When I first mentioned to my friends that I was going to spend my summer in Detroit, all their reactions were the same. “Detroit, why? Isn’t it really dangerous.” My response to all my friends was the same, assuring them that it was safe and that it was nothing like the news. In all honesty however, I had never been to Detroit and whilst I had researched the city extensively, I did not have the feel of the city myself. The first few days in Detroit proved to me how wrong all my friends were with their initial thoughts about Detroit. The city immediately captivated me, particularly with the different architecture and design of the buildings downtown. Perhaps the standout experience in the first few days of orientation was visiting the Heidelberg Project. The way in which the street was designed to showcase all the different belongings of people who left their homes, combined with the eccentricity of the conversation we had with the creator really remained with me for the next week. Later in the day, during the scavenger hunt, was when I really fell in love with the city. During the activity I remember spending more time preoccupied at looking around the area and staring upwards at the variety of different buildings, distracted with our task of finding clues. From a 10 floor parking garage to observing the new and hipster shops, Detroit’s downtown was an area that really resonated with me. I found this particularly confusing since I have always lived in a big city my whole life, and am used to high-rise buildings and the oddities that come with living in a large metropolitan space. However, I found myself engaging with Detroit’s downtown more than I have down with any city I have been to before.
I do not think I can do anything personally to help Detroit “rise from the ashes.” I believe that is a collective and sustained effort that needs to be done and cannot be achieved by someone staying for only 45 days. However, what I want to do in the next 45 days is really understand this city in a deeper way and contribute to it in any small way I can. I am keen to continue my passion of refugee rights here in Detroit, specifically mentoring refugee children which I have done at Duke and in London. Having done some initial research, Freedom House Detroit seems as if they are doing work along these lines and I want to explore this further. Moreover, I really am interested in my work at Street Democracy, where I am creating a report on how it would be economically more beneficial to not send people to jail for certain misdemeanors, but rather help them solve their problems.
I do not think I can do anything personally to help Detroit “rise from the ashes.” I believe that is a collective and sustained effort that needs to be done and cannot be achieved by someone staying for only 45 days. However, what I want to do in the next 45 days is really understand this city in a deeper way and contribute to it in any small way I can. I am keen to continue my passion of refugee rights here in Detroit, specifically mentoring refugee children which I have done at Duke and in London. Having done some initial research, Freedom House Detroit seems as if they are doing work along these lines and I want to explore this further. Moreover, I really am interested in my work at Street Democracy, where I am creating a report on how it would be economically more beneficial to not send people to jail for certain misdemeanors, but rather help them solve their problems.
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