“Empower a Refugee: The Backyard Humanity Movement and Peace of Thread” is a recent book, written by Georgia author Patricia Holt, which chronicles the Clarkston non-profit Peace of Thread, founded by Denise Smith. The organization employs refugee women to create one-of-a-kind handbags. The book contains stories of the refugee women working at Peace of Thread and how they came to live in the United States. “City Lights” producer Summer Evans spoke with Holt via Zoom about creating this book.
Interview Highlights:
What led Holt to create this book:
“I had spent time in Jordan and, while there, met an incredible Arab woman, Palestinian by birth, who took me to the refugee camp. I had wanted to meet the artists who created beautiful needlework. And no matter who I asked about it, no one had an answer. Finally, the librarian at the American school said she knew someone that might be willing to take me to meet them. That someone was Leila Wahbeh, the subject of my first book, ‘Committee of One,’” Holt said.
“When my husband died and I moved to Atlanta to live with my daughter, I missed the warmth and the generosity and the kindness of the Arab people so much,” she continued. “I sought out a way to reconnect with them here. Ultimately, I was told about Denise Smith and Peace of Thread. I contacted them and asked to write their story.”
What it means to be a refugee:
“One of the biggest misunderstandings in the U.S. is the belief that refugees are illegal immigrants. That is not the case. Their definition is that they must have fled their country to a bordering country through war, drought or famine. Once in the bordering country, they are placed in refugee camps. While in the camps, they may request refugee status to be able to be moved to another country because the possibility of going home does not exist any longer,” Holt said.
“Some of the people I write about were in refugee camps for 18 years before their request was approved,” she continued. “Only 1%t of people in the refugee camps, of which there are millions, receive refugee status. And before they can leave the camps, they are vetted by five different agencies, including Homeland Security, the FBI and the CIA.”
Why Holt loves the mission of Peace of Thread:
“These [refugee] women were completely alone. They’re used to a tribal culture. They live in clusters. Everyone lives around each other and now, here, this woman is in a little apartment, in a strange country, she knows no one. They’re crying every day. But once they meet her [Denise Smith] and start working, now they’re engaged. They’re busy. They don’t have to think about their loneliness all the time, and Denise becomes a part of their new family. They don’t just sew for Denise, she and her volunteers provide them friendship and support.”
