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Ten Cultures, Twenty Lives: Refugee Life Stories Paperback – November 21, 2017

by Daina Jurika-Owen (Author)

4.3 18 ratings

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We often don't realize all it takes for refugees to navigate the path to resettlement. They face years of waiting and countless hurdles before arriving in a strange new land with few possessions and little knowledge of their new communities' language and culture.

How did a diverse group of refugees make their way to the US and settle in Abilene, Texas? Who helped them through the resettlement process as they embarked on their new lives?

In Ten Cultures, Twenty Lives, refugee storytellers from a broad swath of cultures—Rwanda, Congo, Liberia, Cuba, Iraq, Bhutan, and more—reveal their compelling, sometimes humorous, often bittersweet tales of resettlement in West Texas. Through their life stories, refugees share their powerful experiences about the long, hard road they took to get to the US.

Ten Cultures, Twenty Lives guides us through their journeys and draws us into the world of refugees and resettlement staff, describing the passion and energy needed to help these courageous storytellers resettle in the US and the challenges they faced.

Print length

320 pages
Language

English
Publication date

November 21, 2017
Dimensions

5.5 x 0.8 x 8.5 inches
ISBN-10

0999398105
ISBN-13

978-0999398104
See all details

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Ten Cultures, Twenty Lives: Refugee Life Stories" by Daina Jurika-Owen happens to be one of the most informative inside looks at the resettlement of refugees and the agencies that work to help them. Too many times I have read books about this topic that is often slanted toward to goal of the individual or organization, but not so with this read.

Many of the books I've read previously discuss briefly refugees leaving their country and magically finding wonderful, fully loaded housing and jobs, however, they didn't go into details Jurika-Owen did about how the refugee council helped these individuals get to that point and trust me, it doesn't happen overnight.
I highly recommend "Ten Cultures, Twenty Lives: Refugee Life Stories" by Daina Jurika-Owen to anyone who wants to know the what, when and where of resettling refugees without a biased opinion.
By Carol Hoyer for Reader Views (07/18)

Ten Cultures, Twenty Lives: Refugee Life Stories by Daina Jurika-Owen is a powerful book that explores a socio-political phenomenon -- the refugee problem. In this spellbinding, eye-opening book, the author shares the lives of refugees who, after numerous tribulations and gruesome experiences, arrive in the US and settle in Abilene, Texas.

Daina Jurika-Owen does a wonderful job in bringing these stories -- both heartbreaking and inspiring -- to readers. This is a book about courage, about the dreams of millions of people fleeing their countries, but it is also a book about the long road to freedom these people have had to travel. I couldn't help thinking about a powerful video documentary as I turned from one page to the next, encountering the characters and their tenacity and grit as I read through Ten Cultures, Twenty Lives: Refugee Life Stories.
By Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite

Ten Cultures, Twenty Lives: Refugee Life Stories by Daina Jurika-Owen, PhD, is a collection of reminiscences by refugees who settled in Abilene, Texas during the period between 2003 and 2012, when the author worked in a resettlement agency in the city. In addition to the stories, in which the storytellers recount the events which led to their gaining refugee status, their coming to America, and their experiences with adapting to life in Abilene, Dr. Jurika-Owen provides extensive commentary on the refugee experience and the resettlement process.
I found Ten Cultures, Twenty Lives to be enlightening. No matter your position on the political questions involved, you cannot but be affected by what you read here. Each story is told in its own voice and each storyteller's experience and struggles are unique. Understandably, tragedy and suffering abound; but there are also triumphs, victories, hope, and even humor. Dr. Jurika-Owen a writes clean, crisp, and fully detailed narrative, providing sometimes humorous and always thoughtful insight. This book would be of great value if it contained only the stories, but the insight into the challenges and logistics of resettlement are invaluable. A fascinating read. Highly recommended.
By Kimberlee J Benart for Readers' Favorite

About the Author

Daina Jurika-Owen PhD is a former refugee resettlement professional and an academically trained folklorist. Originally from Riga, Latvia, Dr. Jurika-Owen lives in Abilene, Texas, and is a freelance writer and translator.
Her "Ten Cultures, Twenty Lives: Refugee Life Stories" was just recognized with a silver medal in 2018 Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY Awards), in category of Current Events-II (social issues/humanitarian).

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Amaya Books (November 21, 2017)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0999398105
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0999398104
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.06 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,926,510 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3,664 in Emigration & Immigration Studies (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.3 18 ratings

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Daina Jurika-Owen

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Daina Jurika-Owen, Ph.D., is a former refugee resettlement professional and an academically trained folklorist. Originally from Riga, Latvia, she currently lives in Abilene, Texas and is a freelance writer, translator and refugee advocate.

Her "Ten Cultures, Twenty Lives: Refugee Life Stories" was recently recognized with a silver medal in 2018 Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY Awards), in category of Current Events-II (social issues/humanitarian) and with a bronze medal in Readers' Favorites Book Awards, in category of Non-fiction/Cultural.

Her previous book published in Latvia, "Amerikas 'salātu trauks'" (Salad Bowl of America: Cultural Cookbook), introduces different cultural regions of the U.S. through foodways. She is the author of several scholarly publications about folklore, culture, and proverbs.

