Bob Marley tunes and the scent of fresh popcorn wafted through Durham Central Park on Saturday in celebration of the city’s sixth annual Refugee Day.
The event came as a moment of levity and solidarity amidst recent threats to the refugee community.
Since President Trump signed an executive order in January freezing the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, refugee arrivals in Durham have come to a halt. On June 9, Trump instituted a new travel ban, targeting nationals from 12 countries including those with humanitarian crises such as Afghanistan, Sudan and Myanmar, creating an added obstacle to entry. Stepped-up deportation efforts have also created anxiety among foreign nationals, and the budget bill under consideration in the Senate would divert billions in federal funding toward immigration detention and deportation.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty and a lot of fear all around the community,” said Church World Service representative Sina Naseri. Durham Church World Service hosted Saturday’s festivities alongside World Relief, the city and county governments and other community partners.
Refugee aid agencies across the country have been forced to cut resettlement staff and programs, stranding refugees previously approved for entry, said World Relief Executive Director Adam Clark. At World Relief alone, the organization had to cancel flights for 58 people who had already been vetted for years by the U.S. State Department.
“Those 58 individuals had their travel canceled immediately, alongside thousands of other people across the country,” said Clark.
Church World Service and other groups filed suit in February challenging Trump’s refugee ban and related funding cuts, Naseri said. Though a ruling in the case has granted resettlement for a small number of Afghan special visa holders and other exceptions, U.S. borders are still indefinitely closed to most asylum seekers.
“In theory, things have opened up, but in practice, nothing really has changed,” Naseri said. Despite being unable to receive new arrivals, Church World Service continues to offer assistance to refugees who have already arrived in Durham, such as employment placement and legal aid. However, federal cuts have also reduced funding to refugee programs, Clark noted.
Since 2009, Church World Service has welcomed 3,371 new refugees to Durham. In addition to helping newcomers apply for citizenship and petition for family reunification, Church World Service assists with resume building, job placement and assimilation to workplace culture. For those hoping to return to previous career fields, the agency provides financial support and mentorship to help navigate re-credentialing, licensing, and vocational training.
Mezhgan Zahir, who fled the Taliban in Afghanistan, says Church World Service helped her regain professional status. Zahir returned to Durham Refugee Day this year as a vendor, selling garments from her Afghan clothing brand, Hena Fashion, which she operates alongside her job as a doctor. Upon arriving in Durham in 2023, Zahir worked at a grocery store while she pursued medical relicensing. She has since moved to Virginia where she practices medicine at Medstar Georgetown University Hospital.
At her booth, Zahir chats with another woman in a hijab between two colorful racks of ornately embroidered dresses.
“When I came here, I saw a lot of clothing, but there was not any Afghan clothing. That’s why I was interested to start a business, especially to prove it for students, young people,” Zahir said proudly. “They’re like thinking that women can’t do anything. I proved that I can start my business.”
Despite her success and secure employment in America, Zahir still fears for her status amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
“Even the people that they have citizenship, they are not feeling safe…I have a green card, even sometimes I didn’t,” she said.
Clark says that lately, refugees often tell him they’re afraid of being approached by ICE. “For refugees, they’re lawfully present, and they’re still afraid of this, not only because they want to make sure that they have the correct documents on them, but they’re also afraid, after watching the news, that it really won’t matter what they have on them, they might still be taken anyway,” he said.
City-County Immigrant & Refugee Affairs Coordinator Koukou Nayo says fewer refugees attended the event this year. Still, hundreds gathered to celebrate and support them.
Under the pavilion, vendors boasted South Asian clothing, Caribbean spices, and Ghanaian-inspired jewelry while kids lined up for face paint and scampered around on the lawn. Attendees gathered to listen to dub Addis and Batala Durham’s spirited reggae, keep beat with Suah African Dance Theater’s lively drums, and join Latin dance group Takiri Folclor in twirling around to the beat of Colombian Bambuco, an Andean style of folk music blending indigenous, African and European influences.
Before introducing Takiri Folclor’s performance, City Council Member Javiera Caballero took the stage to proclaim Durham Refugee Day 2025.
“We will always be a welcoming city and county,” she told the crowd. “Your elected officials now, your elected officials previously, and your elected officials to come will always stand with immigrants and refugees because that’s how we do it in Durham.”
Above: Latin dance group Takiri Folclor performing in Columbian Bambuco skirts. Photo by Marin Yearley — The 9th Street Journal
