Liège

Today was spent in the French speaking part of Belgium, in the city of Liège. Did you know that Belgium, with a population of 10 million has a total of 6 different parliaments, 3 national languages, and has been without a functioning government for 8 months?

Part of the problem is with the deep divisions between the Flemish and French speaking regions. Something that became evident today as we discussed immigrant children in the education system and at 28%, an unemployment rate more than twice that in the Flemish speaking region.

One noticable difference was the heavier emphasis on diversity and tolerance, with campaigns to resist the extreme right, and emphasizing the richness in diversity.


At a local public high school, we met students from many countries and talked about their experiences and perceptions of living in Belgian society. Here, two girls from Nigeria are pictured with a program participant who also happened to come from the same country.

After lunch at the school, a visit was made to a holocaust museum where we continued to discuss the importance of education in the integration process as well a programs to improve access to higher education and services to promote retention, increase graduation rates, and facilitate successful entry into the labor market.

We had a sobering, private tour of the museum. The holocaust is something most Belgians never want to forget, a good lesson for us all.

Back in Brussels

Did you know the symbol of Brussels is the marsh iris? That's because it grows in swamps and lowlands, like Brussels before urbanization. Now you can impress your friends with your incredible trivia knowledge!


Today, was spent visiting an alternative Flemish vocational school where many of the students are immigrants. The students spend 2 days a week in class and 3 days a week in real life work settings, earning real money. We heard presentations from the Flemish ministry of employment statistics and the federal civil rights office before touring the school and meeting some of the students.

We were treated to a lunch of tradtional Belgian foods by the culinary arts class. It was also their final exam! Carbonnade Flamande, Brussels sprouts, Belgian endives and potatoes au gratin. They also stir fried a yakisoba for us! Yumm!

This boy is one of the students. He came from Mongolia to Belgium on foot when he was only 14. It took a year for him to get here and in the 2 years since, he has thrived. Through a special provision for undocumented minors, he was able to receive his permanent residency just yesterday. Congratulations!!

The afternoon was spent at another agency working with undocumented immigrants. We heard the stories of people from India, Pakistan, and Burundi. Terrible and sad accounts of incredibly resiliant people, who are only looking to work and live and survive in their new adopted country.

Antwerp

Today, Executive Director Alaric Bien spent in Antwerp,
the second largest port in Europe, 45 minutes outside Brussels by train.

There he visited an employment program called WerkVormm, housed on the docks of the city. Because the maritime industries are such a large employer, they focus training on welding for shipping container repair, general harbor maintenance, and catering work.

As you can see in the picture, the entrance to their facility is symbolic of their philosophy: the door is wide, and the threshold is low to enter, but you must be motivated to succeed.

Part of this is requiring trainees to clock in an clock out of work each day, just like in a real job. Coming to work every day on time ensures that clients learn the self-discipline needed to function successfully in the real world.

Here, students are practicing hands-on welding of a shipping container.

And here is one of the boats that are being restored to seaworthiness by students learning maintenance skills. No those are not job trainees, but other exchange participants!

Brussels Continued

Today, Executive Director Alaric Bien spent the morning in meetings at the King Baudouin Foundation, hosts for the Brussels exchange. Discussion focused on the role of religion in immigrant orientation, in addition to women's issues, health care and criminality in youth.

Presentations over lunch addressed the role of the media in the perceptions mainstream Belgians have of immigrants and what can be done to improve the situation. There was spirited debate with multiple points of view expressed from both the Belgian and US participants.

The afternoon spent visiting the municipality of Molenbeek, which has one of the highest concentrations of immigrants in the country. Services provided by a quasi-governmental social service agency were presented as well as an introduction to the Belgian social welfare system.

Later, the group visited Motonge, the center of the African community, which like many places throughout the world is becoming gentrified and losing its unique character. The lively discussion continued over dinner at an African restaurant featuring Congolese cuisine.

Brussels

Executive Director, Alaric Bien, is in Belgium for the week participating in the Belgium-US Cultural Crossing Program, looking at immigrant integration in the two countries. He was one of 12 applicants from the US selected for the program.

Brussels is a city of contrasts, with old coexisting side by side with the new. But this is not limited to the architecture.

Brussels, capital of Belgium, the European Union, NATO and other international organizations is 50% immigrants! One of the issues they are dealing with is how to help new arrivals coexist with the old.

Chinese are a small, but visible community here, with a tiny Chinatown comprised of markets, restaurants and souvenir shops. The majority of Chinese come from Wenzhou 温州 in Zhejiang Province.

One of the most popular restaurants in town is this noodle place with hand pulled noodles. Run by immigrants from Wenzhou, it is interestingly named Au Bon Bol (with the good bowl) in this Flemish speaking part of the country...

Be Careful Out There!

Over the last several months there have been a number of assaults against Asian American women in the Beacon Hill area. Neighbors are advised to use extra caution and be aware of their surroundings.

CISC crime victims program director, Alan Lai, has been working with the Seattle Police Department and neighborhood groups. If you are a victim or witness an attack, please call 911 immediately. If you need assistance working with the police, you can contact CISC.

See the article in the Northwest Asian Weekly.

Chinese Dance

Check out these videos of CISC seniors dancing at the New Year's party last Friday!

The first is a Chinese dance by 4 participants from our Redmond program.



This other is a senior doing a traditional dance from Mongolia. Don't you wish you were this agile in your golden years?

