November 16, 2016 International Examiner

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

November 16, 2016 – December 6, 2016 — 1

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Rally at Seattle City Hall: ‘This city has been and will be a welcoming city’

By Lexi Potter IE Staff

Dr. E.J. R. David and Arsalan Bukhari speak at a community panel the day after the elections on November 9, 2016 at Hing Hay Coworks. • Photo by Chetanya Robinson

Community members discuss the pain of the election, and solutions

By Chetanya Robinson IE Staff Writer On the night presidential candidate Donald Trump won election to the highest office in the country, community activist Devin Cabanilla couldn’t sleep.

At around 1:00 a.m., he made the spur of the moment decision to arrange a panel discussion the next day at Hing Hay Coworks in the International District.

That evening, a handful of people showed up, many of them sleepdeprived, shocked, and saddened by Trump’s victory, to share their fears and grief, and discuss solutions and action they could take. They were joined by Arsalan Bukhari, executive director of the Washington chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and Dr. E.J. R. David, a professor of psychology at the University of Alaska Anchorage and Filipino-American writer and activist. Cabanilla moderated the discussion and live-streamed it on Facebook to over 1,000 people using his phone.

While the discussion often turned to solutions and actions, many people attending expressed their initial feelings of fear, anger, and hopelessness at the results of the election.

“I know people and I’ve talked to people who are terrified for their lives,” said Michael Huang, founder of a digital

marketing company, and the youth group Extraordinary Futures. “The fact that a country that you call your home made a decision that would bring that fear out—that to me is something that will be with me until I die.”

David told of how he dropped his young daughter off at school that morning, and felt the need to remind her that she can do anything she wants if she just works hard. As he was heading back to his car, it occurred to him that given what had just happened to the country, what he’d told her was a lie.

“Right now I don’t really believe that that’s true, a lot of the things I just told her and I’ve been telling her for years,” David said. “I want to be hopeful—on social media, and my friends and my wife tells me to be hopeful, you know, we’re gonna make it through, we’ve got to stay strong, we’re resilient. I’m not there right now. Right now I really don’t see much hope.”

According to Bukhari, CAIR Washington received calls that day from worried parents asking if they should send their kids to school, and women who wear headscarves wondering if it would be safe to go outside. The response from CAIR was that they should go to work and school . . . SOLUTIONS: Continued on page 8

At 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 9, elected officials and civic leaders gathered at Seattle City Hall to speak to members of the local community.

Amidst widespread uncertainty following Tuesday’s election results, the speakers emphasized a need to build community, maintain hope, and work together to protect the rights of all people.

Speakers included Seattle Mayor Ed Murray; Congresswoman-elect Pramila Jayapal; Seattle City Councilmembers Lorena González, Debora Juarez, and Kshama Sawant; Senior Somali Organizer Abdullahi Jama of OneAmerica; Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program Manager Wendy Martinez Hurtado of 21 Progress; and King County Labor Council Executive SecretaryTreasurer Nicole Grant.

Mayor Ed Murray spoke first. Murray expressed dedication to maintain the right to marry for the LGBTQ community and said he would continue to work within the law to promote social progress and equity. Speaking to immigrant, American Muslim, and queer communities, Murray said: “This city has been and will be a welcoming city. This city will remain a sanctuary city.”

Murray also outlined plans to sign an agreement with the mayor of Mexico City at the end of November. He said the agreement would generate a stronger partnership between Seattle and Mexico City in the areas of economic development and environmental sustainability, and underscored a commitment to building “bridges” with the people of Mexico rather than a border wall.

Abdullahi Jama, a Senior Somali Organizer at OneAmerica, spoke next about the need for local solidarity, a message repeated throughout the rally.

“As a community and as a state, we must come together, we must resist bullying and attacks on our communities, we must empower ourselves, and we must support each other,” Jama said.

Jama also drew attention to the differences between federal and local election results. He cited the passage of progressive legislation in Seattle and Washington State, arguing for these as

Immigrant rights activists from Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) hold signs at Wednesday’s City Hall rally. • Photo by Lexi Potter

indicators that many Americans did not support the rhetoric espoused by Donald Trump’s campaign.

Along the same lines, Congresswomanelect Pramila Jayapal highlighted popular support for progressive initiatives passed on Tuesday. Washington State and City of Seattle initiatives that were passed included: I-1433, which raises the statewide minimum wage to $13.50 per hour and ensures paid sick leave; I-1491, which allows for the temporary limitation of gun access in cases of probable immediate harm; and I-124, which provides increased protections for hotel workers.

Jayapal, who was welcomed to the podium by an eruption of cheering, spoke about her belief that working together can lead to systemic change. She encouraged listeners to direct any fear generated by the election results into action. Jayapal said: “There is no shame in being afraid, as long as we channel that fear into courage, into love, and into the capacity to fight for the beliefs that we know to be so core and so true to the United States of America.” Jayapal, the founder of Hate Free Zone (now OneAmerica), will be the first South Asian American woman to serve in Congress.

Wendy Martinez Hurtado, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program Manager at 21 Progress, spoke next. Since President Obama’s implementation of DACA in 2012, 21 Progress has supported hundreds of undocumented youth and young adults in applying for the program. DACA, which must be renewed every two years, offers . . . RALLY: Continued on page 8

2 — November 16, 2016 – December 6, 2016

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

IE OPINION

Today We Mourn. Tomorrow We Fight.

By Ben Henry IE Columnist In light of the shock, horror, disgust, anger, sadness, and bewilderment we are feeling, I’d like to take this moment to offer both a heavy dose of realism and an infusion of hope.

But first, we must process. Right now, you may be wondering how your country has betrayed you. How you don’t recognize this America, how your own country folk have turned against you, very clearly stating that you are not welcomed here. But you should know that a majority of this country did not in fact choose hate and fear in this election.

“The people have spoken,” is a theme I’ve heard from some. But make no mistake, Donald Trump won by a technicality called the Electoral College. The people have indeed spoken—and Trump was not the candidate with the most popular votes.

Yes, it was shocking that it was even as close as it was. But do not despair the loss of your country, for the majority of Americans rejected the path of hate. So, remember, we absolutely are not alone in the wilderness in this moment.

Also be thankful that, here in Seattle, we live in a community with a very different vision for our country than that heartbreaking sea of red on that electoral map. In this moment, revel in community, strengthen your bonds, and tighten your connections.

I’m about to get into some harsh realities.

Know that any great journey starts with a first step. Approach this challenge with humility, kindness to yourself, and in a healing posture.

No Sugarcoating—We Face a Tough Road Ahead

I’m sorry, we just can’t avoid this. It is hard to look at, but we must confront the terrifying reality before us with open eyes.

If Republicans and Donald Trump are to pursue their campaign promises, we could very well be entering into an unprecedented era of oppression. And other than Senate filibusters, there is nothing stopping the president-elect from fully implementing his agenda.

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This is a man who has, in no uncertain terms, said he will actively target the most vulnerable among us and trample on the Constitution. With both chambers of Congress behind him, he will be entering office with unchecked power. And he’ll be able to stack the Supreme Court, courts of appeals, and district courts with his picks, meaning his legacy through that alone could echo for a generation.

At the top of the Republican agenda will be undoing Obamacare. While the Affordable Care Act was imperfect—President Obama’s version of health care reform is still a profit-based, inefficient system that does not operate on the presumption that health care should be a basic human right— it was a step in the right direction. And now, we will take a step back, as Republicans have full reign to implement a health care system that further pads the pockets of insurance companies rather than providing quality health care to all.

But Republicans will not just seek to undo the last eight years of progress we’ve achieved with President Obama. Now on the table are fundamental, life-saving programs like Medicaid, Medicare, food stamps, and, yes, even Social Security. They’re not just going to go after Obamacare—they will seek to dismantle FDR’s New Deal and LBJ’s Great Society. Unimpeded, they will target nearly a century of progress.

Expect more tax cuts for the wealthiest among us (disguised as “trickle-down economics”), which will further depress the American and global economies. Expect passage of oppressive anti-democracy policies, voter suppression, deregulation of safeguards design to protect consumers, increased militarization of our police forces, “stop and frisk”-style racial profiling, more oppression of the impoverished, the further deterioration of workers’ rights, and a dirtier planet. The influence of money in politics and the unbridled pursuit of profit will actually grow beyond our already untenable levels, and corporations and the NRA will rule the Beltway.

With the FBI, CIA, ICE, the most powerful military in the history of the world, the largest nuclear arsenal in the world, and, of course, his Twitter account under his command, if he so chooses, Trump will be able

IE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Ron Chew, President Gary Iwamoto, Secretary Arlene Oki, At-Large Jordan Wong, At-Large Edgar Batayola, At-Large Heidi Park, At-Large COMMUNITY RELATIONS MANAGER Lexi Potter lexi@iexaminer.org

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to terrorize immigrants, anyone who does not have a fair complexion, and anyone who has ever said a bad word about him. He’ll put the “bully” in “bully pulpit.”

Culturally, this also means our oppressors will be emboldened, and our most vulnerable will be targeted and under attack.

Victims of sexual assault—many of whom have taken to social media to tell their heartwrenching stories and who are under constant threat of trauma triggers in this surreal new reality we now face—will need to fight off predators who feel validated that a man who espouses grabbing women “by the p***y” has been elected by 59 million Americans to be the leader of the free world.

The Way Forward

I know. This is a lot. But I don’t want to sugarcoat it. You need to know what we are facing. However, in this dark time, we must keep hope, we must find our resolve, and we must FIGHT BACK. Given what we are facing, our communities will need to work to protect each other from the bullies. We will need to band together to catch and lift up those that this new system will cast aside. And we will need to organize a People’s Opposition to provide the only check a President Trump will have to face.

We will need to firm our resolve when confronted with invigorated haters and trolls. But, we must do so by taking Michelle Obama’s high road, trusting that love will ultimately win the day. We must embrace those who seek to oppress us, engage with those who seek to gaslight us, love those who seek to ironically banish us from this Land of the Free, Home of the Brave.

We must remember that time is on our side, we are becoming a more vibrant, diverse nation by the day, and the American Way is resiliency.

Talk to your children. Tell them that democracy is imperfect and messy. Tell them that this country can be anything we make it to be. Tell them that we as a country have overcome so much, and we will overcome this.

Finally, be kind to yourself. Right now, many of us are going through the stages of grief. It’s a lot for your body to hold. Give

EDITOR IN CHIEF Travis Quezon editor@iexaminer.org

NEWS EDITOR Izumi Hansen news@iexaminer.org

ARTS EDITOR Alan Chong Lau arts@iexaminer.org

CHIEF COPY EDITOR Anna Carriveau ASSISTANT EDITOR Alia Marsha DIGITAL MEDIA EDITOR Rhea Panela rheapanela@iexaminer.org

DIGITAL MEDIA SPECIALIST Anakin Fung

STAFF WRITER Chetanya Robinson CONTRIBUTORS Ben Henry Sharon Maeda Marissa Vichayapai Matt Chan Billy Leones Gumabon Khiran Dillon Mitsue Cook M. Bilas Kae Saeteurn Nalini Iyer Agazit Afeworki Brian Park Roxanne Ray Yayoi Winfrey

yourself the space you need to grieve. Forgive yourself for not having done more.

And remember that we must be strong and healthy for this movement to sustain itself.

Remember What We Stand For

It is clear by these results that people want change. We agree! The system is broken and is only working for a precious few. In this election, change defeated the establishment.

But moving forward, we must work to present the public with agents of change who actually follow a moral compass. We as a Movement need to sharpen and solidify our message. People are hungry for a better way, and we must provide a righteous path to moral change.

As the People’s Opposition, we need to raise up and articulate at every turn just how unjust the coming onslaught of oppressive policies truly are. We need to prop up and elect individuals who will champion moral, progressive values and who will take this country on a path that bends toward justice.

And not just at the top of the ticket, but everywhere on the ballot. And if that is you, WE NEED YOU TO RUN FOR OFFICE. Don’t wait until you think you’re ready. WE NEED YOU NOW. And know that don’t have to run for office to make a difference, as it will take all types.

Immerse yourself in civic engagement. Support progressive candidates. Volunteer in your community. Get involved with groups like the Asian Pacific Islander Americans for Civic Empowerment (APACE). It is OK to grieve. It is OK feel overwhelmed by the hate we must absorb from others. But we must not bury our heads in the sand.

Remember that we have chosen love and rejected hate and fear, and we must live by those standards even when it feels impossibly difficult to do so. We must remember that how we behave in our lowest moments, when our backs are against the wall, is what truly defines us. We must have faith that it is darkest just before dawn, and that, if we harden our resolve, the sun will be upon us once more.

