IINE celebrates women refugees on International Women’s Day

In no particular order: Haitian dancers Bobline Moliere, Witeline Janvier, Dalila Lucien, Witlande Janvier, Clauderline Larose, and Rudi Caelle Barthelemy perform a dance during the International Institute of New England’s International Women’s Day event in the Lowell Community Health Center March 8, 2024. The IINE highlighted and celebrated the journeys and work of women who came to the area as refugees from their home countries. (Peter Currier/Lowell Sun)

LOWELL — Dozens packed into the sixth floor of the Lowell Community Health Center Friday afternoon for an International Institute of New England event honoring the cultures and achievements of refugee women and girls on International Women’s Day.

The IINE is a nonprofit organization that offers services to refugees and immigrants arriving in the U.S. by helping them get on their feet and begin acclimating into their new country.

“Resettlement can be particularly challenging for the refugee and immigrant women we serve because they often have higher language, socioeconomic and cultural barriers to accessing education, employment and health care,” said IINE Senior Vice President and Chief Advancement Officer Alexandra Weber.

In the last year, Weber said the IINE has developed and funded new programming to better support refugee women and girls, including things like swimming lessons, cooking groups, family language groups, supporting women’s health and hygiene care access, and programming meant to address and prevent violence against women.

The event featured several cultural showcases with a particular emphasis on Haitian culture, where the overall situation is rapidly deteriorating, adding to the refugee crisis from the country. Saxophone player Carlyne Louine performed a rendition of the Haitian national anthem, IINE Office Administrator Guerdrose Diuelane recited a poem in Haitian Creole about women knowing their true worth, and a group of Haitian dancers performed to Haitian music.

IINE Lead Case Specialist Pierre Julnor Laurent, himself a refugee from Haiti, spoke briefly about his journey to the U.S., and the woman who would support him as he acclimated to a new life. Laurent was the coordinator of infectious diseases in Haiti, but found himself having to completely start over when he made it to the U.S. as a refugee.

“Today I want to recognize and thank the woman who supported me along this journey and believed in me,” said Laurent, referring to English as a Second Language Manager Sherry Spaulding. “I know I am not the only one in this room who she has positively impacted and supported. Today I want to recognize her as my female role model.”

One of the highlights of the event was Aqila Mohmand, who arrived in the U.S. in August 2021, escaping Afghanistan during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal as the Taliban retook control of the country, and women’s rights there immediately were on a backslide. Mohmand aspires to become a doctor, and while her studies were interrupted by having to flee her home country, she continues her work now in Lowell.

“Women are the most beautiful creation in the world,” Mohmand said to loud applause. “For me, International Women’s Day is promoting the idea that women represent an essential and significant portion of the world. It is kind of a reminder to us to take care of ourselves, acknowledge and highlight our accomplishments, and be attentive of our values.”

Mohmand said she has friends she still communicates with from back in her home country, and they tell her how lucky she is that she has the opportunity to continue her education without being under the thumb of the Taliban.

“But they are incredibly strong, they believe in themselves, and always they are very hopeful, and they are very faithful,” said Mohmand.

The desire for education can be powerful, and Mohmand said that even if they are barred by the Taliban from going to school, her friends still find ways to study in private, even through online classes.

Mohmand made sure to thank the work of the IINE in acclimating her to the U.S.. When she arrived, she said she did not know a word of English, but more than two years later she is able to give a full speech in the language.

“I was in medical school back home, and now it is the International Institute that gave me the opportunity to continue preparing for that dream,” said Mohmand, who now works in the Lowell Community Health Center. “I am not a doctor here, but I will try to become a doctor here.”

After the event, Weber said the IINE, which was founded in 1918 in Lowell, has seen a dramatic increase in the number of refugees and immigrants in the last three years between the situation in Afghanistan, the war in Ukraine and the situation in Haiti.

“In 2021 we served 4,000 people with 60 staff, this year we are serving 20,000 with 250 staff,” said Weber. “In the last several years our services have gone from mostly welcoming and deep integration services to shifting to the most basic services, because now when people are coming here they don’t have enough food or a place to sleep, or health care.”