HANAC Times: March 2010

Friday, March 26, 2010

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

200,000 People, 1 Message

March 21, 2010-

A sea of people gathered in the Congressional Mall as they chanted "fix our broken Immigration system." People from across the country, of different races and generations were united to deliver the message to our government.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

St. Patrick's Day Recipe- Colcannon

Colcannon

4 cups mashed potatoes (Real Irish spuds only please)
1½ cups cabbage, cooked and chopped fine
½ cup butter (real butter is best)
½ evaporated milk or cream
¾ cup onion, chopped very fine
Few strips bacon/or bacon grease
¼ teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
A thimble
A button
A ring
A coin (make sure you clean this well)

In large cooking pan, fry bacon, add onion and saute'. Discard bacon and grease. Add all of the above ingredients, except the cabbage and play pretties, and cook over low heat while blending together. Turn the heat to medium and add the chopped cabbage. The mixture will have a pale green cast. Stir occasionally until the mixture is warm enough to eat. Put in the pretties and eat very cautiously.

Serves about 6 healthy eaters.

St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day is a yearly holiday celebrated on 17 March. It is named after Saint Patrick the most commonly recognized of the patron saints of Ireland. It began as a purely Christian holiday and became an official feast day in the early 1600s. However, it has gradually become more of a secular celebration of Ireland's culture.
Green ribbons and shamrocks were worn in celebration of St Patrick's Day as early as the 17th century. He is said to have used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pre-Christian Irish, and the wearing and display of shamrocks and shamrock-inspired designs have become a ubiquitous feature of the day.

New York's first Saint Patrick's Day Parade was held on 17 March 1762 by Irish soldiers in the British Army. The first celebration of Saint Patrick's Day in New York City was held at the Crown and Thistle Tavern in 1766, the parades were held as political and social statements because the Irish immigrants were being treated unfairly. In 1780, General George Washington, who commanded soldiers of Irish descent in the Continental Army, allowed his troops a holiday on 17 March “as an act of solidarity with the Irish in their fight for independence." This event became known as The St. Patrick's Day Encampment of 1780.
Irish patriotism in New York City continued to soar and the parade in New York City continued to grow. Irish aid societies were created like Friendly Sons of St. Patrick and the Hibernian Society and they marched in the parades too. Finally when many of these aid societies joined forces in 1848 the parade became not only the largest parade in the United States but one of the largest in the world.

Retrieved from 3/16/10 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick's_Day

Friday, March 12, 2010

MARCH FOR IMMIGRANT RIGHTS

People from all across the country will gather in Washington DC on March 21st to march for a fair immigration reform. If you are interested in participating there will be free buses leaving from Queens on Sunday, March 21 at 5:30 am from 40-97 97th St. Corona, NY 11368. If you need more information see Rosa.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

http://reformimmigrationforamerica.org/blog/why-march/

International Women's Month

International Women's Month is celebrated widely across the world. March 8th marks the beginning of this important month which has observed since the 1900's. All over the world women are recognized for their many past, present and future contributions and achievements.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Up coming Workshops at HANAC

March 2- PS 19
Knowing your Rights and Responsibilities as Parents
6:30pm-7:30pm

March 4- George Douris Towers
Census Informational Session
6:30pm-6:45pm

March 9- George Douris Towers
Understanding the Laws on How to Discipline your Children
6:30pm-7:30pm

March 10- PS 19
Census Informational Session
6:30pm-6:45pm

March 17- IS 204
Census Informational Session
6:30pm-6:45pm

March's Quote of the Month

"Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it or walk around it."

Michael Jordan

HELP HOTLINES

Adult Protective Services 718-883-8254
AIDS hotline (212)447-8200
Alcoholics Anonymous (718)520-5021
Child Abuse Hotline (1800)342-3720
Domestic Violence (1800) 621-4673
Food Stamps (877)472-8411
Gays and Lesbian Community Services (212) 620-7310
Hunger Hotline(1-866)888-8777
Immigration Hotline(718) 899-4000
Legal Aid Society (718) 286-2450
Legal Services for the elderly (718)286-1500
Medicaid (877)472-8411
MTA schedules (212)878-2000
NYC 311
Planned Parenthood (212)274-7200
Police 911 Local Precinct 114 (718) 626-9311
Public Advocate(212)669-7200
Youth Line Hotline (1800) 246-4646

Where do we come from?