Be strong, brothers and sisters, find your inner strength, and get ready to fight for a better America.

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INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

November 16, 2016 – December 6, 2016 — 3

IE OPINION

The State of Democracy: Part I

By Sharon Maeda Special to the IE By the time you read this, it will have been over a week since the world was shocked by the results of the election for president of the United States of America. I’ve only felt this way once before. Forty eight years ago, as a student organizer for Robert F. Kennedy, I was devastated by his assassination. Months later, facing 180 students a day as a middle school teacher would shake me back to reality.

Back then, I didn’t understand the stages of grief, nor just how long it might take for this country to move toward justice and equality. Decades later, I even changed that phrase from equality to equity—fair, but recognizing that things are and may never be equal.

The shock for most of us is not about Democrats vs. Republicans. We’ve won and lost elections many times before. The thousands and thousands of people of all backgrounds are not marching for either party.

The millions of people, young and old, are not crying because their political party lost.

They are marching and crying against the bigotry and hate that spewed out of the mouth of our president-elect since the start of his campaign. He can go on 60 Minutes and look into the camera and say, “stop it!” to his followers who are taking his rhetoric as license to discriminate and hate in their everyday lives. After fomenting the hate for nearly two years, he can’t just rewrite a reality show script and expect it to go away.

In 2000, then-Secretary of Commerce Norm Mineta held a farewell reception for

Asian and Pacific Islander appointees in the Clinton Administration. He told us that race would be the biggest issue facing us in the 21st century. His words would be prophetic, but I don’t think any of us anticipated that it could go far beyond race.

As the population shifted and minorities were becoming the majority, local governments and school districts were slow to pivot and adjust. At the same time, jobs and industries were disappearing. While the growth of the tech world and creative ingenuity helped save the West Coast and some other key localities, people in many parts of the country were left without jobs and their way of life. They pain was strong enough for them to gamble on a mediasavvy huckster and they joined forces with true bigots and forces for hate.

At the same time, Occupy Wall Street, DREAMers, Black Lives Matter, gay marriage and movements for immigrant rights, equal pay for equal work, climate change, $15/hour wage, scraping the Social Security cap, and other organized calls for justice should have made officials—and candidates—look up and anticipate the future.

The fact that they did not is the subject for a future column.

Our local elections turned out pretty well.

Washingtonians voted to raise the minimum wage, protect hotel workers, build a regional transit system, and elect Pramila Jayapal, the first Asian American in the Washington congressional delegation. We live where the governor welcomes Syrian refugees, the mayor maintains his commitment to being a sanctuary city and to LGBT

rights, and the vast majority of us did not vote for the president-elect.

But, precisely because of all that, we feel the shock and pain perhaps even more. Do we live in a bubble? Short of a Left Coast secession, how do we address the next four years and the impact it has already had on so many of our neighbors? Even here in our communities, there are children who are afraid to leave home, and others who are afraid their parents will be deported while they are at school.

During this campaign cycle, swastikas were painted on the walls of a restroom at a Seattle college, Muslim and Latino children have been taunted at schools across the region, victims of sexual assault are reliving their nightmares all over again, and LGBT folks are living under the fear they thought was finally gone. And, many of us are stressed out just thinking about the next four years.

We, in the API community, have been there and we have a special role to play. If not ourselves, our parents, grandparents, and families have faced being marched to the docks of Puget Sound under the Chinese Expulsion Act, mass incarceration of Japanese Americans to American concentration camps during World War II, and Filipino volunteers in the U.S. Army are waiting to this day for the veteran’s benefits they were promised—just to name a few major acts of past discrimination. We need to pace ourselves and remember that it took 52 years of continued struggle for women to get the right to vote!

But, before we can step up our work for equity and justice in whatever small or large ways we each feel called, we have to find our own bearings. We have to get past the anger and depression and focus for once on self. Our immediate task is to be ready for what comes next—with a sense of clarity and commitment. We have to get our sleep and regain our balance.

I’m not a grief counselor or pastor, but here are some of the suggestions named by professionals to address these coming days: • Hug family and friends.

• Listen to your favorite music, go dancing, take a walk in the park with a friend.

• Meditate and/or pray to whatever higher being you embrace.

• Participate in a favorite sport.

• Do random acts of kindness for people who are different from us.

• STOP WATCHING/LISTENING to cable TV news and talk radio for a few weeks.

We cannot find the tough solutions until we get beyond this grief. As we approach Thanksgiving, let’s be thankful for the First People who saved the Denny Party from sickness and starvation when they landed on Alki Beach. Give thanks for the richness of our multicultural communities who have come ever since. And, be thankful that we have the skills and compassion and will to do what’s necessary to maintain and continue to build a just society, regardless of what’s going on in the other Washington.

Undocumented APIs, keep moving forward

By Marissa Vichayapai Special to the IE The results from the elections have been a shock, devastating us all while leaving many questions about safety and what this means for the future. The staff and advocates from the Fearless Asians for Immigration Reform (FAIR!) Campaign want all Asians and Pacific Islanders who are undocumented to know that we will continue fighting for you.

You are not alone.

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is a program established by President Obama in June 2012 that grants temporary protection from deportation to undocumented immigrants who came to the United States before the age of 16, have resided in the United States since June 2007, and meets other requirements.

Since being elected, Donald Trump has announced that he will likely end executive actions by Obama, which puts Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in danger. The DACA program has provided 17,000 youth and young adults in Washington (almost 800,000 nationally) with the opportunity to pursue their goals, careers, and education without fear of deportation.

Washington state is home to the 7th largest undocumented API community—making up 26% of undocumented residents. Despite challenges of visibility and in-language resources, Seattle has led the way in providing support and outreach to undocumented APIs.

In this challenging time, standing in solidarity with and for those who are undocumented is vital.

Know Your Rights:

Donald Trump will not take office until January 20, 2017. He does not become president until that day. Avoid scams!

Consult with trusted community non-profits, organizations, and leaders if you’re unsure.

Keep fighting! Until we know what will happen for sure, we must continue organizing and coming together as a community to prepare for what’s to come. Join us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/21Progress/) to quickly see action alerts.

Common Questions and Answers Regarding DACA:

* The recommendations below may change depending on future announcements so please stay informed for further developments.

Q: If I have never applied for DACA but I think I qualify, what should I do?

A: If you have never applied to the DACA program and you are not currently in removal (deportation) proceedings, our recommendation is that you do NOT try to file an initial application at this time.

Q: I am in removal (deportation) proceedings, what should I do?

A: If you are represented by an attorney, you can contact him/her. If you are not, you

should consult with an attorney as soon as possible. If you cannot afford an attorney, you can contact Northwest Immigrant Rights Project’s offices at the numbers listed below.

Q: I do not have DACA but I already submitted an application, which is pending, what should I do?

A: If you already submitted an initial application for DACA and you were assisted by an attorney or accredited representative who confirmed your eligibility, our recommendation is that you continue with that application.

It is possible that such an application may be approved before the end of the Obama administration. If you did not get assistance from an attorney or accredited representative, we would recommend that you consult with one to figure out what you should do.

Q: I am a current DACA recipient but my work permit is expiring soon, what should I do?

A: If you already have been approved for DACA and you have not had issues that might disqualify you from DACA, our recommendation at this time is that you continue to seek renewal of your DACA status if your permit expires before April 10, 2017. Issues that might disqualify you from DACA status include any arrests, charges or convictions, or travel outside the United States without prior approval (advanced parole) since your last application. Please understand that although we recommend pursuing renewal, it is possible that your work permit may not get approved and you may end up losing the application fee.

Q: I am a current DACA recipient and was planning to travel under advanced parole, what should I do?

A: Because of the uncertainty surrounding the future of DACA, our general recommendation is that DACA recipients not travel outside of the United States at this time, even with approval for advanced parole. However, we appreciate that there may be emergency circumstances and the government is still accepting requests for advance parole from DACA recipients as of the date of this advisory.

21 Progress and FAIR! remains deeply committed to undocumented youth and families and we will continue to support them and affirm that they are here to stay. We ask that allies join us in this critical moment. Our undocumented communities have purchased homes, become first-generation college students, and continued to be community leaders in service to equity and justice. Regardless of the outcome, we will continue with the movement towards equity and justice.

If you’re interested in getting involved, volunteering or supporting the work please contact Marissa Vichayapai at marissa@21progress. org. For legal assistance, contact Northwest Immigrants Rights Project at (206) 957-8600 or visit www.nwirp.org.

Marissa Vichayapai is 21 Progress’ Asian & Pacific Islander DACA WA State Coordinator and FAIR! Organizing Director.

4 — November 16, 2016 – December 6, 2016

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

IE OPINION

The time for citizen journalism is now

By Matt Chan Special to the IE Given the results of our presidential election, the need for citizen journalism has never been clearer. The mainstream media failed our nation. What passed, as responsible journalism was not a sober discussion about the direction and values of our nation. Rather it was a massive reality show, a soap opera, a spectacle where neither side was represented in a responsible manner.

News operations waited on and amplified each new outrage or low blow. It was the most compelling TV show captivating millions to tune-in, but it was not journalism.

The public was never provided with the information and context that hopefully yields responsible electoral decisions. What summed it up for me was a quote by Les Moonves, CBS Network CEO: “It may not be good for America, but it’s damn good for CBS.” For the national media it was all about the money, not the democracy.

Telling real stories about real people’s lives is important. Not for ratings or readership, but for people to gain insight on the lives others live. Nearly 60 million people voted for Trump. I refuse to believe that they are all racists and misogynists, but the media never showed us who they really are. The fact they felt neglected, left behind, marginalized. That was not the story they told. What we did see were exaggerations, outrage, and hatred. Yet these people that we didn’t understand or know determined the outcome of the election. Half the nation was stunned by the results, the other validated and heard by Trump. How did the media miss this? I’m sure there will be many opinions on why and how, but in the end it was a massive mainstream media fail.

It is time we take back all of our stories and tell them not for ratings, but to promote understanding. Citizen journalism is about curating stories from our communities and sharing them with others. To allow us to see each other as people who have common needs and aspirations. To no

longer have corporate profit curate which of our stories they tell to drive ratings and create divisiveness in the process. There has never been a better time to be able to harness technology, accessibility, and creativity to bypass corporate media and take our stories directly to people who need to see, hear, or read about each other’s lives.

Change happens from the ground up, never from the top down.

In the series of workshops in partnership with the International Examiner and 21 Progress, we hope to teach people how to create “Acts of Journalism.” To go into communities and find the stories that need to be told in a fair, balanced, and responsible way that has emotional impact and the potential to change the way things are. To help people understand what makes a good story, how to choose one, and how to tell it. To assist in learning about the technical aspects of production to polish and create the best story given the tools available to you, and then explore how to get your story out to the world effectively. One of the

things I’ve learned about citizen journalism is that it’s more important who see’s your story, than how many.

Many of us felt profoundly let down by the mainstream media. There was always an unspoken trust that corporate news organizations acted under a noble journalistic mandate to be unbiased and always provide context for the events of our time. This trust has certainly been strained if not devastated. But every disruption yields an opening; it is time to take advantage of this opportunity. Let’s go out and create an “Act of Journalism.”

The International Examiner is teaming up with 21 Progress and industry expert Matt Chan to present a workshop series on citizen journalism on Thursday, December 8 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.. “What Makes a Good Story?” is the second workshop in this series, and will focus on storytelling methodology and your rights when it comes to media. The workshop features Screaming Flea Productions founder Matt Chan and media lawyer Stacey Walters.

The Black and White of Breast Cancer

By Kiran Dhillon & Katherine Briant to “cutting edge” screening technologies.

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Additionally, there may be differences in both the access and quality of cancer The color of your skin may impact your treatment for them because they may seek risk as well as your prognosis for breast treatment at local hospitals as opposed and other types of cancers. It sounds to cancer centers that not only offer absurd, but it is true. For example, last treatment, but conduct research and can year, a study published by the Sinai Urban offer access to novel therapies. Further, Health Institute and the Avon Foundation distrust of the healthcare system due for women reported that black women to historical injustices may keep black are 40% more likely to die from breast and other minority women away from cancer than are white women, even traditional sources of healthcare for longer, though mortality rates from the disease which delays diagnosis and treatment and are decreasing overall. In some cities negatively impacts survival. in the United States, they’re up to 70% It’s also possible that genetic more likely to die. What’s worse is that this disparity in mortality is growing in a differences, however slight, may also contribute to differences in survival. For majority of the cities analyzed. example, higher obesity rates known to Disparities in cancer incidence and occur among black and Hispanic women mortality rates are not a new phenomenon may place them at higher risk for breast and they exist for a number of reasons— cancer. It’s important to note however and the problem isn’t exclusive among that this doesn’t explain differences in black women. In fact, regardless of race or treatment once a diagnosis has been made. ethnicity, disparities are often seen among Another reason for worse outcomes is that people of low socioeconomic status and black and Hispanic women tend to get a people who live in areas with limited or more aggressive, and less treatable, type of no access to effective health care (e.g. breast cancer.

