For Thanksgiving: I am thankful for Lani.
I chose to give a personal twist--introducing Lani, rather than a formal presentation.
Please feel free to ask Lani or myself any questions.
We are just looking forward to complete our documentary and show how the systems are different in France, Finland and all of Scandinavia, in the final analysis.
Thanks.

Best,

Jean and Lani



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============== IN PRAISE OF LANI (The Finland Refugees Business project) As years go by, we meet people : acquaintances, friends and passers-by : very few make an impression so that we shall remember them over the years. Lani is such a strong character and you will not forget her –once you have met her. I met Lani in Finland –a couple of years ago. As we work in a school near Helsinki, we made acquaintance she-- a young, pretty American journalist and I-- a French American translator : both of us love travelling. We talked about : travel, Finland, Scandinavia and we discovered that we had a common interest in Reception [Refugees ] Centers, I had plans to visit some and write a Blog or sthg on that experience. I invited her to join me and she heartily accepted. Just to stay in Finland, a beautiful country with very nice people represents many people's dreams and, in addition, to work and be able to contribute to solidarity and community life thrills me. Also, Lani is the only woman i know who will bake cookies and walk around offering those delicacies to all men around : I shudder about that prowess... Silly me : I thought women --and especially feminists --do not walk around offering anything that way. In a world where a system based on business and profits nurtures individualism and selfishness –where 80% of our fellow compatriotes spend more time on Facebook and Moi-Moi-Moi It is refreshing to find people like Lani and I am grateful for her work and commitment and hope we can make a small contribution and difference with the #Refugeesbusiness project in Finland. We have had few Great Women Figures in our History: from Hildegarde to Nobel Prize Youyou Tu ... via Joan of Arc : but, in our daily life, we should also acknowledge and praise Young Women who make a difference, be grateful for young Talents amidst us : such as Lani. Part 2 : Lani speaks and introduces the project ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ============ Hi, My name is Lani Nelson. I’m an independent videographer, photographer, and journalist from the United States. I’m also emailing on behalf of curator, journalist, translator, and writer Jean Wadier, who is a member of the National Writers Union and a resident of both France and the United States. Together, Jean and I are gathering information on the current refugee situations in Finland in order to create an English language documentary series that provides a factual, comprehensive picture of these influxes of asylum seekers, how they are processed, and the impact they have on host communities. Owing to the relevance of your area of expertise to our project, I’m emailing today to inquire whether you’d be willing to answer some questions regarding Reception Centers, based on your knowledge and experience. Once you've read the questions over, if you'd additionally be willing to share your thoughts and answers in a recorded video conversation for use in our documentary series, we would be very grateful, and I'd be happy to discuss recording options, the process, how the footage will be used, etc. with you further. 1. What is the capacity of your center? 2. Please describe a daily routine for a refugee in the center. Would you describe the center as easy to run? 3. What do you anticipate as major developments/obstacles in Finland in the near future? 4. Any info, article (reference) which has been published in local media on your RC. 5. You may also want to integrate in your responses your personal history--professional development-- as you see fit ... Thank you for your time, I look forward to hearing from you. All the best,