BY KAREN BOSSICK
Bahati in Swahili means “lucky.”
And that, seemingly, was the case with Bahati Sudjonga. He came to Boise in February, slated to be one of the last refugees to arrive in the United States after President Trump issued an executive order suspending refugee settlement for four months.
The order also suspended the entrance of Syrian refugees indefinitely and barred travel for refugees and immigrants arriving from seven predominately Muslim countries.
A photograph taken of Bahati six months later shows a changed young man—enrolled at Borah High School, beaming and visibly changed by his new life in Boise.
This photo and others are part of new photo exhibit titled “The Lucky Ones: A Visual Story of Idaho enriched by Refugees Arriving in Uncertain Times” at the Sun Valley Museum of History, First and Washington streets in Ketchum.
The exhibit, shot by Boise photographer Madeline Scott, chronicles the arrival of refugees to Boise between February and April of 2017 and their subsequent integration into daily life.
It will run today through Dec. 9. An opening reception will take place from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20, with some of the people featured in the exhibit in attendance.
In addition, Jennifer Sime, a senior vice president at the International Rescue Committee in Boise, will make a presentation on “Humanitarian Efforts in Uncertain Times” at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, at The Community Library in Ketchum.
The presentation will look at the contingency planning that took place at her organization leading up to and after the inauguration of President Trump. The organization launched new creative programs after refugee admissions plummeted, distinguishing it among providers for U.S. refugees.
Sime will also look at how her organization chose to chart a bolder advocacy path in a new political climate. And she will examine what it’s like to operate under the current presidential administration compared with other administrations.
The International Rescue committee is partnering with the Community Library on both the exhibit and the lecture. The program is presented with support from the Idaho Commission on the Arts and reveals powerful human emotions as it focuses on the beauty and humanity of the individuals and their families.
The photos become all the more poignant when you consider that each person shown almost didn’t make it into the country.