The odds of a refugee receiving political asylum in the United States are about one in 200. In order for a claim to be considered legitimate, the applicant must possess an immediate and “well-founded fear” of persecution due to one of the five protected grounds: race, religion, nationality, social group or political opinion. So who deserves political asylum and who actually gets it? Filmmakers Shari Robertson and Michael Camerini explore these questions and others in Well-Founded Fear. Produced for the PBS series POV, this documentary offers a peek into the U.S. asylum-granting process via the perspective of the Immigration and Naturalization (INS) officers responsible for reviewing asylum applications. Spirit of Life Unitarian Universalists of Odessa and the New Port Richey Public Library join forces to host a screening and discussion of Well-Founded Fear as part of the nationwide Human Rights Video Project; refreshments are included. Wed., July 5, 7:15 p.m., SLUU-Odessa, 18412 Burrell Road, Odessa, free admission (donations gratefully accepted), 813-792-1622.
This article appears in Jun 28 – Jul 4, 2006.
