Asylum in Austin

Caritas’ "Words of Hope" speaker series sheds light on lives of refugees adjusting in Austin

It’s no secret that Austin is a great place to live, but what’s less well known is that it’s also a welcoming place for refugees from around the world seeking political or religious asylum. Caritas of Austin hopes to change that with its upcoming “Words of Hope” speaker series luncheon event, which will be held on May 1 at the Hilton Austin.

The Speaker Series originally began “in an effort to highlight the issues we address each day with our clients – those experiencing poverty, homelessness and resettlement here as new arrivals from across the globe,” says Amy Jackson, Caritas’ director of development.

The featured speaker will be Luma Mufleh, author of the national bestseller Outcasts United. Mufleh’s own experience with the refugee community began when she became the coach for a refugee boys’ soccer team in a small town in Georgia. Her book focuses on the challenges the boys face as they adjust to their new lives in the U.S., and, according to Jackson, “the transformation of the kids’ lives with her involvement.”

In 2013, Caritas expects to resettle over 400 documented international refugees and their families, many of whom have recently come from Bhutan, various African countries and Cuba.

After nearly 40 years of working with the refugee population, this is the first year that Caritas is highlighting their Refugee Resettlement Program. In 2013, Caritas expects to resettle over 400 documented international refugees and their families, many of whom have recently come from Bhutan, various African countries and Cuba. In addition to taking care of basic needs like housing and food assistance, Caritas provides these newcomers with a one-week orientation course.

“It’s kind of a crash course in what Austin is all about, and how to not get in trouble here, how to meet new neighbors. Basically, how to integrate into the community,” says Jo Kathryn Quinn, executive director of Caritas.

Caritas also offers job training for its refugee clients and partners with an organization called English at Work to provide vocationally oriented English language classes.

“It’s unusual for a refugee to come speaking English,” says Quinn. “Some of the refugees come illiterate in their own language, so English is very hard to learn. But we have some partners that are creative with us in helping clients learn survival English, especially English that is related to a job that they’re going to get.”

“So we have a food industry and housekeeping training program,” says Quinn. “Our trainers have been trained by all the [Austin area] hotels to know the systems to use for the housekeeping and food industry. We have a really good relationship with the hotels and they love hiring our clients, because our clients don’t need training. We’ve already trained them.”Some refugees arrive in Austin with highly advanced degrees, while many others are employed initially in the service industry and work in local hotels and restaurants.

iACT for Refugees, a program of Interfaith Action of Central Texas, estimates that about 1,000 refugees are legally resettled in Austin each year. Jackson hopes that this year’s speaker series event can help increase general awareness of the refugee experience in Austin.

“We hope to better educate the community of their needs, and the work we do to provide a safety net when they arrive here — many with nothing,” says Jackson. “It goes without saying that Austin is a wonderful community for refugees to come… already we are diverse in our backgrounds and faiths. Refugees add to this fabric.”

Sponsorships and tickets sales for the “Words of Hope” Speaker Series event on May 1 are available through the Caritas event website.

Austinite who kayaked 86 miles with one arm has Texas Book Fest debut

Avrel Seale Austin author

Photo by Daniel Cavazos

Avrel Seale is discussing his post-stroke kayaking expedition at the festival on November 16.

This year’s Texas Book Festival features more than 275 authors who have accomplished amazing things. But only one of them rowed nearly 90 miles down the Nueces River with one arm. (We think.)

Author of The River Nuts Avrel Seale is making his Texas Book Festival debut on November 16, and participating in the 4 pm panel "Memoirs of Adventure & Adversity Exploring Nature" in the Capitol Auditorium. He’ll talk about his feat of physical and mental endurance in a session alongside author Kevin Fadarko (A Walk in the Park) and moderated by outdoor journalist Pamela LeBlanc.

For all intents and purposes, January 19, 2018, was just another ordinary Friday for 50-year old author Seale. The writer and editor for the University of Texas' Marketing and Communications team was in his office on The Drag when he was hit with a devastating hemorrhagic stroke.

"My coworkers called an ambulance, which took me to Seton Main," says Seale. "I had emergency brain surgery that night that probably saved my life."

Avrel Seale Austin author Thankfully, Seale's story includes help from friends along the way.Photo by Daniel Cavazos

The stroke left Seale partially paralyzed on the right side of his body, with his right arm completely immobile. After two years of rehab and physical therapy — and still with just one working arm — Seale decided to undergo one of his biggest self-made challenges: attempting to kayak an 86-mile stretch of the Nueces River with lifelong friend Wade Walker in tow.

Seale's extensive journaling of the adventure would later become his 11th book, The River Nuts. The 182-page story didn’t just chronicle Seale and Walker's voyage down the South Texas river, but also covered the preparation for the journey in great detail.

"I had always wanted to. I thought it would be fun," explains Seale. "The stroke just forced me to find a different way."

Seale and Walker accomplished something that many others have in the past. Kayaking a river to the sea was not a groundbreaking idea, but few people — if any — had done it facing the same challenges as Seale did.

Avrel Seale Austin author with Wade Walker Avrel Seale and his rowing partner Wade Walker.Photo by Kirstin Seale

Someone who has had a dominant hand in a cast can understand how the immediate shift could test one’s patience. Even though most of the journey was spent cruising downstream — not to mention having someone else in the kayak doing the lion’s share of the work — there was quite a bit more to the experience than a spectator might expect.

From pulling up rudders to adjusting foot pedals that help propel the craft, using his functioning arm to man an oar, and helping set up camp each night, Seale started facing difficulties shortly after their launch. Sometimes he was his own worst enemy.

"I had mistakenly reversed the left and right pedal arms for both pedal drives when we first assembled the kayak months earlier,” he explains. “This led to us stripping the threads and losing one pedal completely."

In addition to the rigorous physical demand on the writer, he also faced mental roadblocks.

"The biggest mental challenge was the lead-up to the trip, both the painstaking planning and the very real fear of dying,” he says “By the time we got on the water, that stress and fear lifted, and it was all about making the most of a beautiful experience."

Avrel Seale Austin author Seale's stroke couldn't keep him from nature.Photo by Daniel Cavazos

Published by TCU press in the fall of 2023, The River Nuts came out after that year's submission deadline for the Texas Book Festival. Since then he’s also written The Hewetts: An American Saga in the Age of Vaudeville, Circuses, and Bands, a wild historical account spanning four generations of a family of self-made entertainers.

"I've written 12 books over the last 25 years, and this is definitely the highlight of my career so far," he points out. "Hopefully it will open even more doors for me. I'm tickled to death."

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