Fort Defiance High School senior Abby Driscoll has felt the lack of acceptance for being a lesbian in Augusta County, a politically conservative area.
So, when preparing to express her emotions about how she feels others treat her in an art project, her teacher, Jessica Herr, was supportive.
鈥淚 told her my idea, and she told me to go ahead,鈥 Abby said.
One of the pieces shows praying hands and a rosary with the words etched in blood: 鈥淕od Loves You, But Not Enough to Save You.鈥 Pages from the Bible are in the background.
Fort Defiance student Abby Driscoll created a piece of art that sparked controversy this past weekend on social media and generated a special school board meeting.
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鈥淚 want to start a conversation,鈥 Abby said. 鈥淚 want other queer kids to say this is 鈥極K鈥 and experience my emotions.鈥
She also wants Christians to appreciate how harmful their words and actions can be.
Soon after Abby鈥檚 art was displayed Friday at Fort Defiance High School, social media blew up.
鈥湴拿帕喜势教╮e was Snapchat and Instagram and a lot of backlash for it, 鈥渟he said.
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Augusta County School Board members were notified about the art and held a closed-session meeting at 9 p.m. on Saturday.
School Board Chairman David Shiflett, the longest-tenured member of the board, said not everyone appreciates Abby鈥檚 art.
鈥淚t may be offensive, but she has the right to do that,鈥 Shiflett said. 鈥淪he feels the church has deserted her. She has a right to put that on canvas.鈥
According to Shiflett, the school district鈥檚 art display policy will probably be reviewed, perhaps by the fall. Although the school board could make policy changes, Shiflett urged caution.
鈥淲e have to be very careful we don鈥檛 infringe on First Amendment rights,鈥 he said.
Shiflett praised Driscoll as 鈥渁n extremely talented artist鈥 and the work in question as a 鈥渨ell-done piece of art.鈥
Art came naturally for Driscoll. 鈥淚鈥檝e always been into doodling and painting. I got into organized art in the eighth grade,鈥 she said.
Driscoll is preparing to graduate with other Fort Defiance seniors in the next couple of weeks. She will pursue a degree in business from James Madison University in Harrisonburg. She hopes to own a photography business after graduation.
Driscoll is heartened by the support she has received.
鈥淔riends, families, and people from other states are reaching out,鈥 she said. 鈥湴拿帕喜势教▂ are so proud of what I鈥檓 doing.鈥
Where refugees in Virginia are arriving from
Where refugees in Virginia are arriving from
During the past five decades, the U.S. has resettled , making it one of the leading countries for finding new homes for people fleeing violence, persecution, and war.
In 2021, then-President Donald Trump lowered the annual cap of refugees that could be admitted into the . Even as the Biden administration has raised the ceiling to 125,000, the annual number of refugees arriving in the U.S. didn't immediately bounce back to pre-Trump administration levels. 澳门六合彩平台 numbers are increasing though, with over 25,000 refugees arriving in the U.S. in the 2022 fiscal year, twice the 2021 total.
Refugee arrivals during the 2023 fiscal year dramatically outpaced the prior two years, reaching over 60,000 from October 2022 to September 2023.
In February 2024, the greatest number of refugees admitted by the U.S. came from Congo, Syria, and Afghanistan. Each nation faces a unique set of circumstances that can make their citizens unsafe if they stay in their home country.
For the last three decades, , also called the Democratic Republic of Congo, has been struggling with a series of civil wars and internal battles that have left millions of people displaced, both internally and externally, with many people fleeing to neighboring countries. has seen more than 5 million refugees flee to neighboring nations since 2011 while a longstanding civil war rages, with an additional 6.8 million people forced from their homes and seeking refuge elsewhere in the country. have been fleeing to neighboring countries for decades, especially to Pakistan and Iran, which combined host over 8 million Afghans.
referenced data from to compile statistics on the number of refugees and their countries of origin resettled in Virginia in February 2024.