Native American women living on Indian reservations and Hispanic women living Increasing trust and removing in rural Yakima Valley). These medically underserved populations tend to suffer barriers to access from a disproportionate burden of cancer Dr. Beti Thompson, Director of the when compared to the general population Health Disparities Research Center at Fred (NCI Center to Reduce Cancer Health Hutch offers some solutions to reduce the Disparities). existing disparities. One much needed solution is “connecting with the community” Why does such disparity in breast and building trust. Historical abuses, such as the Tuskegee syphilis study, continue cancer mortality exist? to have repercussions in the present day.

Reports from Avon and the Fred Hutch These types of cases laid the foundation highlight some of the underlying socio- for distrust and fear of the medical estabeconomic and biological causes of this lishment by minority populations. disparity. Differences in both access and In addition to building trust, Dr. the quality of cancer screenings may Thompson and others suggest education explain some of the disparity. Medically to dispel cancer myths and empower underserved women may have less access community members to make informed

decisions about cancer prevention and screening. Equally important is increasing access to screening by offering appointments outside of normal business hours for the working class, bringing mobile mammography units to communities with limited access, or partnering with the Breast, Cervical and Colorectal Cancer Early Detection Program to offer low-cost or no-cost mammograms for those who are uninsured or underinsured. In addition to lowering screening costs, bringing screenings to communities can result in increasing access to early diagnosis for even the most isolated communities.

Addressing the critical need for increased participation of minorities in clinical trials

Though major advances have been made to understand the genetic basis and treatment of breast and other kinds of cancers, most of these studies have been conducted in white women (and men). It is critical to understand if findings from these studies are broadly applicable to patients across all ethnic groups. There has been a push in recent years to expand studies to other minority populations but progress has been slow.

Recruitment of minorities in clinical trials still lags due to a number of issues including recruitment problems and fear among patients due to past abuses discussed above. Perhaps recruitment can be improved by developing culturally relevant communication tools that are tailored for communities. Minority community members may not be aware of the importance of participating in trials— treatment may benefit them individually, but it also helps advance research to develop cutting edge therapies.

Additionally, different tools or approaches may be needed for the

recruitment of patients of different ethnicities. An increase in the diversity among the clinicians and other caregivers who are attempting to serve patients from different communities may ameliorate the recruitment and trust issues. This paired with more cultural training for nonminority clinicians may decrease potential biases that interfere with recruitment of minority patients in clinical trials.

As scientists and clinicians, we help provide solutions to the myriad of health problems that plague humanity. However, it is also imperative that we strive to bring equitable access to those solutions among people from different socio-economic and cultural walks of life. The problems are grand and the solutions are not simple.

Building trust has to occur at the level of the community and that is slow work, but we can do it.

Kiran Dhillon is a postdoctoral scientist working to identify mechanisms of chemotherapy resistance in BRCAassociated breast and ovarian cancers at Fred Hutch. In addition to being a breast cancer researcher, Kiran is also a recent breast cancer survivor. She is a founding member of Hutch United and a member of the Fred Hutch Diversity Council.

Katherine (Kathy) Briant is a bilingual (English/Spanish) and bicultural community health educator with the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) National Outreach Network. She works with Dr. Beti Thompson of the Health Disparities Research Center at Fred Hutch using a community-based participatory research approach to implement and evaluate community interventions that address issues around health disparities. Kathy is also a member of the Fred Hutch Diversity Council.

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

November 16, 2016 – December 6, 2016 — 5

IE OPINION

Liberation: With opened eyes, I’m always gonna try to fly

By Billy Leones Gumabon Guest Columnist My name is Billy Leones Gumabon or, to the Washington State Department of Corrections, I’m 344209. I’m a second generation Filipino, serving a 36-year sentence. I’ve been incarcerated since I was 18 and now I’m 26. Growing up in this prison system has been a struggle, but going through this experience has opened up my mind and taught me many life lessons that carried me through my incarceration. Now I realize I have a voice, and it matters. I believe strongly that the human existence within prison cannot be silent anymore, because these stories, wisdom, and voices, who are in search for human completion, can impact the lives of people. ***

Opened Eyes

I’ve been locked up for eight years now and I’ve been transferred a few times, but this time felt like a different experience.

Probably because my eyes are a little open these days. But this time being transferred I really felt like a piece of property being moved, like chattel. The whole process

of being stripped naked to be searched, to getting chained from your ankles to your wrist, wearing an orange jump suit, then hopping on a bus highly secured by men with shotguns and AR-15s. It felt so dehumanizing. I couldn’t help but think about the slaves being transferred from Africa. Though there’s a contrast in circumstances, we share the same struggle.

When I arrived to the receiving prison for all transfers, our chains were removed once we were secured within the barb wires that hold in a harsh reality that is unknown or forgotten by the world. A black man of whom I know said in frustration, “Damn!

Too much chains!” as they removed our chains one by one and the sound of chains rattling filled the room. I turned to him, got his attention, and said, “They could put the chains on our bodies, but they could never put the chains on our minds.” He smiled because he knew where I got the quote from.

I was then assigned a cell full of bars, like a cage. I walked in the cell, the bars closed behind me. I put my stuff down, then introduced myself to my celly. As I stood in this cage, I reached out to grab the bars to remind myself where I’m at.

At that moment I had an overwhelming

need to be free, a need for true liberation for all. Later, while me and my celly were talking, he shared a story that spoke to me.

It was about a bird held captive as a pet.

When the owner (his mom) first bought the bird, a parrot, they clipped its wings to prevent it from flying away. They repeated this as the wings grew back. The wings were clipped so much, eventually the bird didn’t try flying anymore. So they stopped clipping its wings. They conditioned this bird to accept its oppression.

As human beings we weren’t meant to be in cages. Now the degradation of humans is used as a punishment and normalized in society.

Like the bird, I know I’m not meant to be in this cage. They can put the chains on me, try to strip away my humanity, and try to clip my wings. I’m always gonna try to fly.

I will never get used to this. As I look around in this environment, I can see that this system has manufactured the consent of these men, who accept it and are used to it or bought into the very system that oppresses. I can’t fault them for their complacency, because maybe their eyes aren’t open yet.

Formerly Incarcerated Group Healing Together (F.I.G.H.T.) was started by a group of Asian & Pacific Islander (API) men who were at one time incarcerated in the Washington State prison system. F.I.G.H.T. is a direct outgrowth of the organizing that many of us did through different API groups in different prisons. This organizing built deep bonds of unity among us. Together we learned about our own diverse cultures and political histories, life experiences, and perspectives. We also created cultural celebrations featuring various forms of traditional arts, like language, music, and dance.

Upon being released, we stayed commited to continuing to support each other, whether inside or outside of the prison system. We support both current and formerly incarcerated APIs through mentoring, advocacy, outreach, and political education. We encourage each other to embrace positivity, compassion, strength, hope, confidence, and building healthy lives and healthy communities, while breaking the cycle of mass incarceration.

For more information, visit www. fightwa.org.

Port of Seattle reaching out to immigrants, communities of color

By Mitsue Cook Guest Contributor The Port of Seattle Headquarters was the site for the October 13, 2016 Ethnic Chamber of Commerce Coalition event for information and networking. Ted Fick, CEO of the Port of Seattle was the keynote speaker. Mike Sotelo, founding member of the ECCC, introduced them. The topics were minority community engagement, economic development, and work force development opportunities.

Organized by the Office of Social Responsibility (OSR), the event was attended by the Greater Seattle Chinese Chamber of Commerce, King County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Korean American Chamber of Commerce WA, Greater Seattle Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce, the Filipino Chamber of Commerce, and other guests.

To further clarify the role of the Port of Seattle, international consultant Mitsue Cook interviewed Director of the Office of Social Responsibility Luis Navarro and Maritime Media Officer Peter McGraw. The following questions and answers provide information on the Port of Seattle’s goals and its outreach to the community.

What is the Port of Seattle and what is its mission and vision?

Port of Seattle: The Port of Seattle is a public agency that manages international trade and travel in King County. It operates harbor facilities and SeaTac International Airport.

The mission of the Port of Seattle is to create good jobs by advancing trade and commerce, promoting manufacturing and maritime growth and stimulating economic development.

The vision is to add 100,000 jobs through economic growth led by the Port, for a total of 300,000 Port related jobs in the region, while reducing our environmental

Port of Seattle headquarters, Pier 69, Seattle, Washington. • Photo by Joe Mabel

footprint. The Port is committed to creating opportunity for all, stewarding our environment responsibility, partnering with surrounding communities, promoting social responsibility, conducting ourselves transparently, and holding ourselves accountable.

Focused on regional growth, the Port of Seattle will use its influence to promote small business growth and workforce development by increasing workforce training, job and business opportunities in maritime, trade, travel, and logistics.

What is the business of the Port of Seattle?

Port of Seattle: As a landlord type of agency, the Port is responsible for the management of the land and facilities at SeaTac Airport. The airport is operated by tenants. It is the same for the maritime and trade industries. The Port is responsible for the ground and the building leases.

The Port is both the administration and the owner of the facilities where the tenants and third parties operate. For the marine industry, this includes the cruise lines, the

crane operators, the shipping companies, etc. The tenants and third parties operate and provide jobs in those physical areas. For the airport, this includes the concessions, travel services, facilities maintenance services, etc.

What is the mission of the Office of Social Responsibility?

Port of Seattle: It is to promote socially impactful policy that develops responsible strategies that are based on equity, inclusion, and equal access.

It encourages minority, women and disadvantaged community owned businesses to seek business opportunities in the maritime, trade or airport sectors. It also supports the dissemination of information about employment opportunities provided by industry tenants and working partnerships at the airport and maritime sectors.

Working closely with its departments, it supports socially responsible programs at the Port such as small business and workforce development, community giving, environmental stewardship, inclusivity and fairness which support people reaching their full potential.

What are some of the target communities?

Port of Seattle: One of its aims is to reach the local minority communities: the communities of color, women, the immigrant communities, the refugee communities, and other disadvantaged communities. The future workforce will be very diverse, and the Port is very supportive of a workforce that reflects our changing community.

The Small Business Program is aimed at increasing the number of small business relationships, including minority and women owned businesses and those who are disadvantaged.

The Port must do all it can to ensure that regional youth are informed of skilled trades training and job opportunities in the aeronautics, maritime and trade sectors. It also reaches out to communities of color and women. Some of these target groups are youth and adults of color, immigrants, and refugees.

What employment opportunities exist at the Port of Seattle?

Port of Seattle: The Port supports quality job programs to inspire youth to pursue maritime-related career opportunities.

Ten high school interns were placed with maritime and manufacturing industry partners, such as Center for Wooden Boats, Virginia V, NW Maritime Association, Vigor, Filson and Status Ceramics.

How is the Port reaching the youth population?

Port of Seattle: The Port opens the doors for young people to explore existing opportunities. The doors are open wider than in the past. More than half of the high school internship positions were filled through its partnership with the City of Seattle’s Summer Youth Employment Program.

PORT OF SEATTLE: Continued on page 6 . . .

6 — November 16, 2016 – December 6, 2016

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

IE COMMUNITY

Announcements FYRE to hold community healing event on November 18

FYRE (Filipino Youth Reunite to Elevate) is a youth leadership program based in the Filipino Community of Seattle, in collaboration with API Chaya.

In recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness month (October 2016), FYRE will be holding a community healing event at the Filipino Community Center on Friday, November 18 from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

The community is invited to honor and remember the many lives affected by violence. Food and refreshments will be provided. During the program, FYRE will be launching a community zine titled: Siklab ng Puso as well as hold a blessing for our community garden, Lupang Ipamana. For more information, contact nikki@apichaya.org.

Donnie Chin murder investigation update meeting on November 28

A community meeting on public safety in the Chinatown International District will also update the community on the latest information about the Donnie Chin murder investigation. The meeting happens Monday, November 28 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Nagomi Teahouse (519 6th Ave S #200, Seattle, WA 98104).

The meeting is hosted by Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos (D-Seattle) and International District Emergency Center.

Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole and Seattle City Councilmember Bruce Harrell has been invited. King County Councilmember Joe McDermott will be attending.

Donnie Chin was the founder and director of Seattle’s International District

. . . PORT OF SEATTLE: Continued from page 5

How is the Port reaching out to target communities?

