CHICAGO — As a timely first edition to her 2017 Advocacy and Engagement Series, state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, hosted a Syrian Refugee Forum alongside state Reps. Sara Feigenholtz, D-Chicago, and Ann Williams, D-Chicago, on Monday evening at Concordia Place.
“Since he stepped into office less than two weeks ago, Donald Trump has wasted no time enacting policies that are utter attacks on minority communities and progressive values,” Cassidy said. “So many people in our community are terrified of what might happen to themselves and their loved ones during this administration. We need to continue the conversation about what matters to us and prove that fear cannot divide us.”
Local community organizations Refugee ONE, Syrian American Voice Empowerment, and Syrian Community Network collaborated to lead the discussion at the forum.
“What those folks who were incredibly different had in common is the belief that when they got here, it would never happen again,” Cassidy said, discussing her own family’s story of immigration. “I can’t imagine what my dad’s feelings would be if he were alive and watching this … Never again is now. It depends on all of us to make sure those words have meaning.”