EP 006: Spreading Awareness with Art, the Story of Refugee Nation

Art can bring people together and create healing and transformation out of the wreckage of war. We know what that is like first-hand through the incredible work of Ova Saopeng and Leilani Chan, co-founders of Teada productions.    Since 2005 collaborators Leilani Chan and Ova Saopeng have been collecting oral histories from Laotian families and community members across the country to create an interdisciplinary theater performance that explores the impact of war, refugees, global politics, and U.S. citizenship.  Through the collection of oral histories, the show reveals connections between American and Southeast Asian history and the unique challenges faced by political refugees and their American children.  It gives voice to the Laotian Diaspora—yet to be included in the American experience. Refugee Nation continues to grow with the certainty of new refugee arrivals coming from the Middle East, Africa, and Eastern Europe.   The question remains what can we learn from the wounds of a war 50 years ago that are still yet to be healed?    Find out by listening!