Port of Seattle: Primary targets for internships are high school students. The Port is partnering with community based organizations and local schools and initiating ways to use social media, Facebook, Twitter, and other forms of communication familiar to the target audience. This involves “pushing” of pertinent appropriate information to high school students. It also involves providing ways for high school students to “pull” relevant information that interests them in future employment by the Port of Seattle or tenants of the Port of Seattle.

Examples of other ways of communicating information would be the Port of Seattle web site, print media, and community outreach.

What kinds of wages are there in the maritime and trade fields? What kinds of skills and professional characteristics is the Office looking for?

Port of Seattle: The skilled sectors of the maritime industry can pay up to $70,000$100,000, depending on the type of work.

A skilled electrician or welder working on a ship might earn more than a welder or an electrician on a residential job. Working on a

Emergency Center. He was shot and killed on July 23, 2015 as he was responding to a reported dispute. This is in followup to previous community meetings held in November 2015 and June 2016. The Police Department has been invited to update the community on the status of the investigation.

For more information, contact Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos at (360) 786-7944 or sharontomiko.santos@leg.wa.gov.

Internship opportunity at the Southeast Asian Education Coalition

The Southeast Asian Education Coalition (SEA3eD) is currently looking for interns. Students registered in college courses, including Running Start students, are welcome to apply. This year’s internship will focus on community outreach and engagement through leading various workshops and events in order to raise awareness on the diversity of the Southeast Asian community and importance of data disaggregation and individual narratives. On-hand experience with event planning, hosting workshops, community outreach, and development of individual goals are a few of the benefits of the internship.

Apply at: https://goo.gl/forms/ ijA5iVchUtjyth3s1. The application will be closing November 23, 2016. For questions or more information, contact Sam Le at 95samle@gmail.com.

Tabor 100 is a grassroots organization, incorporated and designed to facilitate economic empowerment. They will be Post election panel of community hosting a Developing Affordable Housing First Friday Meet and Greet on Friday, journalists on November 18 December 2 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

As the postmortem of the presidential at Seattle Municipal Tower in Room 4050. election continues on, a panel of There will be presentations by and community journalists will instead delve into what actions people inside and outside opportunities to network with the Seattle the media must now take, and provide a Housing Authority and the Seattle Office response to the urgent clamor of What We of Housing.

Must Do Now. For more information, visit www.

Join journalists from the South Seattle tabor100.org.

Emerald, The Seattle Globalist, Seattle Weekly and Crosscut as they discuss the road ahead for the electorate, movements View more announcements at and the media in the Age of Trump. iexaminer.org/community!

Admission is free but there is a suggested donation of $5.

Moderator is Sera Day, Seattle City Council Legislative Aide. Panelists include Marcus Harrison Green, Editor-in-Chief of South Seattle Emerald; Christina Twu, Community Engagement Editor of Seattle Globalist; Mark Baumgarten Editorin-Chief of Seattle Weekly; and Greg Hanscom, Editor-in-Chief of Crosscut.

The event happens Friday, November 18 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Rainier Arts Center (3515 S Alaska St. in Seattle).

ship requires more specialized training and skills.

Middle-class wages and, therefore, family wages require more than basic math skills, because many of the calculations that maritime and trade specialists do on a daily basis are complex.

The trades industry depends on having workers who are reliable, respectful, as well as being team players. It is important that workers for the Port of Seattle have respect for elders and those who are more experienced.

The trades’ vocational training will assure that critical work skills are developed appropriately for different types of jobs.

The proper training will bring prospective students to the finish line to become journeymen. Young minority youth may not have another chance to have this kind of opportunity. As a public agency, our office tries to be as inclusive as possible.

The Port does not hire on behalf of the industries. The tenants and third parties do their own hiring. This includes the hiring of airport employees.

For more information, contact the Office of Social Responsibility at (206) 787-5775 or osr@portseattle.org.

Developing Affordable Housing First Friday Meet and Greet

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

November 16, 2016 – December 6, 2016 — 7

IE NEWS

Nation reacts to Trump win, APIs voted overwhelmingly for Clinton

IE News Services On Wednesday morning, November 9, many Americans awoke to the news that Donald Trump had been elected President of the United States of America. Trump will begin his first term with a Republicancontrolled Congress and U.S. Supreme Court.

Trump’s win set off a wave of protests in major cities around the country including New York, Portland, Baltimore, and Los Angeles.

Protests have been largely peaceful, though police have made arrests at some protests.

There are sporadic reports of violence from protesters, including vandalism in Portland and Oakland according to the Washington Post.

In Seattle, protest and vigils have been held daily during the week following election night. On Monday, November 14 students at the University of Washington and in the Seattle Public School District and nearby school districts walked out of class as part of a national student protest. Seattle Public Schools estimated 5,000 students participated in the walk out.

Trump’s promises to deport undocumented immigrants and prevent Muslims from entering the United States heightened concerns for the API community. In August, Trump suggested that immigration from the Philippines should be stopped because it’s a terrorist nation. The Trump presidency also threatens President Barack Obama’s executive actions, including the Affordable Care Act

and the protections afforded to those under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

As the campaign came to a close, Trump called for unity despite a campaign that was considered to be filled with Islamaphobic, sexist, xenophobic, homophobic, and racist rhetoric.

“Hillary has worked very long and very hard over a long period of time, and we owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country,” Trump said in his victory speech. “I mean that very sincerely. Now it’s time for America to bind the wounds of division; have to get together. Now it’s time for America to bind the wounds of division; have to get together. To all Republicans and Democrats and independents across this nation, I say it is time for us to come together as one united people.”

Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton spoke the morning of November 9. “Last night, I congratulated Donald Trump and offered to work with him on behalf of our country,” Clinton said during her concession speech.

“I hope that he will be a successful president for all Americans. This is not the outcome we wanted or we worked so hard for, and I’m sorry that we did not win this election for the values we share and the vision we hold for our country.”

Clinton called on Americans to give Trump a chance to lead: “We have seen that our nation is more deeply divided than we thought. But

I still believe in America, and I always will.

And if you do, then we must accept this result and then look to the future. Donald Trump is going to be our president. We owe him an open mind and the chance to lead.”

President Barack Obama on Monday, November 14 spoke at a press conference.

In response to a question about the some of Trump’s hostile policies, Obama said: “The people have spoken. Donald Trump will be the next president. ... Those who didn’t vote for him have to recognize that that’s how democracy works, that’s how this system operates. When I won there were a number of people who didn’t like me and what I stood for.

Whenever you’ve got an incoming president of the other side, particularly in a bitter election like this, it takes a while for people to reconcile themselves with that new reality.

Hopefully it’s a reminder that elections matter and voting counts. ... The American people will judge over the course of the next couple of years whether they like what they see, whether these are the kinds of policies and this is the kind of direction they want to see the country go in. My goal is when I hand off this White House that it’s in the best possible shape and I can be as helpful to him going forward.”

Nationwide, an estimated 6.8 million registered Asian and Pacific Islanders voted in the election, according to OCA National President Leslie Moe-Kaiser, demonstrating the growing civic power of both Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and the larger immigrant community.

“We are also seeing signs of growing civic participation in the increasing involvement AAPIs in political campaigns and at all levels of government,” Moe-Kaiser said in a statement. She congratulated the four newly elected Asian American women, including Representative-elect Jayapal, to Congress.

She stated that “these groundbreaking victories are a bright spot of this election season. ... We hope that the hateful rhetoric of the campaign season will clear and that there is an opportunity to work with Presidentelect Trump and congressional leadership on issues that are important to AAPIs including immigration and education.”

According to the 2016 national Asian American Election Eve poll, Asian Americans overwhelmingly voted for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump, 75% to 19%, a significantly higher margin than was suggested by the exit polls. The survey also showed that 56% of Asian Americans now identify as Democrats, a marked jump from 49% in the same poll four years ago.

Asian Americans still face significant barriers at the polls. 67% of Asian Americans are immigrants born outside of the United States, many of whom are first-time voters with limited English proficiency. Many are asked for additional voter identification, are segregated from other voters, and have to use polling locations without any available language assistance.

For more on the election results, visit iexaminer.org.

At King Street Station, equity becomes a priority

By Alia Marsha Assistant Editor

The Office of Arts and Culture is getting ready to move out of their current home in the 17th floor of the Seattle Municipal Tower into the second and third floors of King Street Station. The move is scheduled for next year, but representatives said that there is no strict timeline as they strive to “do it right.”

The Office has been using the city’s Racial Equity Toolkit to frame their meetings, which illuminates the goal of the new space and programs to be accessible and supportive of new artists, artists of color, women, and other marginalized groups.

The first focus group and public meeting was coincidentally held this year on May 10, the 100th anniversary of the opening of King Street Station. Since then, the Office of Arts and Culture has held 16 meetings.

Design plan

Pioneer Square-based architecture firm Olson Kundig presented its design plan to revamp a total of 17,130 square feet of King Street Station during the public meeting on November 5. Reflecting the feedback the Office of Arts and Culture has received over the last several months, the design leaves a lot of room for flexibility of programming and use. According to the firm’s design statement, the upper floors of the station will be transformed to include: • Community Cultural Space: A large 8,550-square-foot open area with movable walls for exhibitions, events, and presentations.

• Grey Box: An intimate 1,720-square-foot enclosed area that can be used for smaller installations and performances

A public meeting on November 5, 2016 to discuss the redesign of King Street Station. • Photo by Alia Marsha

• Living Room: A 2,450-square-foot common area on the third floor that will serve as a welcoming space and information hub for visitors, and a meeting space for artists and community.

In the past, the third floor space has held art exhibitions and dance performances.

What this means for the Chinatown International District

During the Chinatown International District focus group meeting in October, the attendees were a mix of those who live and work in the neighborhood as well as artists who frequent the district. Mayumi Tsutakawa, a former grants manager at the Washington State Arts Commission, was present there and at prior public meeting. She said that she is excited for the potential collaboration of the Office of Arts & Culture and the CID community, but is concerned about the barriers people in the

CID would face to King Street Station. One such barrier is physical.

“The Pioneer Square people do not have a physical barrier to King Street Station. It’s very close by, and there’s no big street to cross and it’s just very, very easy for them to go up there,” Tsutakawa said. “But for the people in the International District, especially our newcomers and people who don’t speak English, the barrier of 4th Avenue with the train lines, light rail station, the Vulcan building, all of those things that are actually physical barriers for people in the ID to have easy access and to feel comfortable to just sort of wander down to the King Street Station.”

For the new facility to be attractive to the CID community, Tsutakawa said, the Office of Arts and Culture needs to figure out how to eliminate those barriers as much as possible.

Tsutakawa also said that it’s important for the CID community to meet up and discuss what they want out of this new space for the neighborhood.

Equity as a project frame

Erika Lindsey, the communications manager at the Office of Arts and Culture, said that staff has been “delighted” at the participation of diverse stakeholders—artists, people of color, of business owners.

“We also feel good because people have come up with such really fascinating ideas that on our own as a staff I don’t know we would have come up with,” Lindsey said. “It’s then really great to hear from everybody on how we can create a welcoming space so we create programs that people want to come to, how we can involve the neighborhoods and the art community and Seattle community as a whole.”

While previous focus groups and public meetings were imagining what’s possible for the space to serve a diverse population of artists, the last meeting was a brainstorming session on how the space should be governed.

Attendees, facilitated by Office of Arts and Culture staff and Seattle Art Commission members, suggested different programming models that would work best in making sure that the office’s grant programs are fair.

Lindsey said that using the City of Seattle Racial Equity Toolkit as a framing device has helped the office to envision and actualize a better space and community.

“In a lot of ways, it’s helped define for us why we do most of our work in the city itself and also in creating the new space,” Lindsey said. “How can it benefit the greatest number of people? I remember when we first sat down with the Office of Civil Rights talking through the Racial Equity Toolkit to get a better sense of how to use it in our project, the person we were working with, [Policy and development lead] Darlene Flynn was saying, ‘The idea is that you talk to people with the most barriers ... if you remove their barriers, then you remove everybody’s.’”

All of the feedback will be evaluated before the Office of Arts and Culture moves into King Street Station next year, though Lindsey said she’s expecting some trials and errors as part of the process.

“That’s kind of an interesting thing because we’re soliciting all these ideas but we also wanna manage everyone’s expectations,” Lindsey said. “So we’ve been sort of asking everyone to hold us accountable but at the same time give us time to get this done right.”

For more information, visit www.seattle. gov/arts/king-street-station.

8 — November 16, 2016 – December 6, 2016

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

IE NEWS . . . RALLY: Continued from page 1

recipients protection from deportation, a work permit, the opportunity to get a driver license, access to health care, and greater access to higher education. The Pew Research Center estimated in 2012 that there were 230,000 undocumented residents living in Washington State (about 3.3% of the state population).

