A Stitch in Time: Bangkok Refugees embroider their life stories

Link to the program recording here.

There are at least 6,000 refugees who live in Bangkok who are registered with the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and thousands more are in the process of seeking asylum.

Where do they all come from? How are they surviving day to day? What challenges do they face in finding food, shelter, safety and income? What do they fear? And what is their plan for the future and path to a better life?

On World Refugee Day, advocates and experts will answer those and other questions and celebrate the creativity and ingenuity of several groups of highland refugees from Vietnam who are using a unique way to tell their stories and earn income through embroidery about their lived experiences.

On display will be an exhibition of amazing, embroidered triptychs, telling the stories of highland refugees from Vietnam. The exhibition has been collected by refugee advocate Gerda Liebmann, who uses art as a catalyst to encourage healing from trauma.

Liebmann's work focuses on fostering the emotional relief for refugees that arises when participants tell their stories using paper and paint and, in this case, needle and thread. The triptychs help explain why these refugees fled Vietnam, what they are facing in Thailand and the futures that they dream about.

A panel of experts will speak about the triptychs, the refugee community making them and the wider issues facing urban refugees in Bangkok.

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Panelists include:

Gerda Liebmann, art therapist, Visual Arts Mission Asia.

Rachel Djamaludin, community relations and education support, Life Raft International.

Kristian Benestad, Legal Director, Center for Asylum Protection (CAP).

Moderator: Phil Robertson, director, Asia Human Rights and Labor Advocates, and FCCT board member.