Handmade blankets welcome immigrants to U.S.

A Massachusetts woman and her granddaughter use their hands to put the finishing touches to a colorful blanket they are making for immigrants coming to the United States. They are in a group of men and women who are knitting and sewing blankets intended to make immigrants feel welcome in the country. The woman then reads out loud a personal note that the immigrant will receive with a blanket, outlining their family’s history of migration and immigration. The handmade blanket is one of dozens of artistic blankets that crafters have sewn, crocheted and knitted as gifts for refugees in the Vermont community. It's part of the national Welcome Blanket project, a crowd-sourced artistic action supporting refugees settling in the U.S. Los Angeles activist Jayna Zweiman started Welcome Blanket in 2017 in opposition to Donald Trump’s candidacy speeches about building a wall between the United States and Mexico. To date, thousands of blankets and notes have been created around the country for shows including in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and Winooski, Vermont. The blankets, accompanied with the personal notes from their creators, were then gifted to refugees at events, in welcome boxes, at their new housing or through charity groups. The project is geared towards refugees — people forced to leave their home or country to escape war, persecution or natural disaster — including Ukrainians who escaped the Russian invasion of their home country. But the blankets have also gone to immigrants. In Vermont, Aisha Bitini, who is originally from Central Africa’s Democratic Republic of Congo, said she loves the blanket she chose — a soft, crocheted piece made up of large squares of gold, maroon, off-white and gray. Kalyan Adhikari, who's originally from Nepal, said the Vermont project was “such a kind and warm initiative.” He said it makes refugees feel welcome and a little bit more like they're home. Zweiman said she hopes the blanket-making for refugees will become an American tradition. This article was provided by The Associated Press.