Martinez Hurtado advocates for undocumented immigrants, and spoke passionately about the strength of immigrant families and communities.

“Many people may think that because I’m undocumented myself, I’m not powerful, but I am. None of us are voiceless,” she said. Martinez Hurtado asked everyone in the crowd to harness their power to speak out against injustice. In the fight for equity, Martinez Hurtado said, “I plan to be at the front line for all of my communities.”

Elected officials stressed that the results of Tuesday’s election would not fundamentally change their priorities or practices. Councilmember Debora Juarez, a Latina and member of the Blackfeet Nation, called for resilience.

She alluded to how American Indian communities refused to give up during times of oppression and hardship. Juarez encouraged progressive listeners to acknowledge the setback, but continue fighting for policy change.

Speaking of the gathering, Juarez said: “Today doesn’t mean that the damage didn’t happen. It doesn’t mean that the damage didn’t exist. It means that the damage will not control us. It means that we will not allow it to control our lives.

It won’t take away our humility, our humanity, our empathy, our tolerance. And the wisdom from all this damage will heal us. As I have learned in Indian country and the way I was raised, all that is broken . . . SOLUTIONS: Continued from page 1

as normal—it’s their right to live a normal life as an American and not be harassed.

Bukhari acknowledged that the next four years would require struggle. Last year—the year of Trump’s campaign—saw the rise nationally of more hate crimes against Muslims or those perceived as Muslim than ever before, he pointed out.

“I think what last night showed us is that we have a lot of work to do for the next four years,” Bukhari said.

Trump’s first 100 days include a plan to deport millions of undocumented immigrants. Michelle Burge, a south Seattle resident, pointed out that this will likely lead to further racial profiling of immigrants and people of color, and even possible unlawful detention or deportation.

Bukhari noted that there are still at least two months before Trump is sworn into office, enough time to get organized and if necessary prepare legal defense for people in danger of being deported.

“The time really is now to start moving.

If it wasn’t yesterday, if it wasn’t last year, then now is the time to get those resources organized and mobilized,” Bukhari said.

“Our main job is to organize from here onward.”

Mariecris Gatlabayan, an archivist and Filipino American Historical Society national trustee, talked about

Wendy Martinez Hurtado (center), a DACA recipient and Program Manager for 21 Progress, speaks at Wednesday’s City Hall rally. (Back , left to right: Councilmember Kshama Sawant, Councilmember Debora Juarez, Congresswoman-elect Pramila Jayapal, Councilmember Lorena Gonzalez.) • Photo by Lexi Potter

will be used and reused to rebuild, and that’s what we will do.”

Mayor Murray offered similar assurances. “Today, Seattle is the same city it was yesterday,” Murray said.

“Today, our values are the same that they were yesterday. Today, we are a city that is guided by equality and inclusion and openness. Today, we continue to support women. Today, we continue to welcome our immigrant brothers and sisters. Today, we continue to stand with our Muslim brothers and sisters. And today, black lives still matter.”

Councilmember Kshama Sawant also expressed solidarity with immigrants, women, people of color, the LGBTQ

community, and social justice advocates.

Both Sawant and Murray warned listeners against demonizing citizens who voted for Trump. They drew a distinction between the President-elect’s rhetoric and the frustrations of citizens struggling at a time of unprecedented economic inequality in American history.

Sawant went further, arguing that corporate involvement in politics could be considered the trigger behind this turn of events: “What we saw was this irony— an ironic tragedy—that while 61% of this country says they hate Trump, Trump is now the president of this country. How do we explain this? This has happened because the democratic establishment has shown itself incapable of harnessing the

real hunger for social change away from the domination of the 1% and Wall Street on our political agenda.”

Councilmember Lorena González closed the rally. A daughter of immigrants who came undocumented to the United States in the 1960s, González said that she was not ashamed of the sacrifice they made to ensure opportunity for her and her siblings. González promised to fight for both undocumented and documented immigrants.

“Today the clearest message is that we do have work to do. We can and we must recommit ourselves to the values of opportunity and of fairness, and equity,” González said.

the importance of channeling anger into productive action.

“I think you can be pissed, but you can take that energy and you can move it forward,” Gatlabayan said. “What happened is the other half of the country took that anger and that hate, and pushed us back. And right now we’re gonna have to grieve first. That’s just part of the process.”

For her, it’s impossible not to be hurt, especially because, as she put it, so many people decided racism, sexism, ableism, and xenophobia weren’t deal breakers for them.

“What hurt the most was that they’re still scared of us,” she said. “That for whatever reason we’re taking something away from them all the time. That has not gone away -- people are just quiet about it. And now that we’ve elected someone who wasn’t quiet about it, they don’t have to be quiet anymore. That’s the scary part for me.”

Members of the group discussed ways to move forward, and also how to connect with Trump supporters to bring them to the other side.

“I would like to not think there are simply just people who believe in his worst traits of misogyny, of sexism, of exclusion and racism, but maybe that he was speaking to something deeper to them that was resonating with them,” said Huang. “There may be people that are just

true bigots, that don’t get it, but I believe in humanity in the sense that there are people that are just simply ignorant or they don’t know the good stories. And what’s happening is that these conversations are hitting walls and those people are retreating to their corners.”

Huang said it’s important for people to protest, but also reach out to the middle to the people who can be convinced and try to bridge the gaps. Otherwise, in the privacy of the voting booth, these people will vote for candidates they think understand them, rather than progressives who seem to want nothing to do with them.

“I think power from within, dismantling the system from within, building up our leaders, building up our role models, learning how to speak to everyone, to ourselves, to them as well, is the most powerful thing that we can do,” he said.

One silver lining to the election, Huang said, is that Seattle and the nation put many women of color in office. One thing people can do, he said, is to call them and other elected officials.

Carlo Nakar, a therapist and Masters student at the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology, was struggling to feel optimistic. He expressed how painful it was that Trump surged to victory thanks in large part to Evangelical Christian votes.

Nakar is a Christian himself, but feels as though those Christians didn’t care about his welfare.

“I love talking about things that we can do,” he said, “but we need to take care of this trauma that we’re feeling right now. ...

This is the most public reminder of racism that we’ve seen in two generations.”

David also felt pessimistic about solutions that don’t involve addressing racism directly.

“Every time we experience economic difficulties in this country, the white community is often very quick to look at scapegoats,” David said.

And while solving economic problems will help alleviate some people’s anger, it won’t be enough, he said.

“I think fixing it that way really dances around the problem,” David said. “We’ve done that before, first of all. And essentially what we’ve done is we’ve just made people comfortable and tolerant enough, because they’re comfortable enough. But they’re not really addressing these deep-seated biases and ignorance that they have. And so the next time it gets bad again, those things come back out.”

Another personal community table discussion will be held via Facebook Live and National Conference Call on Wednesday, November 16 from 5:15 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The topic will be POC Safety in Seattle. For more information, visit www. facebook.com/events/201014897015183/.

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

November 16, 2016 – December 6, 2016 — 9

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Fung Bros.: Representing culture, keeping it real

By Kae Saeteurn IE Contributor Since establishing a YouTube channel in May 2011, the Fung Bros. (David and Andrew Fung) have amassed over 1.4 million channel subscribers and over 216 million views. Focused on the education of Asian and Asian American topics through food, fashion, advice, and lifestyle videos, and with a recent return to Seattle, the International Examiner had the privilege of catching up with David and Andrew.

Kae Saeteurn: Can you guys talk about why you decided to come back to the Kent and Seattle area?

David Fung: I guess I have to set the story.

We’ve been gone for about six years. In L.A., New York, these major media hubs, you kind of reach a point after six years where it’s like, “I’m either going to stay in L.A., New York for the rest of my life, or I’m going to bring it back home.” And we want to be closer to family. One thing is that we really believe in this region. I don’t think we would’ve moved back if I didn’t believe in the potential of this region. I think there’s really a lot of really unique, cool cultures that Asian Americans have in Seattle that needs to be showcased.

KS: With that, what challenges have you faced so far with just coming back?

DF: Definitely sourcing. For example, production editors or directors. It’s sometimes more difficult to source it in Seattle than obviously Los Angeles. Other than that, people have been pretty receptive.

Obviously a lot of places that you ask to shoot at, they never imagine that they would ever be on video. People aren’t necessarily as ready to give “camera ready” answers when you ask questions. But I also think that’s also some of the charm about the city too.

KS: What has that been like for you moving from L.A. to New York, and now back to Seattle?

Andrew Fung: It’s been really interesting because we got to pretty much be in the two major markets of America, especially for Asians. We got to learn a lot. We saw a lot of cool things, and part of what we want to do up here is bring some of those flavors back to Seattle. Not that Seattle doesn’t have its own flavor, but it’s true that the Seattle Asian scene is not as developed in a way as these other markets.

KS: With that, what do you plan for your channel?

DF: I think you’re going to see a little bit more stability, and we’re going to be building production studios that allow us to execute different types of material. There will be a little bit less of the run-and-gun style that we had in L.A. and New York where you just kind of run into spots with cameras. We still will have that element, but you’ll see a few different formats pop up.

AF: In New York, first of all, it’s so expensive to have production space, and so we were always using the city. Along with the city comes a lot of outside factors, whether it’s noise, other people, the weather, how the city looks. If people thought that our videos were rushed at all, we’re going to take our time more, and it’s going to feel a little bit more comfortable.

KS: How do you plan to continue incorporating your content focused on things like basketball, fashion, music, and hip hop?

The Fung Bros., David and Andrew Fung. • Courtesy Photo

AF: We have a lot of friends that we grew up with that are really into all those things that are actually in Seattle, so it’s a pretty good situation because we have good relationships with these people.

DF: So have a whole roster of people that we grew up with or know through a variety of different things in Seattle where we’re gonna be able to plug them in, and they’re gonna be able to showcase what they have to the rest of the world.

KS: Moving to a broader aspect from your channel. In your opinion, what do you think is the current state of Asian Americans in media?

DF: I think we’ve finally reached a point where people are cognizant of the issues.

Maybe prior, a lot of Asian immigrants were so concerned with getting by and surviving, that media was the last thing on their mind.

But nowadays because we’ve reached a higher level of comfort, people can feel comfortable and say, “Yeah, you know what?

I would like to see myself representing on television or on things that I’m watching.”

AF: And I also think it depends on what kind of media you’re talking about. At the end of the day we do need to show ourselves to our own people, and our own people know within ourselves internally that we’re valued. And I think that’s also something that YouTube and all those other platforms do as well.

KS: And do you feel any pressures being Asian American YouTubers and media influencers?

DF: Our parents were activists and they were part of OCA. They were part of a

variety of different organizations, and they cared a lot, so I think the pressure comes naturally, just internally. But yeah, as far as pressures exist in the external community, sometimes. But to be honest, not as much as we place on ourselves because when you’re kind of raised in that “woke” Asian American activist sphere, you don’t need anybody telling about Vincent Chin or anything like that.

AF: I think it’s kind of interesting. From what I see is that a lot of these young kids probably under 18, under 17 years old, they grew up with Asian faces in YouTube, and K-Pop, and all these kind of Asian rise of Asian America and artists from Asia. I do

think that they don’t, in a way, care as much, and also the racial stuff is not as important to them because maybe it wasn’t such a big deal because they always saw Asian faces.

So I do think that a lot of the young kids are skipping on the internal representation, which is definitely different than what it was like even ten years ago.

KS: Your channel focuses a lot on food.

With you guys recently teaming up with Swirle to host a pop up to bring Thai rolled ice cream to the Seattle area, can you guys go a bit into what that was like, and what your hope is for the Seattle food scene?

DF: It was a great experience to work with Swirle. On one end it was great to see their entrepreneur spirit. On a secondary, more cultural level it was cool to see Seattle get some sort of dessert that is mostly famous in the SoCal and New York area. I’d love to see the Asian American foodie culture or Instagram food culture, or hypebeast food culture, however you wanna perceive it, spread to Seattle. I think Swirle’s a big part of it.

AF: It was definitely really important for second generation, kind of like Chinatown business owners to start something. It’s important for people like [Swirle] to start businesses in Chinatown and keep it going, especially from within the community. Not to say that other people can’t open businesses in Chinatown, but you need the generations to keep going and to add a new flavor.

DF: And it’s important for Asian American kids to have a place where they feel like it’s for them. You know, it kind of acknowledges their heritage and background because it’s important to have spaces that you can call your own.

KS: Any advice you want to give?

DF: Play your cards in life. If you add value to the world, you will be surprised how many doors open up. I know that everybody’s born with different cards in life, but you don’t have to play your cards straight up. I don’t think anybody has to play their cards at face value.