Annual Chinese New Year Lunch

Last Friday, over 300 seniors, CISC volunteers and community members celebrated the Chinese New Year with a bang! Singing, dancing, a lion, and of course, great food.

There were exciting raffle prizes, magic tricks, the god of wealth, and much, much more. If you couldn't join us, be sure to come next year.

But you have to be quick. This year, the tickets sold out in just 3 hours!

CISC in the News

In case you missed it, CISC's new Play and Learn group for Hmong families was featured in Friday's Seattle Times. Sau Lai Chan is pictured working with this group of children and their caregivers at an apartment complex in Kirkland.

Here's the link.

恭喜發財！

Happy lunar new year! Here are a few photos of how we celebrate at CISC.

Sunshine Garden seniors new year party with traditional Chinese musical instruments.

Seniors doing calligraphy and demonstrating artwork at the Union Station celebration last weekend.

Play and learn group participants with mulitple generations.

Pre-K students visiting with seniors and getting lucky money! (or maybe it's just candy)

Year of the Rat

Happy new year! There are lots of celebrations going on this weekend and CISC will be closed on Thursday for the new year (February 7).

The Seattle Chinatown/International District Business Improvement District will be holding its annual new year's celebration at Union Station February 9 and 10. Come and visit the Sunshine Garden seniors at their booth as they demonstrate traditional Chinese crafts and calligraphy.

Also this weekend is the Great Wall Shopping Mall's celebration in Kent. Enjoy music, dance, vendor booths, food, and much, much more. All proceeds raised from this event will go to benefit CISC's International Family Center-Kent.

If you're there on Saturday, please drop by the center and see what's going on! We're located at the north end of the mall, to the left of 99 Ranch Market.

Business Not As Usual

The Seattle/King County Public Health Department has just released a video to help businesses prepare for a catastrophic, world wide pandemic flu event. And CISC is proud to have played a small part in this project.

Listen to community leaders from banking, emergency services, food banks, and our own Executive Director, Alaric Bien, share their experiences and insights.

The 20 minute video, found at the King County website, can be viewed via streaming media or ordered on DVD through the website.

Watch this video and get prepared.

It's nothing to sneeze at!

Culture Clash?

Well, as we prepare for multiple Lunar New Year celebrations here at CISC, we couldn't help sharing this one with you.

Talk about a clash of cultures! Haggis won ton?!

Check out this Gung Haggis Fat Choy celebration at Ocean City on the 24th -- and tell us how it is!

Raising a Reader

In a new partnership with Seattle Public Library, our pre-K program received 60 new books to help foster early literacy.

Each child also received a Raising a Reader tote bag to use for transporting books to and from the library each week.

Reading to your child is one of the most important things parents and caregivers can do. And CISC is proud to be part of this program.

So if you don't want to have a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day like Alexander, go get a book and read!

Central Texas College

Central Texans? In Seattle? Well, not exactly. There are Central Texas College students here in Washington though. And they come to Sunshine Garden every semester to practice their Mandarin skills with our seniors.

This is just part of CISC's mission to bridge cultures, communities and generations. We know our immigrant families and seniors also have much to offer the mainstream community. And this is just one way they can gave back and help make the Puget Sound a great place to live, work and play.

New Year, New Site

Responding to community need, we have added the Senior Activity Center in Kent to our roster of sites where we provide senior services.

Every Thursday, from 10:00 to 3:00, CISC staff and volunteers will be on site providing exercise classes, ESL, and support groups. This quarter, there is tai chi, English for naturalization, and a group for Mandarin speaking seniors.

Senior activities at the International Family Center-Kent in the Great Wall Mall will continue as usual. More information can be found on the Senior Activity Center's website under workshops.

It's a New Year!

With the new year comes an new Play and Learn group for CISC. What is Play and Learn? Working with parents and informal caregivers to show and encourage them how their children learn and get ready for school through play.

We will be starting another group (our 6th) in the Kirkland Heights Apartment in Kingsgate on Tuesday. There are a number of Hmong families in this area that school district officials and city human services planners wanted to address and tie into services. And this is a great way to reach them!

For more information about any of our play groups at the International Family Center-Seattle, Beacon Hill Library, International Family Center-Kent, or Crossroads Mall, contact Hueiling Chan at 206-624-5633 x 4139 or hueilingc@cisc-seattle.org

Project Tech Reunion

Last Saturday, graduates of Project Tech gathered together to hear from each other, play games, and have fun! Invited speakers shared their experiences working in various fields using technology and encouraged the youth to continue pursuing their education in technology.

A civil engineer in water management, a computer software engineer, and a student at Bellevue Community College talked about how they use techology in their every day lives.

The alumni had a great time, learned a lot, and of course, loved all the food!

Paris Comes to Chinatown!

Christine Ho, local marketing expert and a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu culinary arts school in Paris, came to share her skills with CISC seniors the other day.

They learned how to make chicken piccata with lemon, capers and white wine, breading the chicken cutlets and frying them to perfection.


The smells coming from Sunshine Garden were heavenly! And all enjoyed the fruits of their labor.

Refugee & Immigrant Advisory Committee

Executive Director, Alaric Bien, has been appointed to the City of Seattle's newly formed Refugee and Immigrant Advisory Committee. This group's task will be to oversee the implementation of the city's Immigrant and Refugee Action Plan.

This plan will remove barriers and ensure that foreign born residents are served as well as those who are native born. The plan addresses access to services and information, protection of civil rights, civic engagement, work force and economic development, and service delivery.

According to 2006 Census estimates, 105,000 Seattle residents (19%) are foreign born.