our hand. HWE: And, so with the money you earned by working eventually could you buy more food? HWEI: [Repeating the question in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] HWEI: [Speaking in Tigrinya to interviewee.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] [16:08] AWI: So at first they were giving them only 15 kilos of wheat and a liter and a half of oil so they could not do anything with it. So they work and they earn money and they have to buy tomatoes, onions, and other stuff to make their own soup. But starting 2009 they started giving them around 800 milligrams of sugar, might be around two pounds of sugar, per month. And some times they were giving them some kind of soup. It's made up of wheat or something like that. So the only thing they have to do is work and earn money and make their own food. HWE: What kind of medical care was available at the camp? Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Afeworki Woldemichael Page 10 HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] HWEI: [Speaking to interviewee in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] AWI: The medical care, that was okay. But the problem was the medical care was provided by IRC. I think it's the International Refugee Commission. But all the doctors are Ethiopians and they speak Amharic. And they just wanted to speak Amharic. They don't want to talk in Tigrinya. And they don't know Tigrinya. But relatively they are okay and if you can communicate with them you get good medical care. [18:04] HWE: So was your wife with you in the camp? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] AWI: Okay, his wife is Ethiopian. He met her. She was his friend, or girlfriend. So they were living together when he got his process finished and he already got his visa. They make it official. They get married. [Speaking in Tigrinya to interviewee.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] AWI: [Speaking in Tigrinya to interviewee.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] AWI: On September 20th, 2012 they make it official because he was coming here. If he has to claim her as a girlfriend that doesn't work. He has to marry her. But they met in Ethiopia in 2010 and they were staying together. HWE: So when you were in the camp you were living with your wife for most of that time? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] [19:48] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Afeworki Woldemichael Page 11 HWEI: [Speaking in Tigrinya to interviewee.] AW: [Speaking in Tigrinya.] AWI: He met his wife in the Ethiopian villages because he was going over there to work. Then when they get pregnant, when she had a baby, he brought her over to the refugee camp because the baby is his. The baby is Eritrean even though he was born in Ethiopia. So he brought her to the camp and the baby has to register as a refugee like him. Then he convinced her, hey, better stay with me. If I get a chance to go abroad then I'm going to claim you as my wife. Then she stayed with him. But first, until she got her first baby, she was living with her parents and he was living in the camp but he was working outside the camp. And at that time he saved some money and he bought a carriage, something you pull with the horse. [Speaking to interviewee in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] AWI: But sometimes they pull it with a donkey. So he was working with it transporting stuffs over there. HWE: And can you describe your living conditions in the camp? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] [coughs] Sorry, I have to drink water. [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] [21:51] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] AWI: Yeah, at first life was so hard. Because of all the people over there. They speak the same language because they are on the border with Eritrea, but all cultures and the way we think is different. And we are enemies. We are at war. So at first we don't want to talk to them. They don't trust us. We don't trust them. But we [??] them. We work with them. We start trading with them, buying stuff from them. And they buy stuff from the refugees. And then we start to just become kind of one people. Nobody cares for the refugees and that. But at first it was hard. HWE: And were you living with anyone else when you were in the camp? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya] [23:45] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya] HWEI: [Speaking to interviewee in Tigrinya.] Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Afeworki Woldemichael Page 12 AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] HWEI: [Speaking to interviewee in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] [26:05] AWI: Yeah, at first when he was crossing into Ethiopia in 2005, you know, when the refugees, when they, you go in the office, they call, they give you some paper work. They arrange to interview you and they give you some coin to get the wheat and the oil. But they just say, hey, you can get wheat and oil with this one but you are on your own so he doesn't have anything. He doesn't know anyone in the camp. So there was a tea shop over there and the tea shop was just made up of tin but they sell teas. So he was sitting over there and some of the refugees who came before him, maybe a year or so, they saw him and they told him, “Oh, you look like you're new. Where do you live.” And he said, “I