AF: You gotta represent your own culture because if they do it for you, they will never do it right. So we have to own up to our culture and own it first before someone else tries to represent it.

The Fung Bros. partnered with Swirle in Seattle in September. • Photo by Candace Kwan

10 — November 16, 2016 – December 6, 2016

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

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We Too Sing America: South Asian, Arab, Muslim, and Sikh immigrants shape our multiracial future

By Merlyn M. Bilas IE Contributor It can be difficult, if not dangerous, to be a member of a minority group in the United States.

On September 25, the L.A. Times reported that two young men assaulted Maan Singh Khalsa in Richmond, California. They used a knife to hack off chunks of his beard and hair before beating him up. Khalsa, an IT worker, wears a turban and maintains unshorn hair in keeping with the tenets of Sikh culture.

If race never entered ordinary conversations before, it became unavoidable after reports of extrajudicial police shootings of Black men over the last two years. It became unavoidable after president-elect Donald J. Trump promised during his campaign to “deeply vet” Muslim Americans. Last but not least, it became unavoidable after a Black man made it to the White House as president.

Deepa Iyer’s book, We Too Sing America, is a timely analysis of racial injustices committed by individuals, businesses and state actors against South Asian, Arab, Muslim, and Sikh immigrants from the 19th century to the present. Iyer cites instances of rights violations in the period after 9/11 including racial profiling and illegal surveillance by the FBI and police.

Is there a way to counter the rising tide of hate and prejudice? A former lawyer for the Justice Department, Iyer unsurprisingly believes that systemic changes to law and government policy is paramount. She also urges South Asians and Muslims to share their stories and culture to create awareness and empathy at the local and national level.

Storytelling is an ancient method of transmitting information. What sort of stories should South Asian and Muslim

Americans tell? Stories of illegal deportations, violence, and bigotry? Or stories that speak of hopes, achievements, and gains? I recently spoke to Deepa Iyer by phone (prior to Trump winning the presidential election). The following is an edited version of the interview.

Merlyn Bilas: You wrote an opinion piece about anti-Muslim rhetoric during the 2011 election. Does the current cycle give you a sense of deja-vu?

Deepa Iyer: I think it’s so much worse during this political season. The rhetoric in this election cycle is one that we’ve seen, at least when it comes to Muslim, Arab, and South Asian American communities, since 9/11. But in this particular election cycle, it has become more mainstreamed and it has received attention that it didn’t before. So it isn’t new but it is louder and more visible, and probably more dangerous in many ways as well regardless of who prevails in this election.

MB: Why more dangerous?

DI: I think it has become mainstreamed.

You have a candidate [Donald J. Trump] who is talking about extreme vetting of immigrants and refugees, of creating a deportation force, and banning Muslims.

[Trump] is talking about communities of color in ways that are actually not reflective of their lived situations. And I think that at some level what he has been saying has caught on with a particular group of people

in this country. Even if Hilary Clinton prevails in the election, the damage is done.

We see that there are parts of the alt-right and other segments of this country who are not necessarily going to give up that sort of demagoguery.

MB: You speak about the importance of sharing stories as a way to build bridges and create connections between South Asians, Arabs, Muslims and Sikhs and the communities they live in.

What should people do?

DI: I think storytelling and bridge-building is one of these but certainly addressing systemic policy issues and practices is another. But on the first count, around storytelling, that’s one of the reasons that I wanted to write my book. One of the goals was to represent and give voice to the lived experiences of these communities which we often don’t hear about in the post-9/11 era. Where we think there are lots of divisions amongst people, I think sharing stories of oppression and resilience can form a bridge to connect people to each other.

MB: There are cultural prohibitions about discussing politics and religion in the United States, even among friends.

Won’t it feel confrontational to bring up discussions of race?

DI: I think in this country and in this moment, even sharing stories about one’s immigration history or one’s point of entry into racial consciousness or an experience

that made them feel “othered” is so fraught with tension. I’ve personally seen that when we share stories, whether it’s books, whether it’s videos or any form [that is out] there, often times there is that connection of empathy that occurs. People can say, “Oh, your story of migration to this country reminds me of my ancestor’s migration to the United States.”

MB: You have a format that you describe in your book for having these discussions, and a list of questions to start them. How does that work?

DI: Start from the standpoint of—and I include this in a lot of the workshops that I do—“What’s my point of entry?” Usually we do it with a timeline of important events that have happened in the U.S. The storytelling, when it’s contextualized to what else was happening around the same time, allows people to have a conversation that is not necessarily fraught with tension.

So that they [the workshop attendees] could say that my parents moved here from Pakistan in 1966. Then we can say, that was right after the Civil Rights Act was passed in the United States. What did that mean for your parents?

MB: Do you have any other suggestions on how to talk about race?

DI: Sometimes I think these guided forms of workshops can be good but that’s not to say that we can’t have these conversations around the dinner table. The one thing that I always say is that conversations around race will be messy. Conversations about race will be a long term process so it isn’t something that can be done in one sitting. We have to be in it for the long haul. It’s important that we have the courage to bring up these issues but recognize that it’s not going to be resolved quickly or immediately.

Films: Focus on Asia at the American Film Market

By Yayoi L. Winfrey IE Contributor An annual event held in sunny Santa Monica California, the American Film Market brings together exhibitors (filmmakers), distributors (buyers) and others that make it possible for an audience to eventually view a film onscreen—whether in a theater or on some other platform such as a mobile device.

Produced by the Independent Film & Television Alliance® (IFTA®), AFM provides a marketplace venue so that acquisition agents can purchase licenses to distribute films offered by filmmakers or their sales agents.

Unlike a film festival that exists to entertain audiences, AFM is focused on industry professionals conducting business. Among participants are development executives, festival directors, and film commissioners attempting to entice filmmakers with tax incentives to shoot in their countries.

In spite of 80 nations being represented at AFM this year, China’s presence was overwhelming. On opening day, the “China Conference” sponsored by China Beijing Film Delegation and Beijing Weying Technology Co., Ltd. was held. Later that same day, came

“Roundtable—Hong Kong: The Next Generation of Project Management for Production in Asia.” And, several days following that, there was the “Asian VOD (Video on Demand)” conference featuring panelists from India, Hong Kong and Brazil debating about the latest technology and new ways that content is being consumed.

Aside from all the business deals made over the eight days of AFM, a lot of time is spent screening films. Over 300 movies, including big budget action flicks and lower budget art house fares, were shown. And, there was plenty of socializing, too.

Over at the Japan Booth, JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization) hosted a matcha (green tea) drink and sweets event. Housing several Japanese film production companies and studios, as well as the Okinawa Film Office, the Japan Booth featured some intriguing films to watch for.

Among them is Behind the Cove by first time filmmaker Keiko Yagi. Posing the question “Who can judge which animal should be eaten or not?” the documentary is billed as a rebuttal to the Oscar-winning The Cove, in which the hunting and consumption of whale and dolphin were attacked by Western activ-

ists who traveled to the small Japanese fishing village, Taiji. In Yagi’s version, she hints that it could be racism that fueled the activists to single out Japan and not Denmark or Iceland—both enthusiastic whale and dolphin hunting countries.

Another film JETRO featured is GENCO’s beautiful animation titled In This Corner of the World. Suzu Urano is just 18 when she’s sent off to marry Shusaku Hojo whose family needs her help on their small farm in the town of Kure in Hiroshima. The year is 1944 and Japan is increasingly involved in war on several fronts. While Shusaku works all day at his naval job, Suzu helps with household chores especially since her mother-in-law is sickly. Coming up with creative ways to stretch the rations the Hojo family is doled out, Suzu remains cheerful and optimistic. But soon, daily air raids and bombings begin wearing on her. As a young school girl, Suzu loved to draw and would illustrate the gorgeous scenery of Hiroshima. One day while in the field among the Hojo family’s crops, she unconsciously sketches the bay before her—including the powerful and secret Japanese naval ships.

Caught by several military police, she’s ac-

cused of espionage. Facing one challenge after another, Suzu endures but what she experiences as an innocent civilian during WWII is heartbreaking. Based on a manga by artist Fumiyo Kouno, this amazing anime is directed by Sunao Katabuchi.

Upstairs at AFM, Taiwan Cinema and the Taiwan Film Institute provided pastries, pretzels and wine at their “Welcome Drink” gathering. Representative Lisha Hsu was the perfect hostess as she recited a list of notable films to come—including Taiwan’s foreign language entry in the Oscars, Foret Debussy, about a mother and her adult daughter isolated in a forest.

At this year’s “Thai Night “party, Her Royal Highness Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya Sirivadhana gave a short speech encouraging filmmakers to shoot on location in her country. Following a moment of silence in honor of her late father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej who died October 13, the princess watched as several dancers entertained the crowd. Later, a buffet featuring scrumptious Thai food was served followed by a panel discussing filming in Thailand.

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

November 16, 2016 – December 6, 2016 — 11

Author Prajwal Parajuly a fresh new voice

By Nalini Iyer IE Contributor

Mt. Everest, Kathmandu, and now Earthquakes—these are the few things that most people know about Nepal. Prajwal Parajuly’s short stories in The Gurkha’s Daughter offer a perspective on Nepal that foregrounds the lives of the people. In these stories we see how changes in politics and economics impact people, we see the influence of caste on gender and class, we see what Nepali ethnicity means in the diaspora.

The title story, “The Gurkha’s Daughter,” tells of a deep childhood friendship between the narrator and Gita, which is framed by the friendship between their fathers who serve in the Gurkha Regiment of the British army.

(The British recently celebrated 200 years of the Gurkha regiment in which the Prince of Wales has a titular position. This regiment emerged in 1815 after the AngloNepalese war after which the British recruited soldiers from Nepal to serve in the imperial army and thus made Gurkha/ Gorkha synonymous with bravery.) Even as the children seal their friendship with secret childhood rituals, the narrator’s father manipulates his friend into celebrating a “miteri” or kinship ceremony for the girls so as to mitigate planetary misfortunes associated with the narrator’s astrological charts. Neither private childhood bonds of friendship sealed in spit nor religious rituals sealing a kinship can keep the girls

together when the British army seals the fate of their fathers differently. In contrasting the innocence of the children and the friendships between their mothers who bond during their husbands’ long absences with the manipulations of Hindu religious beliefs and the implacable role of the army, Parajuly captures the complex and contradictory nature of Nepali life.

Other stories speak of deep poverty and the predatory nature of missionaries (“Missed Blessing”), of trafficking (“ The Cleft”), of refugees and the precarious nature of Bhutanese of Nepali heritage (“No Land is Her Land”), and immigration (“Passing Fancy”). All of these stories also present a nuanced portrait of gender relations—masculinity and femininity and their intersections with caste, religion, and class— and thus offer the reader much to think about. Gurkha’s Daughter was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize in 2013.

Parajuly’s first novel, Land Where I Flee, is darkly comic and features an oddball set of characters who happen to be from the same Nepali family from Gangtok, Sikkim. Grandmother Chitralekha is an entrepreneur who smokes bidis and torments her grandchildren with guilt, and commands their presence at her 84th birthday celebration. The grandchildren each have their emotional and sociocultural baggage. There is Bhagwati, the

oldest daughter, who ran away with a lower caste Nepali from Bhutan, became a refugee, and who is resettled in Boulder, CO, with her husband and two sons. Manasa, the Oxford educated second daughter who married into a wealthy and politically connected Brahmin family is now nursemaid to her paralysed grandfather and miserable in her marriage.

Agastaya, the older grandson is a gay oncologist whose family has no clue about is sexuality and keeps pressuring him to marry, and finally, Ruthwa, the black sheep celebrity author who shamed the family by writing about their secrets and then unwittingly plagiarizing V.S. Naipaul.

Into this mix, add in a transgendered servant named Prashanti who is closest to Chitralekha, and Nicky, Agastaya’s gay lover who surprises his boyfriend by arriving in Gangtok for the big birthday bash. The dysfunctional family saga is interwoven with considerations of ethnicity and identity for Nepalis in diaspora; explorations of sexuality and romance; and women’s identity, autonomy, and class. Parajuly skillfully weaves laught out loud farcical moments with darkly somber political issues and occasional references to characters in his short stories to create a fictional universe, which we will no doubt encounter in his future writing. His is a new voice in South Asian American writing and definitely one to follow in the years to come.

A God in Every Stone tries to make sense of an Orientalist narrative

By Nalini Iyer IE Contributor For fans of the English colonial narrative such as Paul Scott’s The Raj Quartet (televised as The Jewel in the Crown) and E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India, Kamila Shamsie, the Pakistani-British author, offers in A God in Every Stone a narrative filled with plucky English women, brave Afghan soldiers, lost ancient artifacts, and the heat and dust of colonial India.

