Reply #29: Seattleite seeks to help fellow immigrants cope with trauma back home

[pinboy3niner]

Originally published July 23, 2011 at 7:15 PM | Page modified July 23, 2011 at 7:16 PM

Amineh Ayyad, a Palestinian refugee herself, has created a unique program called Mothers Empowering Mothers to help immigrant women from the Middle East cope with worries about escalating violence in their home countries. Ayyad's program offered cooking and art classes as a way to help women form their own support system.


By Celina Kareiva
Special to The Seattle Times

...


After her 19-year-old nephew was shot dead during a protest in Tripoli earlier this year, Elmadani, her three children and her husband found their grief compounded by their distance.


"Every day we sit in front of the news and sometimes (we) can't do anything but sit and listen," she said.


Originally from Libya, Elmadani immigrated to Seattle in 1990 to join her husband. While she remained in close contact with relatives back home, she felt helpless in the wake of her nephew's death.


"It was the first time in my life I'd seen my kids crying, crying so hard until ... I felt very scared for them," Elmadani said.

...


In response to that stress and uncertainty, Amineh Ayyad began offering a six-session program of cooking and art classes to help women like Elmadani talk about their emotions in a supportive setting.


Ayyad moved to the United States in 1991 and considers herself an advocate for refugees and immigrants in the area. Her experience and interest in public health led her to create Adapt International, an organization that works to attain peace through psychosocial healing. Her support group for Middle Eastern and North African women is just one facet of this mission.

...


http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2015710392_immigranttrauma24m.html