February refugee statistics
Countries where refugees arrived from in February
To Virginia:
#1. Afghanistan: 125
#2. Congo: 29
#3. Pakistan: 24
#4. Guatemala: 17
#5. Venezuela: 15
#6. Syria: 11
#7. El Salvador: 10
#8. Colombia: 7
#9. Iran: 4
#10. Eritrea: 2
#10. Honduras: 2
#10. Iraq: 2
#13. Cameroon: 1
#13. Central African Republic: 1
#13. Senegal: 1
To the U.S. as a whole:
#1. Congo: 2,426
#2. Afghanistan: 1,299
#3. Venezuela: 1,230
#4. Syria: 981
#5. Burma: 826
States that accepted the most refugees in February:
#1. Texas: 1,062
#2. California: 572
#3. Florida: 554
#4. New York: 507
#5. Arizona: 450
Read on to see the countries that Virginia has accepted the most refugees from since the start of the fiscal year in October 2023.
Robsonphoto // Shutterstock
#1. Afghanistan
Refugees that arrived from Afghanistan since October 2023
To Virginia: 655
To the U.S. as a whole: 5,925
Top states receiving refugees from Afghanistan
#1. California: 1,228
#2. Virginia: 655
#3. Texas: 542
#4. Washington: 440
#5. Maryland: 272
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#2. Syria
Refugees that arrived from Syria since October 2023
To Virginia: 150
To the U.S. as a whole: 6,818
Top states receiving refugees from Syria
#1. New York: 673
#2. Michigan: 655
#3. Pennsylvania: 465
#4. Texas: 375
#5. California: 361
hanohiki // Shutterstock
#3. Congo
Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2023
To Virginia: 128
To the U.S. as a whole: 9,929
Top states receiving refugees from Congo
#1. Kentucky: 893
#2. Texas: 804
#3. Arizona: 747
#4. Ohio: 645
#5. New York: 600
Katja Tsvetkova // Shutterstock
#4. Guatemala
Refugees that arrived from Guatemala since October 2023
To Virginia: 63
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,920
Top states receiving refugees from Guatemala
#1. California: 270
#2. Texas: 172
#3. North Carolina: 148
#4. Florida: 113
#5. New York: 87
Lauren Squire // Shutterstock
#5. Pakistan
Refugees that arrived from Pakistan since October 2023
To Virginia: 57
To the U.S. as a whole: 481
Top states receiving refugees from Pakistan
#1. Pennsylvania: 63
#2. Virginia: 57
#3. Texas: 53
#4. North Carolina: 46
#5. Maryland: 30
W_NAMKET // Shutterstock
#6. El Salvador
Refugees that arrived from El Salvador since October 2023
To Virginia: 55
To the U.S. as a whole: 691
Top states receiving refugees from El Salvador
#1. California: 84
#2. Texas: 80
#3. Maryland: 76
#4. Virginia: 55
#5. North Carolina: 53
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#7. Iraq
Refugees that arrived from Iraq since October 2023
To Virginia: 28
To the U.S. as a whole: 762
Top states receiving refugees from Iraq
#1. California: 136
#2. Michigan: 95
#3. Nebraska: 45
#3. Texas: 45
#5. Washington: 38
Focus and Blur // Shutterstock
#8. Venezuela
Refugees that arrived from Venezuela since October 2023
To Virginia: 27
To the U.S. as a whole: 2,504
Top states receiving refugees from Venezuela
#1. Florida: 501
#2. Texas: 304
#3. Georgia: 146
#4. Illinois: 143
#5. Tennessee: 110
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#9. Ukraine
Refugees that arrived from Ukraine since October 2023
To Virginia: 25
To the U.S. as a whole: 725
Top states receiving refugees from Ukraine
#1. Washington: 249
#2. California: 110
#3. Ohio: 40
#4. New York: 37
#5. Kentucky: 35
Ruslan Lytvyn // Shutterstock
#10. Nicaragua
Refugees that arrived from Nicaragua since October 2023
To Virginia: 15
To the U.S. as a whole: 786
Top states receiving refugees from Nicaragua
#1. Florida: 151
#2. California: 60
#3. Texas: 48
#4. Minnesota: 44
#5. North Carolina: 40
Milosz Maslanka // Shutterstock
#11. Colombia
Refugees that arrived from Colombia since October 2023
To Virginia: 14
To the U.S. as a whole: 685
Top states receiving refugees from Colombia
#1. Florida: 98
#2. North Carolina: 59
#3. Texas: 54
#4. New York: 49
#5. Washington: 46
Matyas Rehak // Shutterstock
