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Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley, Dayton Refugee Oral Histories (SC-349)

 Collection
Identifier: SC-349

Scope and Contents

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.

Dates

  • Creation: 2019

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

There are no donor-imposed restrictions on accessing material in this collection. All electronic records (indicated by an e-number, e.g., sc349_e0002) listed in this finding aid are processed and available; however, researchers are requested to contact us at least two (2) days in advance to request electronic records. Archives staff reserve the right to restrict access to files with privacy or confidentiality concerns. Access to original electronic media (if any) is restricted.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright restrictions may apply. Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.

Biographical / Historical

The project was conducted by the resettlement agency, Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley, in collaboration with university students and refugees. The aim of the project was to archive stories that the community, local refugees, desired to preserve and access for years to come. At the time of the project, the Dayton area was home to a number of refugee populations, including Congolese, Iraqi, Afghan, Eritrean, Colombian, and Bhutanese. Hayley Green, an Americorps VISTA member, coordinated the project. The interviews were conducted by journalism students from Miami University of Ohio in October and November 2019, at the Dayton Metro Library Main Branch (215 E. Third Street, Dayton).

Extent

281 Megabytes

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

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.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in two series:

  1. Series I: Project Documentation, 2019
  2. Series II: Interviews and Transcripts, 2019

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Electronic files require the use of appropriate computer hardware and software. File formats in this collection include MP3, PDF, DOCX, and PPTX. (Note: All DOCX and PPTX files also have a PDF preservation copy.)

Other Finding Aids

The finding aid is available on the Special Collections & Archives, Wright State University Libraries web site at https://www.libraries.wright.edu/special/collectionguides/files/sc349.pdf. It is also available in the OhioLINK Finding Aid Repository at http://ead.ohiolink.edu/xtf-ead/.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The collection was donated to Special Collections and Archives, Wright State University Libraries, in May 2020, by Hayley Green, the project coordinator.

Related Materials

These oral histories are also available at Princeton University, as part of their Religion and Forced Migration Project, https://religionforcedmigration.princeton.edu/.

Processing Information

The transcriptions were provided by the donor. The original, unprocessed files, in original order (by file type), can be found in sc349_e0001; there is no restriction on this material. The processed files, arranged by interviewee name and including preservation format PDFs, can be found in sc349_e0002.

Title
Guide to the Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley, Dayton Refugee Oral Histories (SC-349)
Status
Completed
Author
Lisa Rickey
Date
2020 Sept 23
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Sponsor
The project was conducted by the resettlement agency, Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley, in collaboration with university students and refugees, as well as Americorps VISTA.

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Wright State University Libraries
Special Collections and Archives
3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy
Dayton OH 45435-0001 USA
937-775-2092