just arrived here. They drop me here by a car. I have no where to go.” And they told me, “Okay, you can live with us.” And he lived with them for two years. Then after that he started working in the surrounding areas and he started saving some money and over there you just build your own home. Nobody owns the land. It just belongs to the refugee camp. So there were some people, they were going to Israel in the Middle East. So they just sold their home to him and he bought that home and he started living by himself. And in 2008 the refugee commission from the United States, they started registering to come to the United States and they got a group case. And they were waiting for their group case and meanwhile he met with his wife. They got a child. Then she moved back with him. Until he comes here, he was living with his wife. And he was talking about his two friends, the ones who accepted him first. One of them, he came to Denver but for some reason he deceased. And the other one, he didn't get to come to America. They rejected his case. I don't know why but he's in Germany. [28:07] HWE: How did you celebrate holidays when you were in the camp, or did you celebrate them at all? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] AWI: He said, it depends on your attitude and on your brain. If you got things you put it first, food and other stuff. If you don't have anything, just buy vegetables because they are the cheapest over there. Just, you have to do what you have to do. HWE: And did you get together with other people to celebrate at all? Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Afeworki Woldemichael Page 13 HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] [30:14] AWI: Yeah, he said, we were refugees. Most of the time we lived close to each other, we hung out together, we discussed about what we have to do because we don't want to live on the welfare of the refugee camp. We want to earn money and improve our life. So during holidays we always shared what we got. Some people have money. Some of them they don't have. So if your neighbors or other people you know, if you know they don't have anything and if you know they are bachelors or singles, you just invite them, “Hey, come tomorrow. I'm going to make food or buy a sheep or a chicken, whatever you've got, or meat.” If they are families, because families they want to spend the holiday together, you just share what you've got with them. You tell them, “Hey, tomorrow is a holiday, I know you guys don't have anything. Here's this thing and celebrate the holiday.” But you share whatever you got. It can be meat. It can be food. It can be vegetables. Whatever. HWE: Did you do anything else besides just eat together? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] HWEI: [Speaking to interviewee in Tigrinya.] [32:00] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] [laughs] AWI: He's saying, we just get together. We make coffee. If they've got a woman most of the time the woman do coffee. If they don't have a woman, they just make it themselves. And we discuss about their cultures because some people they were from the highlands, some people from the western lowlands, some people from the eastern lowlands, that means from the coast of the Red Sea. And we discuss about the way they live in their areas, how they live, how they celebrate things, their culture and they just communicate and discuss about cultures and things. And I asked him, do you guys dance, he said, how are we going to dance? [Speaking to interviewee in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] [laughs] AWI: They don't have record or a CD player or something to play the song, so you don't dance without the music. Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Afeworki Woldemichael Page 14 HWE: There were no musicians? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] HWEI: [Speaking in Tigrinya to interviewee.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] AWI: There were musicians. They were funded by the IRC. Or because they were by the IRC. But they perform only on the holidays assigned by the IRC. It can be a Women's Day, a Refugees' Day, Eritrean Independence Day. But they don't celebrate all holidays. HWE: What kinds of instruments did they play? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] [34:03] AWI: They played guitar, organ, but– AW: [Speaking in Tigrinya] AWI: –we got our own equipment. We call it Krar. It's kind of guitar. But there was nobody that could play saxophone. Because they had the instrument, but there is no person who can play it. HWE: And was the way you celebrated holidays in the camp, was that similar to how you celebrated them in Eritrea? HWEI: [Repeating in Tigrinya.] AW: Yeah. AWI: Yeah. HWE: Did you get a sense at all of how Ethiopia felt about having all of the refugees in their country? