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Students envision lives of refugees

Exhibit » Photographs aim to help increase appreciation of the diverse experiences in Murray
school district.
By Jennifer W. Sanchez
The Salt Lake Tribune

Salt Lake Tribune

Upda te d:10/07/2009 08:11:09 P M MDT

When Glo Merrill started working for Murray City School District in 1989, only three percent of students were
minorities.
This school year, two decades later, minorities comprise 22 percent of the district's students; including some 18
high school refugee students from Pakistan, Bosnia, Sudan and other countries.
"Suddenly, we are a different community," said Merrill, the district's curriculum director. "Now, we have the world
in our schools."
In an effort to help with educating Murray students and residents about the new faces in the community, the
district this month is hosting the award-winning "Faces and Voices of Refugee Youth Exhibit" at Murray High School
Media Center.
The photography exhibit, on loan from the Salt Lake City-based Center for Documentary Arts, portrays aspects of
the history and culture of refugee children living here.
Each sixth- and ninth-grader is slated to visit the exhibit because it will be tied to their world history and geography
classes. The exhibit also will be opened for high school students and three public showings this month, Merrill said.
"We're hoping it impacts their life, and they're a little kinder to everyone," she said.
For years, students have been in classes with peers with similar backgrounds and belong to families who have
lived in Murray for generations, Merrill said.
As the number of minority students increases in Murray schools, it's important that students, educators and
residents learn more about where their new neighbors are coming from, their countries and cultures, she said.
It's also crucial such students feel welcome in Murray and that their history matters, Merrill said.
"We need to recognize and honor each individual for who they are," she said.
Merrill said she got the idea to bring the exhibit to Murray when she met photographer Kent Miles at an education
meeting.
The exhibit was the idea of Joyce Kelen, a former social worker in Salt Lake City schools, in 2000. (She is also
the wife of the center's Executive Director Leslie Kelen.) While in the schools, Joyce Kelen saw the challenges
refugee students faced and wanted to share their stories, Miles said.
Miles, who has been a photographer for 35 years, said he and Joyce Kelen worked on the project for two years.
He took the photos of the refugee children from Sudan, Cuba, Iraq and other countries; she interviewed them.
The exhibit debuted in February 2002 at Rose Park Elementary School in Salt Lake City.
Since then, the exhibit has travelled to some 75 schools and libraries statewide, Miles said.
Today, seven years after its premiere, Miles said the exhibit is still valuable for the community because not much
has changed worldwide. There are still ongoing wars and people being persecuted, forcing them to leave their homes
for a foreign land.
Then, they face the problems of adapting to a new city in a new country. The school system. Language barriers.
And so on.
"Those issues have not changed," Miles said. "Those conditions are still out there."
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11/24/2009 http://www.sltrib.com/portlet/article/ht…
Still, Miles said he hopes the exhibit sends the message to refugees and immigrants that they are a "valued part of
our community."
jsanchez@sltrib.com
If you go
What » Faces and Voices of Refugee Youth Exhibit
When » 6:30-8:30 p.m. Oct. 14; 2-4 p.m. Oct. 17; 6:30-8:30 p.m. Oct. 20
Where » Murray High School Media Center, 5440 S. State St., Murray
Cost » Free and open to the public.
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