Through Their Eyes

The flourishing multiculturalism in St. Louis is evident if you just pay a little closer attention to your surroundings. A drive down South Grand Boulevard, for instance, will show you restaurants serving cuisines from all over the world — Afghani, Ethiopian and Vietnamese included. While many immigrants come here with hopes and dreams, many also arrive carrying the baggage of traumatic pasts. The Center for Survivors of Torture and War Trauma was founded to help these individuals cope, and several of the nonprofit's teen clients participated in a photography project with the University of Missouri-St. Louis' Public Policy Research Center. The young men took pictures at home, in Tower Grove Park and in surrounding neighborhoods, and through these images it's easy to see their admirable inner strength and resiliency shine through (that's Mohamed Abdi's Touching the Sun pictured). To check out Point-of-View: Center for Survivors of Torture and War Trauma, an exhibit of these photos, head to MoKaBe's Coffeehouse (3606 Arsenal Street; 314-865-2009) any day of the week through Tuesday, December 30. To learn more information about the show and the project, visit pprc.umsl.edu.
Nov. 18-Dec. 30, 2008