WESTMINSTER — To my fellow Windham County residents: I urge you to vote for Michelle Bos-Lun for Windham-4 state representative.
While I fully supported Nader Hashim in his campaign two years ago, with his decision not to seek re-election, I cannot think of a better person to continue his hard work than Michelle, who is uniquely qualified to go to the State House due to her extensive background in social services, education, and nonprofit management.
Two summers ago, I was a student at the Governor's Institute of Vermont (GIV) on Current Issues and Youth Activism. Alongside students from Vermont and around the world, I spent two weeks taking classes, attending workshops, and learning how to achieve global justice.
At GIV, I took Michelle's “Refugees & Immigration” seminar. At that time, ICE detention centers were separating children from their families all along the U.S./Mexico border, a modern scandal.
We discussed the fundamental international right to seek asylum in another country and asked how we, in Vermont, welcome refugees into our communities. Our global refugee crisis can be tackled and solved only when action is taken by local communities, like ours.
She has taught this course for three consecutive years, educating young people like me on pressing issues and encouraging activism.
Michelle has volunteered to help refugees and asylum seekers for most of her professional life. For 10 years, she was chair of a local Tibetan support group, Monadnock Friends of Tibet.
She worked with Tibetan refugee families and helped their children achieve scholarships. She has done extensive support work with Community Asylum Seekers Project (CASP) as well as independently and has coordinated support for a local Afghan refugee family.
Michelle Bos-Lun is altogether passionate, caring, and inspiring. By all means, she will work to better our communities here in Windham-4.