SecondChancesLA |
SECOND CHANCES LA
(2016)
Southern California is the number one destination in the U.S. for people escaping torture, persecution, and government-sponsored violence. The Program for Torture Victims in Los Angeles has been providing free medical, psychological, and other services to survivors for over 34 years - people who've suffered unthinkable treatment because of their courageous commitments to human dignity and human rights.
Throughout 2015-16, as part of Cal Humanities Communities Stories program, we will be eliciting and posting oral histories as these are stories that must be known. We are spending our days with people who have been among the best educated and skilled citizens of their own countries while here in LA their struggles and heroism, their talents, abilities, and desires to contribute remain invisible to the general public. We hope to change that by inviting you to meet them, in person or through this website. Some of their names and photos, for safety reasons, can't be used, but you can know their lives.
Meet our storytellers here.
In addition to offering you the voices of people we've met through PTV, this site also features the stories of other members of our community who have been affected by government-sanctioned violence. Through outreach, we are able to include stories from Cambodia, Honduras, and Korea. You'll also find the narratives of a man who survived an unprecedented seven years in immigration detention and one who spent 45 years in the California prison system. We acknowledge the assistance of the Fair Chance Project, working toward just sentencing laws and fair parole practices. A current campaign seeks to end the torture of long-term solitary confinement.
(2018 update: Due to the level of violent repression in Honduras today and US military support for the military apparatus, we've had to remove the narrative of our Honduran storyteller to protect his or her identity and for the safety of this person's associates.)
Some of you actually met some of our storytellers in March when we presented two nights of theater at Mercado La Paloma and Club Fais Do-Do in Los Angeles. Survivors and family members bravely and powerfully performed their own stories from a script derived from their own words. If you were there, we'd love to receive your comments about the event. If you missed it, here are some photos taken by Brian Biery.
Neither phase of the Second Chances project would be possible without the cooperation of PTV and of course, first and foremost, we are humbly grateful to the survivors who overcame fears and hesitations in order to speak freely to us, to theater audiences, and to the whole internet world.
Southern California is the number one destination in the U.S. for people escaping torture, persecution, and government-sponsored violence. The Program for Torture Victims in Los Angeles has been providing free medical, psychological, and other services to survivors for over 34 years - people who've suffered unthinkable treatment because of their courageous commitments to human dignity and human rights.
Throughout 2015-16, as part of Cal Humanities Communities Stories program, we will be eliciting and posting oral histories as these are stories that must be known. We are spending our days with people who have been among the best educated and skilled citizens of their own countries while here in LA their struggles and heroism, their talents, abilities, and desires to contribute remain invisible to the general public. We hope to change that by inviting you to meet them, in person or through this website. Some of their names and photos, for safety reasons, can't be used, but you can know their lives.
Meet our storytellers here.
In addition to offering you the voices of people we've met through PTV, this site also features the stories of other members of our community who have been affected by government-sanctioned violence. Through outreach, we are able to include stories from Cambodia, Honduras, and Korea. You'll also find the narratives of a man who survived an unprecedented seven years in immigration detention and one who spent 45 years in the California prison system. We acknowledge the assistance of the Fair Chance Project, working toward just sentencing laws and fair parole practices. A current campaign seeks to end the torture of long-term solitary confinement.
(2018 update: Due to the level of violent repression in Honduras today and US military support for the military apparatus, we've had to remove the narrative of our Honduran storyteller to protect his or her identity and for the safety of this person's associates.)
Some of you actually met some of our storytellers in March when we presented two nights of theater at Mercado La Paloma and Club Fais Do-Do in Los Angeles. Survivors and family members bravely and powerfully performed their own stories from a script derived from their own words. If you were there, we'd love to receive your comments about the event. If you missed it, here are some photos taken by Brian Biery.
Neither phase of the Second Chances project would be possible without the cooperation of PTV and of course, first and foremost, we are humbly grateful to the survivors who overcame fears and hesitations in order to speak freely to us, to theater audiences, and to the whole internet world.
Hector Aristizábal, Artistic Director, ImaginAction
Diane Lefer, interviewer, editor
Julian Scharmacher, intern
Diane Lefer, interviewer, editor
Julian Scharmacher, intern
The Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs helped support the theater component of Second Chances LA. |
This project was made possible with support from Cal Humanities,
a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Visit www.calhum.org.
Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this website do not necessarily represent those of Cal Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.