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Afeworki Woldemichael Page 15 [37:15] AWI: Yeah, at first it was hard and they don't even like us, because they were even physically attacking us, because there were some people who lost their teeth. There was a guy who was hit by an ax. And they are refugees. The only thing they can prepare their food is by firewood. And there were some people who went for the fire wood and the locals they were beating them. They were telling them, “This is our wood, what the heck are you doing with it?” They're all women. They got their wood and the locals, they just put fire on the wood. They are not taking it. They just put fire on it, but after some time, the government, the Ethiopian government. It was governing all the locals. It was telling them, “Hey, these guys are refugees in our country. We have to help them. We are the same people. We've got some political problems.” But some of them even, they were born in Ethiopia but after the war broke, they were deported back to Eritrea because they were born in Ethiopia, by blood they are Eritrean. They were deported. But the government tried to discuss with the locals. And with the refugees too. So they start to get off it and they were telling them they can get benefit because they accept the refugees, they can have political benefit from it. And there was some refugees' organization from the Netherlands. They came to the camp and they were teaching the refugees how to improve their life, how to breed chickens, how to make beans because it was forest, and when they were teaching the refugees, they were also teaching the locals together. So the locals think, oh, so if we keep the refugees, we can get a lot of benefit. And they start trading with them finally. Their difference doesn't exist and they start living together. But first they were all hostile and they don't want them to be in that area. [39:08] HWE: How did you learn about the US refugee program? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] [high pitched feedback noise 40:18] [40:59] AWI: At first, when he was living in Eritrea, he doesn't have any detailed knowledge of the refugee case for him to come to America. His main reason to go to Ethiopia was to go to Israel because he can cross through Sudan, but the border is so tough he cannot cross the Sudan. But since he lives by the border of Ethiopia he just crossed to Ethiopia. His idea was to go to Sudan, then Egypt, to Israel. But he was in Ethiopia and he was working on something, he was calling someone, things like that. And there were a lot of people going to Israel. To go to Israel from Ethiopia, you have to go to Sudan first, then cross all this desert. You have to go to North of Egypt, cross the Sinai peninsula, then you go to Israel. Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Afeworki Woldemichael Page 16 And it costs a lot of money. And so you have to get money from your parents if they've got some. Or you need someone or some relative in the United States or Europe because parts of it take a lot of money. And there are a lot of smugglers in the border between Israel and Egypt. But when these people who go to Israel, they get together over there and they start petitioning to the refugee commission for the United Nations. They tell them, “We're Eritreans. We've got a lot of political problems. We've got a lot of refugees in Ethiopia. You guys are not doing anything.” Then after that it is the UNHCR. I think it is a refugee commission. They collaborated with the United States and they started giving them group case and things like that. And they started immigrating to America. [42:43] HWE: Can you tell me about how you got to the US? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] HWEI: [Speaking in Tigrinya to interviewee.] AW: [laughs] HWEI: [Speaking in Tigrinya to interviewee.] AW: Yeah. AWI: When he was in the refugee camp, when they are approving him to go to the United States they have to wait for a flight because they send you when they have empty flights coming back from Ethiopia. His first flight was on January 15th, 2013. And they cancelled it. And the second flight was March 5, 2013. They also cancelled it. AW: [Speaking in Tigrinya] [high pitched feedback noise 44:09] AWI: Then there was another flight scheduled for him on April 4th, 2013. So from the refugee camp he moved to Addis Ababa because the airport is in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. AW: [Speaking in Tigrinya.] AWI: And they cancelled it again. AW: [Speaking in Tigrinya.] Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Afeworki Woldemichael Page 17 AWI: Then when you come to the United States you have to do medical check up for TB and other vaccinations. It works only for six months. Because they cancelled his schedule three times, his medical thing was expired. He has to retake it in Addis Ababa. [high pitched feedback noise 44:52 to 44:56] AW: [Speaking in Tigrinya.] AWI: After he get his medical, after 44 days, on June 18th, they told him, “Hey there is a flight. You're going to the United States on July 1st.” [Speaking in Tigrinya to interviewee.] AW: Yeah. AWI: Then he came to the United States on July the 1st. [Speaking in Tigrinya to interviewee.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] AWI: So when he land, he went outside of the Bole airport where he take a flight to Egypt. They got a transit. From Egypt they flew directly to New York. From New York they took him by a bus to New Haven, Connecticut and he stayed there for five months. [46:13] HWE: Were there other refugees on the flight with you? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] [high pitched feedback noise 46:26] AWI: There were two Eritreans. There were Sudanese and Somalis too. HWE: What was it like living in New Haven? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] AWI: At first, the air is cold in Connecticut. He was raised in the lowlands of Eritrea and it's too hot. [Speaking in Tigrinya to interviewee.