Vivian Rose Spencer is an intelligent and educated Victorian woman eager to travel to Ottoman Turkey in search of its glorious historical artefacts. A fortunate encounter with her father’s oldest friend, Tahsin Bey who is an archaeologist, allows Vivian Rose to set off on an archaeological dig in search of the

lost amulet of Scylax, the explorer. Predictably, Vivian, who has serious daddy issues, falls in love with Tahsin Bey. The romance is interrupted by the political inconvenience called the Great War and shifting political allegiances disrupt her romantic moment.

The disappointed Vivian returns to England to nurse a broken heart and wounded soldiers until called upon by His Majesty’s government to assist with military intelligence.

Switch to the second narrative thread, the story of Qayyum Gul, a Peshawari soldier fighting in Ypres. His brutal war experience, the bonding of soldiers on the battlefield, the ugliness of racism that interrupts homosocial bonds of wounded soldiers shape his view of the English imperialists who have conquered his homeland. He returns home having lost an eye in the war and his path briefly crosses that of Vivian Rose in a train carriage. Qayyum

returns, gets embroiled in local anti-imperial politics, offers heavy doses of paternalistic advice to his eager teenaged brother, and sees British repression of colonial subjects in Peshawar. Add to the mix a brave and darkeyed local woman waging her own private rebellion against British soldiers. A young teenage brother becomes Vivian Rose’s acolyte and through the benevolence of the English woman discovers his people and history. The two storylines intertwine and plot lines are resolved with a few well-placed tugs to the heartstrings.

Shamsie might be somewhat ironic in her narrative or so one hopes in order to make sense of an Orientalist narrative. How else to explain a novel that seems glamor struck by British imperialism and the ability of colonial masters (or mistresses) to explain the mysterious East to a handful of deserving imperial subjects?

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Artist Azumi Hosoda showcases uniquely-subjected kimonos

By Agazit Afeworki IE Contributor

otherwise basic style of dress to show a multi-story ennui office building equipped with a ground-level starbucks, which undoubtedly gained Seattleite fanfare.

Oscar Wilde may have identified life’s constant imitation of art, but contrary to the age-old-adage, the reverse is just as true. Take Japanese wax-resist-dyeing artist and professor Azumi Hosoda, who presented her work at her Seattle Asian Art Museum talk on September 15.

Inspired by her surrounding environments she creates zany designs for a 13th-century old garment.

Even before rendering a Google “traditional kimono” search, one can recognize how noteworthy her subject matter is. Against a rich yellow fabric she illustrates black hand-painted crocodiles ascending in size inspired by a past job of hers at the crocodile exhibit at Nagoya, Japan’s Higashiyama Zoo. On another, a blown-up drawing of a mid-motion red octopus with curling arms spanning the length of the garment inspired by a boiling octopus she saw at the Akashi fish market.

But her designs—each a two-month endeavor from sketching, sectioning off fabric, dyeing, and finally sewing—aren’t limited to aquatic life. Their subjects range in novelty. During a 1995 trip to Chicago, IL she drew from the cityscape in a kimono titled, “Concrete Jungle”: a worms-eye view of downtown skyscrapers and professional pedestrians.

“I become creative in any environment.

I have been creating something new every year,” said Hosoda through email.

Moreover, Hosoda’s kimonos communicate through vivid color— a skill she’s gained by being hyper-

“The biggest difference between Hosoda’s work and traditional kimono is its design, color, [and] subject. She stays away from traditional kimono motif renderings of flowers, birds, wind, and the moon. Instead she finds inspiration in things she has seen, experienced, or finds curious,” said Mariko KayamaUgawa, founder of Kimono Art, an online database of kimono work.

Additionally, Hosoda draws from the historical evolution of kimonos. Much like the explorative era of kimonos during Japan’s Edo period (16th-18th century)— as well as Hosoda’s frame of reference— curiosity energizes her work.

“Not only you can enjoy her beautiful work by wearing it but also displaying it as a fine art,” Kayama-Ugawa said. “She Artist Azumi Hosoda models one of her many inspired kimonos. • Photo by Agazit Afeworki has held private exhibitions at prestigious galleries in Kyoto, which is quite rare case observant. With a love for diving in the contemporizing a predominant style in a for modern kimono artist.” lucid subtropical waters in her hometown fresh and comedically-literate way.

The style of garb known as kosode, of Kyoto, Japan, she’s built a keen and “I would like to dye bold and delicate which later became the kimono, was born trusted relationship with her physical designs with a touch of humor; to see from the Muromachi period (13th-15th environment to inform the beauty in her kimono[s] continue to carry dreams and century). Styles of prior epoch’s slowly shed work. Reared in an artistic family, she free spirits,” Hosoda said. layers of fabric and attached exclusivity as spent a great deal of time soaking up what is known as the modern-day kimono And never were her aspirations more became more accessible. But for Hosoda, knowledge in her mother’s calligraphy studio and attending art exhibitions—one visible than during her presentation. Her the aforementioned Edo period, when of which featured what would become audience broke into laughter when viewing commoners reimagined kimono designs, her lifelong passion: rouzome dyeing. A her “KIKI office” (2001) and “Haunted originated the expressive designs visible form of dyeing in which wax is treated to House” (1997) kimonos, demonstrating in Hosoda’s modern work. “This era is the exclude sections of fabric from dye. Now, exactly how Hosoda successfully era of confusion, but I think it was a free a professor at Nagoya University of Arts in intertwines levity and art. For example, era of Kimono,” Hosoda said.

Kitanagoya, Japan, Hosoda has mastered her “KIKI Office” kimono transposes an

The Tree Inside is poetic, refreshingly intimate

By Brian Park IE Contributor A lot of romance films end when the relationship starts. Just as the protagonist and her love interest finally confess their love for each other, they are whisked off into a happily ever after as the credits roll.

Director Michelle Kim’s The Tree Inside does none of those things. Rather than romanticizing the process of falling in love, the film instead looks at what it means to stay in love.

The film opens at the very beginning of a relationship. Myra, our protagonist, meets David, a schoolteacher, at a park. After musing about how she hates the way that trees die when fall comes, David offers a poignant thought: “Maybe you were a tree in your past life.”

The metaphor of the tree serves as a natural reference point for Myra. Unlike those around her, Myra finds herself resisting the coming and going of seasons.

As her relationship with David develops, she confronts her own inflexibility and her anxieties about long-term relationships.

The backdrop of British Columbia, in its vivid colors, matches the film’s poetic

feel. The shots feel cinematic without sacrificing a sense of intimacy, the lighting and soundtrack underscore the tones of connection and loss.

Some abrupt cuts and audio mixing issues throughout the film occasionally distract, but are forgivably sparse after the first act of the film. Despite these technical issues, the film still shines.

Kim excels at capturing a genuine sense of intimacy between the characters. She allows the viewer to empathize with the couple, to see them as human rather than putting them on unattainable pedestals, and it keeps the viewer invested throughout the ups and downs in the relationship. The chemistry of the actors are made even more impressive through the context of Kim’s unflinching examination of a deteriorating relationship. Kim herself cites her favorite scene as a 15-minute long argument between the couple. “I feel like it captures the tensions, realities, and ugliness that comes with relationships,” she says.

This honesty is likely related to the fact that Kim shot the film. The crew was very sparse—only one or two cameramen, and many of the actors were selected from friends and family. Kim, who plays Myra

in the film, had her own brother cast as Myra’s brother—and their interactions in the film are true to life. Even the story itself is, in some ways, a reflection of Kim’s own experiences. “Making this film was a true exercise in vulnerability,” says Kim, “I often say it would have been cheaper and less embarrassing to have gone to therapy instead.” While the film has its youthful, happy moments, it tends to take a somber tone overall. Kim attributes some of this to the traditions of Korea cinema. With several of her relatives working in the Korean film industry, Kim and her co-director, Rob

Leickner, are heavily influenced by its style.

Kim says that she loves the “subversive quality” to its stories, and its “acceptance of sadness and darkness;” storytelling that is not “bound to happy endings”.

The Tree Inside is refreshingly intimate.

Its tone is poetic but honest; gentle yet bittersweet. It is a film that, at heart, examines what it looks like to cope with change. And it’s an exciting step forward for Asian American film makers who are telling their own stories—“ugliness” and all.

Answers to this puzzle are on Wednesday, December 7.

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

November 16, 2016 – December 6, 2016 — 13

IE ARTS

Pushing boundaries—The wild imagination of Qui Nguyen

By Roxanne Ray IE Contributor

Playwright Qui Nguyen is in focus here in Seattle during December, with two plays running simultaneously: Vietgone at Seattle Rep and The Inexplicable Redemption of Agent G at the University of Washington.

Vietgone has broad Pacific Northwest reach, as a co-production with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival—while Agent G humorously references the very trilogy of which Vietgone is a part.

All of these twists and loops are par for the course for Nguyen, a playwright who is also a fight director who launched a theatre company in New York called The Vampire Cowboys.

“I love Qui’s wild imagination,” said actor Amy Kim Waschke, who has performed in three of Nguyen’s plays, including the current Vietgone in the role of Huong, mother of lead female character Tong (a partial standin for Nguyen’s real mother). “He has a completely original voice and his plays push the boundaries of conventional theater. They often include music or rap, puppets, genre bending, comic book and manga references, underdogs as heroes, and in almost every Qui play, there is a huge, mutha-f-ing, badass fight!”

But Nguyen’s goals for Vietgone go beyond the physical to other unconventional possibilities. “I wanted to finally see a show about Vietnam where the main characters were the Vietnamese instead of the white guy,” Nguyen said, “where the Asian characters got to have agency over their own destinies and not just be plot points for the Caucasian lead actor like in Miss Saigon.”

Qui Nguyen. • Courtesy Photo

Nguyen’s visual was both social and personal. “I wanted to see Vietnamese women portrayed in other ways than whores or suicidal Virgin Mary’s. I wanted to see Asian men finally be portrayed as sexy,” he said. “And finally, it’s my family story so there’s that too. It’s the play I always wanted to write and so I writ it. Large.”

When auditioning, actor Amy Kim Waschke read the entire play in one sitting.

“Not only was it exploring an untold perspective on the Vietnam War, that of Vietnamese refugees, but Qui had also written his Asian and Asian American characters to defy current stereotypes,” she said. “The men were strong and sexy, the women were irreverent, feminist and funny. I knew immediately that I wanted to be a part of it.”

Director May Adrales felt the same way, based on a prior history of collaboration with Nguyen. “Qui and I devised a show together previously before working on the first draft of Vietgone,” she said. “I’ve also followed his work with Vampire Cowboys for years.”

Nguyen reports likewise regarding director Adrales. “May’s basically my sister,” he said. “We rib each other like family, we’re honest with each other like family, and at times we argue like family, but we trust each other implicitly. I love her and I couldn’t imagine anyone else leading the ship on this Vietgone saga I’m writing.”

Adrales finds that this mutual history is key to successfully directing Nguyen’s plays.

“To understand his style, I think directors must know innately how humor and comedy is employed throughout,” she said. “The heart of the piece is with the play’s ability to shine light and hope even on the darkest moments.”

Nguyen echoes that sentiment in spades.

“Hearing that this play is about Vietnamese refugees, it’s understandable that many peeps would believe it’s a real serious drama,” he said. “But a ‘Qui Nguyen show’ is equal parts rebellious comedy as it is history. This ain’t your grandmother’s dusty theatre.”

He nods toward his dual career focus as the impetus for his style. “I think being a fight director helps me look at my play immediately as a physical piece of art,” Nguyen said. “I think when you’re sitting behind your computer and typing out dialogue, it’s really tempting to make your show just a pair of talking heads. Being a movement artist however, it’s helped prevent my shows from being static.”

Again, Nguyen points to his partnership with Adrales as the conduit for bringing his vision to fruition. “We basically share a brain,” he said. “She’s Filipino. I’m Vietnamese. We’re both jungle Asians so neither one of us mind breaking rules. Which is good. ‘Cause we’re both very mischievous. Which makes this all very fun.“ Despite this, Nguyen acknowledges that his work is rooted in real family experience, including his own. “After all the fun hip-hop and stylistic swings I take throughout the show, I knew I ultimately wanted to end the play with a realistic depiction of me interviewing my dad,” he said. “Because I was gonna show up at the end, I thought it’d be fun to have ‘me’ introduce the play as a way to bookend the evening.”

Director Adrales feels that this creates precisely the blend that she herself seeks to create in a staged production.

“Oftentimes you will laugh through tears in my productions,” she said. “That’s the aim for me anyway. To create a joyful, moving unforgettable live experience.”

‘Vietgone’ runs from December 2 to January 1 at the Seattle Repertory Theatre (155 Mercer Street). For more info, visit http://www.seattlerep.org/Plays/1617/VG/ Synopsis.