Information obtained from the Queens Tribune
South Asians:
According to the 2000 Census there are about 109,114 South Asians living in Queens. In camparison to other ethnic groups South Asians have settled in different parts of Queens, such as Flushing, Elmhurst, Richmond Hill, Jackson Heights, Bayside, Jamaica, Jamaica Estates. However 74th St in Jackson Heights has become a center of South Asian Queens Commerce.

South Asians came in th 1960's. Most were professionals who were fluent in English. A second wave of immigrants came in the 1980's from different classes and status.
South Asian immigrants come from India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Education, Religion and Family are three important factors in the Indian culture.

The Latinos:

Latinos are an indispensable part of the borough, totaling 551,004 in Queens, according to 2000 Census figures. The four main groups within the Latino community are Mexicans, Dominicans, Ecuadorians and Colombians. There are 69,875 Dominicans; 60,298 Colombians; 57,716 Ecuadorians and 55,418 Mexicans. Each of those numbers is roughly the size of the population of Southampton, Long Island (55,000).

Different groups of Latinos are dotted throughout Queens. They hold strong ties to family, country and language. In most Latino communities, residents are very comfortable speaking among each other in their native tongue. Many Dominicans have settled in Corona and Woodside. Colombians are very easy to find in the Jackson Heights area, specifically down Roosevelt Avenue. The number of Mexicans in Queens has soared since 2000; the folks from south of the Rio Grande settle in places like Jackson Heights and Corona.

Latino immigrants are often drawn to Queens because they can get jobs easily-and because they’re turned off by high rent prices in Manhattan. The economic downturn suffered by Mexico and Colombia in the 1980s and early ‘90s lured many to the US seeking work. Colombia’s civil war, also in the ‘80s, was another big reason for migration.

Latinos in Queens are still very much in touch with homeland cultures. Just like many minorities working hard to become Americanized and gain acceptance in their communities, Latinos are becoming stronger by the year within Queens.

The Russians and the Eastern Europeans:

In the 2000 Census, 51,192 Queens residents identified themselves as being of Russian ancestry, 10,306 Ukrainian, and 4,164 people claimed Lithuanian. (Earlier censuses lumped all different Soviet republics under the heading of “Russian.”) Sections of Forest Hills and Rego Park and, to a lesser extent, Kew Gardens and the Rockaways, have evolved into mini-Moscows, with Russian language filling the air, and Cyrillic lettering widely visible on the streets. Bukharan Jews, an offshoot of Middle Eastern and Persian Jewry dating from the 6th Century A.D., consider themselves socially and culturally different from the other East European Jewish sects. During the 1990s, approximately 30,000 Bukharan Jews found homes in the area of Rego Park, Forest Hills, and Kew Gardens. Today, many Bukharan shops and synagogues—most bearing Cyrillic lettering—court residents along the length of 108th St., providing a taste of Uzbek culture to all area residents.Vast migration to the United States began in the late nineteenth century, but Russian culture began to emerge in Western Queens throughout the early 20th century. Socialist Revolutionary Leon Trotsky even spoke several times at Urban Hall in 1917, in the area then known as Winfield. Although the number of Russian immigrants in Queens increased throughout the 20th century, the explosion of Russian and former-Soviet immigration to the borough did not truly begin until the early 1970s, when hundreds of thousands of Jews fleeing Communist oppression made the borough their home.It’s important to note that all immigrants from the former Soviet Union can’t necessarily be called Russian. Many hail from other former Soviet republics, including Uzbekistan, Lithuania, Georgia, and Ukraine. Collectively, these Soviet émigrés have loaned a distinct and memorable presence to the streets of Queens.

The Greeks:
159, 876 Queensites identified themselves as being of Greek ancestry in the 2000 Census. About 30,000 Greeks live in the Astoria area. Many children of Greek parents who settled there in the 1960s have chosen to move to Whitestone, Bayside and other Eastern Queens communities. A close-knit familial community, they come home to Astoria for holidays and celebrations to stay in touch with the largest Greek community outside Athens. (Also, the area’s cultural and educational opportunities often encourage the twenty-something group to come back home.)The history of Queens’ Little Athens began in 1927, with 16 newly settled Greek immigrant families.There are now more than two dozen Greek Orthodox Churches in Queens, helping to preserve the rich culture and history of Greece for everyone living in Queens.“The Astoria Greek community is a classic New York story,” Gianaris (Michael Gianaris-1st Greek American to be elected for public office) said. “It is a story of immigrants coming to this country, working hard and making a better life for their children than they had themselves.”

http://www.queenstribune.com/guides/2005_PatchworkOfCultures/index.htm