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Amy

Authentic tales from refugees

Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2018

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Refugee stories are often dramatized to serve someone else's purpose--to persuade us to take action, to assist, to reject. In Ten Cultures, Twenty Lives, Daina Jurika-Owen seeks to inform the reader not only about the always-trying lives of twenty people who have fled danger in their homelands in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the Middle East, but also about the process of successful resettlement by dedicated workers from the International Rescue Committee.
My interest in the book was that one of the storytellers was a former student of mine. I knew little about the backgrounds of my refugee students; I hesitated to ask. Juries-Owen's Ten Cultures would have been a helpful resource. The value of this collection is its authenticity. As each storyteller related his or her story to Jurika-Owen, she made verbatim notes or recordings. What the reader hears is the voice of the refugee.
From the refugees' point of view "they just start living when the come to the United States. Looking behind the scenes, we see that the 'invisible' agency staff person facilitated the relatively smooth transition. As I read, I thought, not only teachers in schools that take in refugee students need this book. Anyone who is, or who wants to become, a social worker or missionary, a minister or politician, a fellow worker or fellow student will be glad to know the stories of their new neighbors and friends, but are hesitant to ask.

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Jonathan Eaton

Grit above Gold

Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2018

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Ten Cultures, Twenty Lives is a book for our times. A person would have to have a mind of mud to read this book and not think about the attitudes and policies of the Trump administration regarding immigrants and refugees, especially those coming from what Trump referred to as sh*thole countries.

I wish all Americans could read Herman Kalinijabo's story about the Rwandan genocide, and reflect for a moment on how a certain kind of politician, with the help of sycophantic media voices, willfully manipulates a population into such a frenzy of hatred that they murder their friends and neighbors. We think it can't happen here—but are we so certain of it that we feel comfortable allowing voices of hatred to go unchallenged?

Another thing a reader of this book might reflect on is the idea of "merit based" immigration. Even if we throw kindness and decency out the window, and dismiss the victims of war and genocide in other countries as not our problem, should we accept the premise that we can judge the merit of another human being based solely on an estimate of what they can contribute to this year's GDP? It is said that what doesn't kill us makes us stronger. If you believe that there is merit in personal strengths such as persistence and determination, maybe you should consider bringing in people who have been through hell. Isn't America the place where grit is valued above gold?

So (deep breath) enough politics. The refugee's stories, were, of course, the gems of the book—everything else was setting, and that is how it should be. In fact, my one complaint with this book was the quantity of explanatory and introductory material—something like the first thirty-five pages of the book was a kind of introduction. The refugee’s stories stand on their own very well, and for that reason, the long introduction added little that was necessary, and in not adding much, detracted overall. My feeling is that Daina Jurika-Owen’s academic background made it difficult for her to leave the lion’s share of dots for the reader to connect, as they should be (I think) in a book like this.

The stories themselves reveal a fascinating contrast between the best and worst human beings have to offer. Imagine two people who have lived in the same country and the same neighborhood all their lives, and seem to have everything in common with each other—and then one of those people tries to murder the other based on that person’s last name. Imagine a refugee from Africa finding acceptance and a home in a place as different culturally as Abilene, Texas—and imagine how much good can come from that experience, for everyone involved.

This is a book that will give readers ideas. For example, wouldn't some of these stories be a great starting point for a middle school or high school discussion in a social studies class?

One person found this helpful

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Claudine

Easy to ready

Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2018

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Easy to ready, and very informative book.I would recommend it to anybody whok has an open mind, who want to learn about immigrants' journey and life.

Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2017

Verified Purchase

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Great book!!

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RM

A timely book

Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2018

“The second best thing was that I really learned to live in misery. I learned what it was to be a brother to someone you did not know, to share with others, and how to handle life in tough situations…I can easily put myself in somebody else’s shoes and understand another person’s suffering. I really understand it, and I would not ignore anyone who needs help.”

Patrick was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but is Burundian by nationality. He was one of many impressive personalities in Daina Juika-Owen’s chronicle of a thirteen-year career within a refugee resettlement agency in Abilene, Texas. Patrick gives us one of twenty stories that tear at you in one moment and delight you in the next.

With daily news briefs about immigration and refugees, the timeliness of this book is ideal. And who better to take this on than a Latvian citizen who immigrated to the US herself in 2003. Make no mistake. Jurika-Owen writes with a smooth and near flawless style that is honest and reader-friendly.

She begins by admitting that, like many of us, she had vague notions about the obscure locations featured in the book. Particularly, a huge continent which is, in truth, a collection of countries, cultures, and societies and not simply “one big Africa.” It was the refugees, themselves, who offered her a real-world education that she now eagerly shares with us.

She calls them the storytellers. A short but necessary history and geography lesson of a given culture and location leads into several stories of survival from that area and eventual resettlement in the United States. Most of the interviews were not recorded by request, and Jurika-Owen needed to work from extensive notes. I’ve done enough interviewing to know how difficult this would be, and her work is to be admired.

I think most of us would be astonished by the circumstances that led these refugees to our shores. In virtually every case, the individual was a child or teenager when war came into their lives. Violence threatened families, and several massacres, including the most prominent in Rwanda, are briefly recounted. In one story, a young boy is wounded while sleeping, and his pregnant mother bravely shepherds her family away from the village as gunfire continues. She herself is hit…in the stomach. Somehow she continues, and mother, family, and baby survive.

Contrast this with Patrick’s first attempt at ordering a Number Four at a McDonald’s, speaking only broken English. Patrick was my favorite of the storytellers, sounding like he was doing stand-up as he took us through this comedic episode .

Courage, work ethic, and dedication to education was a theme throughout these interviews, unlike the depiction that is commonly disseminated in print and on radio. These are people looking for a new life and wanting to contribute, people eager to learn English and become part of a community.

The book is in color, handsomely designed, and well adapted to Kindle. Maps and excellent profile photos bring the storytellers to life.

Jurika-Owen has done the yeowoman’s work with interviews, research, and her considerable personal contributions to the refugees she writes about.

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