Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley, Dayton Refugee Oral Histories (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
- Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley (Organization)
- Kohina, Burzin (Person)
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 Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright.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:
- Series I: Project Documentation, 2019
- 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.
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.
donor
- Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley (Organization)
Subject
- Al-Hamdani, Mohamed, 1981- (Person)
- Bonanni, Bridget (Person)
- Gafishi, Augustin, 1990- (Person)
- Gigante, Peyton (Person)
- Headley, Duard (Person)
- Keck, Patrick (Person)
- Mbonigaba, Rumenge (Person)
- Murdock, Chloe (Person)
- Omot, Okway, 1985- (Person)
- Ramadhan, Ndayisaba (Person)
- Sifa, Jeanne (Person)
- 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
Wright State University Libraries
Special Collections and Archives
3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy
Dayton OH 45435-0001 USA
937-775-2092
library-archives@wright.edu