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] AWI: Most of the time where he was raised, it was forty, forty-two, sometimes forty-five Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Afeworki Woldemichael Page 18 degrees centigrade. [high pitched feedback noise begins 47:43] That means 100 degrees Fahrenheit. So New Haven was so cold for him, so as soon as he arrived, when he got his papers, he started working with a landscaping company his second month because he came here to improve his life. [end noise 48:01] Then from his arrival after five months it gets too cold because he came in July. In December it gets too cold, then he moved to Idaho. [Speaking in Tigrinya to interviewee.] AW: [Speaking in Tigrinya.] HWEI: [Speaking in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] [high pitched feedback noise 48:35 to 48:37] HWEI: [Speaking in Tigrinya to interviewee.] AW: Mm-hmm. AWI: So in Idaho he was working two jobs. One of them was growing with a potato company and another one was with a cheese company. HWE: And before you started work in the US, did you get any help from the government or any religious organizations? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] HWEI: [Speaking in Tigrinya to interviewee.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] HWEI: [Speaking in Tigrinya to interviewee.] AW: [Responding Tigrinya.] HWEI: [Speaking in Tigrinya to interviewee.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] [50:00] HWEI: [Speaking in Tigrinya to interviewee.] Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Afeworki Woldemichael Page 19 AW: Yeah. AWI: They were taking food stamps from the workforce of that state, that means Connecticut. AW: [Speaking Tigrinya.] HWEI: [Speaking in Tigrinya to interviewee.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] AWI: And five months they paid him his rent. I think it's some government organization, he can't remember their name but something to do with immigration. [high pitched feedback noise 50:24 to 50:28] AW: [Speaking in Tigrinya.] HWEI: Immigration, immigrants. AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] AWI: He's saying they are everywhere in every state. When you are a refugee they just help you. They give you money and they help you. It was some kind of immigration services. HWE: And is there any way that your first few months in the US could've [high pitched feedback noise 51:04] been improved? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] [noise ends 52:12] [52:20] AWI: Yeah. I don't know if they can do more, but they were giving us, they were paying for the rent. And for the first two months, they give us 200 dollar for food stamp each month, but after that they cut by 11 dollars so they were giving everyone in the whole United States only 189. And when he moved to Idaho, they helped him with his rent for two months and they're giving him food stamp for six months and after those they told him, “Hey come to the work force for some interviews and we'll help you with additional food stamps” but he told them, “Hey, I'm working and I can support myself. I don't need any more food stamps” and [high pitched feedback noise 53:05] he didn't show up in the interview. HWE: And was– So you went from New Haven to Idaho and was it any warmer in Idaho than it had been in New Haven? [laughs] Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Afeworki Woldemichael Page 20 HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] [laughs] [54:04] HWEI: [Speaking in Tigrinya to interviewee.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] HWEI: [Speaking in Tigrinya to interviewee.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] AWI: He said, he was talking to his friend in Idaho. He told them, “Hey, this area's too cold. I cannot do it here.” His friend told him, “Okay, it's cold here but let's try it over here. Come over here.” And he came to Idaho. When he was coming there was a lot of snow coming down. And it was even cold even in the airport, [end noise 55:05] so he told the security, “Hey, I'm staying inside. I'm not leaving until my friends come back, show up.” Because his friends, [high pitched feedback noise at 55:09] they were not in the airport at the time he was landing. So he waited inside the airport to wait for his ride but it was too cold even in the airport. Then he started work then. Utah and Idaho, they are kind of the same in weather but they are different than Connecticut. Connecticut is close to Canada and close to the sea, the ocean, and it is colder than Idaho. BDA: [to HWE] So what do you think? You came from the west coast– east coast. [laughs] HWE: Me? About the weather? BDA: Oh sorry. The interview is about him not about you. [laughs] HWE: [laughs] AW: [laughs] HWE: How long have you lived in Cache Valley? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] [56:04] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] AWI: He's going on his tenth month. Last month, on the 13th , it was his ninth month. Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Afeworki Woldemichael Page 21 HWE: And did you go straight here from Idaho? HWEI: [Repeating the question in Tigrinya.] AW: Yeah. AWI: Yeah. HWE: And why did you decide to come here after Idaho? