Migrant Comics Project In The News
Addison Independent staff writer, Charmaine Lam, recently profiled the work of the Migrant Comics Project, a partnership between the Open Door Clinic, the University of Vermont Extension Service, the Comics Workshop, the UVM Department of Anthropology, and the Vermont Folklife Center.
Read the complete article / Comic Books Illustrate Migrant Worker's Lives
Jose, a comic character from the project, by Marek Bennett.
Excerpt from the article.
“Imagine that your family is living in poverty. However hard you work, there just isn’t enough money to make a difference. The only way to make enough money is to leave. You have to leave behind everything you have ever known — your family, your language, your country, even your favorite foods. You don’t know exactly where you’re headed or how long it is until you can return, only that your leaving means money and a better future for your family.
This is the reality for migrant workers residing in Vermont.
Now Open Door Clinic outreach nurse Julia Doucet and other staff members at the Middlebury clinic — which provides healthcare for uninsured or under-insured patients and works with many migrant workers — believe comic books that address migrant workers’ issues can help them adjust more easily to life in Vermont.
“My goal for this project is to make someone feel slightly better and less alone,” she said, “to make them feel like there is a supportive community of people who can understand and hold their experience for them, to share their burden.””