Colombik, Roger

Roger Colombik
Wimberley, TX

Bronze, steel

In 2015-16 my wife (Jerolyn Bahm-Colombik) and I began a project in collaboration with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and the The Grace Museum in Abilene. Starting in 2004, the IRC has assisted nearly one thousand refugees and asylees have resettled in Abilene, discovering a welcome and safe environment to rebuild their lives. The majority of people arrive from Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Bhutan, Iraq and Cuba. Most have suffered under varying conditions of extreme poverty, cultural isolation and government-sanctioned violence. In contrast, Abilene is serving as a genuine refuge, where a future of possibilities is now at hand. During the time of our socially engaged work, the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott and the Attorney General, Ken Paxton attempted to close off the state to refugees fleeing the violence in Syria. The IRC fought the restrictions in court and a Federal District Court rejected Texas's attempt to halt the resettlement of the refugees. To those who believe in walls, who deny the simple grace of kindness to those in need, who deny the significant contributions that refugees make to our communities, well, I leave off with the words of Dieudonne Nkunzimana, a 32 year-old father of four who arrived hear from Burundi where his family fled the violence in Congo.