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] AWI: Yeah, in Idaho he was working two jobs, almost 20 hours a day. He was sleeping just three hours a day. And they were paying him only nine dollars per hour. So he was asking friends for a better job with better payment. So came here. They work only between 9 to 10 hours in Hyram. And he gets paid 13.75 an hour. The job is hard, but I got time to rest. That's why he moved to Logan. [58:22] HWE: And you work at JBS? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: Yeah. HWE: Okay. What has it been like living in Logan? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] AWI: He said, I like Logan. It's safe place. I don't have to worry about my security. And I work. I support my relatives. I support my children and his wife. He's processing their visa. I hope they will come soon. And most of the time when you move from one state to another state you have to think about yourself and discuss with yourself, why are you moving? So I told Logan had a better lifestyle, lifestyle than there was in Idaho, better pay. So, so far, I cannot complain. Logan is a good place and I hope I will improve my life better than I have now. [60:31] Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Afeworki Woldemichael Page 22 HWE: Do you feel included in the community here? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] AWI: Yeah. Until now, I didn't encounter anything bad, not only in Logan but in the whole United States. Sometimes, due to the language barrier, there might be some conflicts but I'm sure it's because we don't speak English and they don't speak Tigrinya. But if I can speak English and explain my culture and my needs, I hope I feel included. HWE: What do you think could be done to make you feel more at home here? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] End part 1 of 2: 62:06 Begin part 2 of 2: [00:01] [high pitched feedback noise from beginning to end] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] AWI: He said, I think he needs to do more to study English and if he studied English, if he can communicate with the locals, he will tell them how we live our [??] things like that. And he learns the culture of the locals if they can communicate. If he can communicate with the other people, just respect each other and live including each other, life will be easier. But if we don't communicate with them, if we don't know the language, it will be hard. But the only thing we have to do is learn English and explain ourselves. HWE: Okay. How is your home here different than the one you had in Eritrea. HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] [laughs] AWI: He was living in a house but now he's living in an apartment. HWE: [laughs] AW: [laughs] HWEI: [Speaks in Tigrinya to interviewee.] Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Afeworki Woldemichael Page 23 AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] [laughs] [02:20] AWI: There is a lot of difference. The utensils here and back home are different. Back home we use firewood to cook our food and other stuff, but here we use gas stoves. And for ready to eat things we use a microwave here, but over there, nobody knows what a microwave is. HWE: Can you tell me about your experiences with your landlord? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] AWI: We don't even know who's owner of this apartment. They heard lives in Texas, and some other company, they lease all the apartments. They got a drop box downstairs. Every month, they write the money order and they just drop it. And they don't know who takes the money or who owns these apartments. [03:58] HWE: So what happens when you have a problem like if your fridge breaks or something goes wrong? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] AWI: So all of the refrigerators, they have a contact number, so if something goes wrong, you just call that contact number and they deal with it. HWE: Oh, okay. HWEI: [Speaking in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] AWI: But so far they don't have any problems so they never use that number. HWE: Okay. What would you like people in Logan to know about you and other Eritreans here? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Afeworki Woldemichael Page 24 AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] AWI: He says, here in Logan, those who can speak English, they are so few. But I hope we can learn English and discuss with the Logan community how they go, their political system, the way they live, their culture, and more else. And I hope we can communicate with them. But now there are only a few people who can talk to them. [06:14] HWE: If you could, would you go back to your home country? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] AWI: He cannot go. HWE: But if you were able to, would you want to? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] AWI: I don't think we are going back home but if the government or the system is changed over there, if they can allow all the refugees to come back to Eritrea, if he becomes a citizen, I might go for a visit, but I don't think I will go back. HWE: What are you most proud of? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] [08:00] AWI: I'm happy because I'm healthy and I can work and support myself and my families. And, second, although I know only few English, I am proud I can– I will try to make friends and communicate with other people. HWE: What are your dreams for the future? