Omot, Okway, from Ethiopia, interviewed by Patrick Keck, 2019 Oct. 25

The collection documents the stories of six (6) local Dayton area refugees who originated from Congo, Iraq, Burundi, and Ethiopia. It contains audio oral histories, transcripts, and project documentation. The interviewees describe their lives and social conditions in their homelands, the circumstances which caused them to leave, life in the refugee camps, how they came to the United States, and what their lives here have been like. Specific conflicts discussed include the civil war in Congo and Rwanda (mid-1990s), the Persian Gulf War (1991) and the later U.S.-Iraqi conflicts in early 2000s, and discrimination (both in their homelands and in the United States). Other common topics include the roles of the United Nations and Catholic Social Services in assisting refugees, as well as the interviewees’ school experiences in the Dayton area (including Wright State University, Sinclair Community College, and Dayton Public Schools).

Series I: Project Documentation, includes administrative materials, such as background information about the project (DOCX, PPTX, and PDF) and release forms (PDF) for all interviewees and interviewers. Materials in this series are dated 2019.

Series II: Interviews and Transcripts, contains the actual audio oral history files (MP3), as well as transcripts (DOCX and PDF). All interviews were conducted in October and November 2019.