‘The Inexplicable Redemption of Agent G’ runs from December 6 to 11 at the University of Washington Glenn Hughes Playhouse Theatre in Seattle.

For more information, visit https://drama. washington. edu/events/2016 -12- 0 6/ inexplicable-redemption-agent-g.

ReAct’s Vera Ing Stage launches with Brilliant Traces

By Roxanne Ray IE Contributor As winter approaches, ReAct Theatre is presenting a winter-based show with parallels to its own developments as a company. Brilliant Traces by Cindy Lou Johnson features the story of two strangers hunkered down together in a cabin together during a snowstorm, and ReAct is inviting audiences to see the next phase in its history in its new small space at the Prima Vera Arts Center downtown.

The new Vera Ing Stage will augment ReAct Theatre’s prior use of that space.

“The Prima Vera Arts Center has been our base for the past decade thanks to the generosity of the building’s owners, Joey Ing and his amazing late wife Vera,” said David Hsieh, director of Brilliant Traces and Founding Artistic Director of ReAct. “We’ve used it for rehearsals and meetings and some storage, and shared it with other companies like the Pork Filled Players and SiS Productions.”

Now, ReAct hopes that the new space will expand its production opportunities.

“We just thought it was time to really use the venue to its fullest potential and have added some sound, seating, and lighting enhancements to make one of the rehearsal halls a viable performance space,” Hsieh said. “It is very intimate, but for the rest of the time that we get to call Prima Vera our

home, the Vera Ing Stage will be a great resource to our community.”

Hsieh said that launching this new space fits well with other ReAct goals. “ReAct has been on a mission to produce more plays by female playwrights, and when we decided to create the Vera Ing Stage, and knowing how intimate the space is, it just made sense to find a small cast play written by a woman,” he said. “We included Brilliant Traces in our staged play reading series a few years back and it just seemed like the perfect fit for inaugurating this new space.”

The show’s two actors are likewise enthusiastic about this new production. “I read Brilliant Traces in college and loved the concept of two strangers having to face their demons by hashing them out with each other alone in the middle of a snowstorm,” said actor Cessa Betancourt, who plays the role of Rosannah DeLuce. “There’s something really magical about setting these two people in rural Alaska surrounded by snow and darkness.”

Betancourt and fellow actor Cooper Harris-Turner, who plays the role of Henry Harry, both find Brilliant Traces to be a story of discovery. “Both of the characters talk about a moment when they woke up and realized what it meant to be human, and to need other people,” Betancourt said. “For me, that’s the heart of the play, and I learned more about what awakens me as a person and as an actor through this process.”

For Harris-Turner, the discovery is slightly different. “I play Henry Harry,” he said, “a man who lives like a hermit and avidly avoids human interaction.”

This hermetic trait poses a big challenge when Rosannah flees her wedding and ends up trapped in Henry’s cabin. “I have learned that if you go through life with an open heart, then you will be ready to accept whatever opportunities come your way,” Harris-Turner said. “If you go through life with a closed off heart, then you end up like Henry Harry at the start of the show.”

But Henry can’t isolate himself in the presence of Rosannah. “My favorite thing

about Rosannah is how much of her is just underneath the surface,” Betancourt said.

“At face value, she is kind of a damsel, or an ingénue, but underneath that she has a lot of beautiful strength and complexity.”

The combination of these two personalities helps to break through their shells, as the audience watches. “I really like how each character gets to work through their problems out loud with a stranger,” HarrisTurner said.

Director Hsieh agreed that this discovery process is central to the play’s success. “It’s kind of like an onion, the more we rehearsed, the more layers we would discover that related to the whole,” Hsieh said. “I was blessed to cast two very open and committed and talented multi-ethnic actors to star in it.”

Brilliant Traces kicks off the first of several winter initiatives by ReAct. “We also do our annual holiday storytime for kids at local bookstores to bring cheer to youth, and our staged play reading series kicks off later this month,” Hsieh said. “We are also in pre-production for our 2017 season which hopefully will kick off at 12th Avenue Arts with two Seattle Premieres performing in repertory rotation in March and April.”

‘Brilliant Traces’ runs from November 4 to December 4 at the Prima Vera Arts Center (112 Fifth Avenue North, Floor 2) in Seattle. For more information, visit www. reacttheatre.org.

14 — November 16, 2016 – December 6, 2016

Arts & Culture Asia Pacific Cultural Center 4851 So. Tacoma Way Tacoma, WA 98409 Ph: 253-383-3900 Fx: 253-292-1551 faalua@comcast.net www.asiapacificculturalcenter.org Bridging communities and generations through arts, culture, education and business.

Civil Rights & Advocacy Organization of Chinese Americans Asian Pacific American Advocates Greater Seattle Chapter P.O. Box 14141 Seattle, WA 98114

Housing Services

Education For more information: Ph: 206-767-8223 Email: info@deniselouie.org Website: www.deniselouie.org Offering home visiting services for children birth to 3 and full & part-day multicultural preschool education for ages 3 to 5 in the International District, Beacon Hill and Rainier Beach.

Professional & Leadership Development

Senior Services Legacy House

803 South Lane Street Seattle, WA 98104 ph: 206-292-5184 fx: 206-838-3057 info@legacyhouse.org www.scidpda.org/programs/legacyhouse.aspx Services offered: Assisted Living, Adult Day Services, meal programs for low-income seniors.

InterIm Community Development Association 310 Maynard Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104 Ph: 206-624-1802 Services: 601 S King St, Ph: 206-623-5132 Interimicda.org Multilingual community building: housing & parking, housing/ asset counseling, projects, teen leadership and gardening programs.

Kawabe Memorial House 221 18th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98144 ph: 206-322-4550 fx: 206-329-3330 connie.devaney@gmail.com We provide affordable, safe, culturally sensitive housing and support services to people aged 62 and older.

www.ocaseattle.org

OCA—Greater Seattle Chapter was formed in 1995 and since that time it has been serving the Greater Seattle Chinese and Asian Pacific American community as well as other communities in the Pacific Northwest. It is recognized in the local community for its advocacy of civil and voting rights as well as its sponsorship of community activities and events.

COMMUNITY RESOURCE DIRECTORY

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Seattle Chinatown/International District Preservation and Development Authority ph: 206-624-8929 fx: 206-467-6376 info@scidpda.org Housing, property management and community development.

Immigration Services Fearless Asians for Immigration Reforms (FAIR!) ph: 206-578-1255 Info@ItShouldBeFair.com www.ItShouldBeFair.com

Executive Development Institute 310 – 120th Ave NE. Suite A102 Bellevue, WA Ph. 425-467-9365 • Fax: 425-467-1244 Email: edi@ediorg.org • Website: www.ediorg.org EDI offers culturally relevant leadership development programs.

We make leadeRS Queen Anne Station, P.O. Box 19888, Seattle, WA 98109 info@naaapseattle.org, www.naaapseattle.org Fostering future leaders through education, networking and community services for Asian American professionals and entrepreneurs.

Facebook: NAAAP-Seattle Twitter: twitter.com/naaapseattle

Senior Services Horizon House

900 University St Seattle, WA 98101 ph: 206-382-3100 fx: 206-382-3213 marketinginfo@horizonhouse.org www.horizonhouse.org A welcoming community in downtown Seattle, offering seniors vibrant activities, independent or assisted living, and memory care.

Free and confidential support for undocumented Asians and Pacific Islanders. DACA screenings, financial assistance, legal help, scholarships, DACA renewals, and consultations for service providers. Benefits include: work permit, $$ for school, protection from deportation, driver’s license.

Southeast Seattle Senior Center 4655 S. Holly St., Seattle, WA 98118 ph: 206-722-0317 fax: 206-722-2768 kateh@seniorservices.org www.sessc.org Daytime activities center providing activities social services, trips, and community for seniors and South Seattle neighbors. We have weaving, Tai Chi, indoor beach-ball, yoga, dance, seniororiented computer classes, trips to the casino, and serve scratch cooked lunch. Open Monday through Friday, 8:30-4. Our thrift store next door is open Mon-Fri 10-2, Sat 10-4. This sweet center has services and fun for the health and well-being of boomers and beyond. Check us out on Facebook or our website.

Social & Health Services Asian Counseling & Referral Service

3639 Martin Luther King Jr. Way S, Seattle, WA 98144 ph: 206-695-7600 fx: 206-695-7606 events@acrs.org www.acrs.org ACRS offers multilingual, behavioral health and social services to Asian Pacific Americans and other lowincome people in King County.

601 S King St. Seattle, WA 98104 ph: 206-682-1668 website www.apicat.org Address tobacco control and other health justice issues in the Asian American/Pacific Islander communities.

Homelessness Services The Kin On Team is ready to serve YOU! www.kinon.org

2500 NE 54th Street Seattle, WA 98105 ph: 206-694-4500 info@youthcare.org www.youthcare.org

Working to prevent and end youth homelessness with services including meals, shelter, housing, job training, education, and more.

Homeownership Services HomeSight 5117 Rainier Ave S, Seattle, WA 98118 ph: 206-723-4355 fx: 206-760-4210 www.homesightwa.org NMLS#49289 HomeSight creates homeownership opportunities through first mortgage lending, down payment assistance, real estate development, homebuyer education, and counseling.

Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs GA Bldg., 210 11th Ave SW, Suite 301A Olympia, WA 98504 ph: (360) 725-5667 www.facebook.com/wacapaa capaa@capaa.wa.gov www.capaa.wa.gov Statewide liaison between government and APA communities.

Monitors and informs the public about legislative issues.

Washington New Americans Program OneAmerica 1225 S. Weller St., Suite 430 Seattle, WA 98144 Are you a lawful permanent resident? The Washington New Americans program can help you complete your application for U.S. citizenship. Low-cost and free services available – please call our hotline or visit www.wanewamericans.org.

Phone: 1-877-926-3924 Email: wna@weareoneamerica.org Website: www.wanewamericans.org

Cathay Post #186 of The American Legion Supporting veterans for over 70 years Accepting new members - contact us today to learn more!

P.O. Box 3281 Seattle, WA 98144-3281 Email: cathaypost@hotmail.com Phone: (206) 355-4422

Legal Services

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Public Interest Law Group, PLLC 705 Second Avenue, Suite 1000, Seattle WA 98104 Ph: 206-838-1800 Email: info@pilg.org www.pilg.org PILG attorneys Hank Balson, Wendy Chen, and Nancy Chupp provide information, advice, and representation in areas such as employment discrimination, unpaid wages, and other violations of workers’ rights.

1601 E Yesler Way, Seattle, WA 98122 ph: 206-323-7100 www.keironorthwest.org rehabilitation care | skilled nursing | assisted living | home care | senior day care | meal delivery | transportation | continuing education | catering services

Chinese Information & Service Center 611 S Lane St, Seattle, WA 98104 ph: 206-624-5633 fax: 206-624-5634 info@cisc-seattle.org www.cisc-seattle.org Creating opportunities for Asian immigrants and their families to succeed by helping them make the transition to a new life while keeping later generations in touch with their rich heritage.

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Social & Health Services

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Since 1935

Tai Tung Restaurant International District Medical & Dental Clinic 720 8th Avenue S, Seattle, WA 98114 ph: 206-788-3700 email: info@ichs.com website: www.ichs.com

Banquet Facilities - Catering - Delivery

Bellevue Medical & Dental Clinic 1050 140th Avenue NE, Bellevue, WA 98005 ph: 425-373-3000 Shoreline Medical & Dental Clinic 16549 Aurora Avenue N, Shoreline, WA 98133 ph: 206-533-2600 Holly Park Medical & Dental Clinic 3815 S Othello St, Seattle, WA 98118 ph: 206-788-3500 ICHS is a non-profit medical and dental center that provides health care to low income Asian, Pacific Islanders, immigrants and refugees in Washington State.

7301 Beacon Ave S Seattle, WA 98108 ph: 206-587-3735 fax: 206-748-0282 www.idicseniorcenter.org info@idicseniorcenter.org IDIC is a nonprofit human services organization that offers wellness and social service programs to Filipinos and API communities.

Transportation Services ph: 206-624-3426 transia@aol.com

Merchants Parking provides convenient and affordable community parking. Transia provides community transportation: para-transit services, shuttle services, and field trips in and out of Chinatown/International District, and South King County.

Come Enjoy the Oldest Chinese Restaurant in Town!

655 S King St, Seattle, WA 98104 (206) 622-7372 Mon-Thurs 11am-10:30pm Fri-Sat 11am-12am Sun 11am-10pm

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November 16, 2016 – December 6, 2016 — 15

16 — November 16, 2016 – December 6, 2016

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

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