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Afeworki Woldemichael Page 25 AWI: This time I cannot tell you about my dreams because I am working on bringing my family, my wife and children, so when she comes here, we will discuss about our future dreams with my family, my wife and my children. And after, if she comes here, we'll both dream together, but if I dream something now and she dreams another dream, it'll be two dreams and one family. So when she shows up here, we can discuss about myself, about our future. We will buy a house and we'll improve our future life and future life of our children. HWE: Okay. I think that's all. Do you guys have anything you want to ask? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] [09:53] AW: Okay. [Responding in Tigrinya.] AWI: He said, I appreciate you on behalf of myself and the other people in Logan or Utah. Because you guys are working to get our culture and to take it to the people of Logan and other people. So I appreciate what you guys are doing. HWE: Thank you. AW: You're welcome. HWE: I hope we'll be able to do that correctly. Do you have anything else that you want to add? HWEI: [Repeating question in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] AWI: I don't have any other things to add, but I hope in our, in my future interview, things like this or other stuff, I hope I will do it myself without a translator. I think I want to talk to any person, man, woman, it doesn't matter, but I just want to do it myself without a translator. HWE: Okay. So, thanks for agreeing to meet with us. And we have a release form to sign that has to do with putting the interview and the photos in the archives being used for an online presentation. HWEI: [Repeating statement in Tigrinya.] [12:07] AW: Okay. Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project: Afeworki Woldemichael Page 26 BDA: Does he need to write in English, or? HWE: No, you can write in whatever language you want. HWEI: [Repeating statement in Tigrinya.] AW: [Responding in Tigrinya.] BDA: [Speaking in Tigrinya to interviewee.] AW: [Speaking in Tigrinya.] End part 2 of 2: [12:29]
Afeworki Woldemichael, 1979-;
Williams, Heidi, 1989-;
Berhane Debesai Abraha, 1980-;
Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives, Cache Valley Refugee Oral History Project, FOLK COLL 59
Warner-Evans, Hilary, 1994;
Warner-Evans, Hilary, 1994-;
An inventory for this collection can be found at : http://nwda.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv67609
transcripts;
application/pdf;
162008 Bytes
tir; eng;
Text;
Western Lowland Eritrea; Ethiopia; Egypt; New York, NY; New Haven, CT; Idaho;
Interview with Afeworki Woldemichael in Logan, Utah, 2015 May 17
oral histories (document genre);
audio/mp3;
71621802 Bytes
Sound;
Heritage; Charshandbeh Soori; Newport Beach; Los Angeles, California
Three teenage girls, with long hair colored in shades of fire, look on to the beach as different activites are in progress. On the rights side a few people jump over a row of small fires; on the left a family eats aash reshteh at a picnic table.
Afsane Rezaei
Tehrangeles Project, Los Angeles, California
Afsane Rezaei; Ehsan Estiri
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Newport Beach, Los Angeles, California
Heritage; Charshandbe Sorri; Newport Beach; Los Angeles, California
A young girl jumps over a row of small fires built on the beach, as other children look on and wait their turns.
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Heritage; Charshandbe Soori; Newport Beach; Los Angeles, California
People stand in line to buy tickets and enter the section of the beach reserved for charshanbe soori celebration.
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A food stalls selling a selection of Iranian foods at the event. From right to left, the table includes trays of tossed salad, Gheimeh, saffron rice, Kabob Koobideh & grilled tomatoes, and ash reshteh.
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Man Recording at Charshanbeh Soori- 2018
A young man records the dancing crow using his iPad.
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A young women moves her hand in a dance motion while holding onto her cellphone.
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The dancing crowd put their hands up with a cue from the DJ.
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One of the attendees livestreams the event on YouTube as the crowd dances in the background.
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People take selfies with a larger fire as others in attendance look on, perhaps waiting their turn.
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Two young women take a selfie using an Instagram filter.
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Everyday Life; Valentine's Day; Time Nightclub; Costa Mesa; Los Angeles, California
Orange County Persian Community (OCPC) sign is projected on the screen with a background of red hearts at the Time Nightclub in Costa Mesa, CA.
Costa Mesa, Los Angeles, California
DJs and the club staff greet and get ready before the OCPC Valentine's crowd comes in.
A group of men and women dance at the Valentine's party hosted by OCPC.
A group of men and women dance at a Valentine's party hosted by OCPC.
A few club attendees gather on one side of the dance floor to chat and take a break from dancing at the OCPC Valentine's party.
Four club attendees (two men and two women) take a selfie together in a dimly lit spot on the dance floor.
A couple talks in a corner of the dance floor as the OCPC Valentine's crowd hang out and dance in the background.