#11. Honduras
Refugees that arrived from Honduras since October 2023
To Virginia: 14
To the U.S. as a whole: 505
Top states receiving refugees from Honduras
#1. Texas: 87
#2. Florida: 65
#3. California: 33
#4. Georgia: 32
#4. New York: 32
amnat30 // Shutterstock
#13. Eritrea
Refugees that arrived from Eritrea since October 2023
To Virginia: 12
To the U.S. as a whole: 735
Top states receiving refugees from Eritrea
#1. Texas: 73
#2. Washington: 68
#3. Maryland: 61
#4. North Carolina: 45
#5. Ohio: 41
Dave Primov // Shutterstock
#14. Mali
Refugees that arrived from Mali since October 2023
To Virginia: 10
To the U.S. as a whole: 138
Top states receiving refugees from Mali
#1. New York: 24
#1. Pennsylvania: 24
#3. South Carolina: 22
#4. Michigan: 12
#5. Missouri: 11
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#15. Congo
Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2023
To Virginia: 9
To the U.S. as a whole: 9,929
Top states receiving refugees from Congo
#1. Kentucky: 893
#2. Texas: 804
#3. Arizona: 747
#4. Ohio: 645
#5. New York: 600
Katja Tsvetkova // Shutterstock
#16. Sudan
Refugees that arrived from Sudan since October 2023
To Virginia: 7
To the U.S. as a whole: 870
Top states receiving refugees from Sudan
#1. Missouri: 57
#2. Nebraska: 56
#3. Texas: 55
#3. New York: 55
#5. Pennsylvania: 54
Matyas Rehak // Shutterstock
#17. Iran
Refugees that arrived from Iran since October 2023
To Virginia: 5
To the U.S. as a whole: 205
Top states receiving refugees from Iran
#1. California: 110
#2. Texas: 18
#3. North Carolina: 10
#4. Washington: 9
#4. Illinois: 9
Andrew V Marcus // Shutterstock
#17. Burma
Refugees that arrived from Burma since October 2023
To Virginia: 5
To the U.S. as a whole: 2,899
Top states receiving refugees from Burma
#1. Texas: 327
#2. Illinois: 297
#3. New York: 266
#4. Georgia: 192
#5. Arizona: 189
Chantal de Bruijne // Shutterstock
#19. Ethiopia
Refugees that arrived from Ethiopia since October 2023
To Virginia: 4
To the U.S. as a whole: 232
Top states receiving refugees from Ethiopia
#1. Minnesota: 67
#2. Ohio: 25
#3. Washington: 24
#4. Georgia: 21
#5. lowa: 11
Artush // Shutterstock
#20. Burundi
Refugees that arrived from Burundi since October 2023
To Virginia: 3
To the U.S. as a whole: 217
Top states receiving refugees from Burundi
#1. Texas: 32
#2. New York: 29
#3. Arizona: 28
#4. Pennsylvania: 14
#5. Maryland: 13
Rostasedlacek // Shutterstock
#21. Republic of South Sudan
Refugees that arrived from Republic of South Sudan since October 2023
To Virginia: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 610
Top states receiving refugees from Republic of South Sudan
#1. Nebraska: 59
#2. Texas: 56
#3. Connecticut: 53
#4. Colorado: 46
#5. Minnesota: 44
punghi // Shutterstock
#21. Somalia
Refugees that arrived from Somalia since October 2023
To Virginia: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,283
Top states receiving refugees from Somalia
#1. Minnesota: 419
#2. Ohio: 110
#3. Georgia: 63
#4. New York: 62
#5. Arizona: 61
Dave Primov // Shutterstock
#23. Jamaica
Refugees that arrived from Jamaica since October 2023
To Virginia: 1
To the U.S. as a whole: 13
Top states receiving refugees from Jamaica
#1. California: 2
#1. Colorado: 2
#1. Michigan: 2
#1. North Carolina: 2
#1. Ohio: 2
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#23. Senegal
Refugees that arrived from Senegal since October 2023
To Virginia: 1
To the U.S. as a whole: 45
Top states receiving refugees from Senegal
#1. Massachusetts: 13
#2. Texas: 6
#3. Ohio: 4
#4. Illinois: 3
#4. Pennsylvania: 3
Salvador Aznar // Shutterstock
#23. Central African Republic
Refugees that arrived from Central African Republic since October 2023
To Virginia: 1
To the U.S. as a whole: 395
Top states receiving refugees from Central African Republic
#1. Texas: 45
#2. Missouri: 38
#3. Georgia: 31
#4. Michigan: 24
#4. Massachusetts: 24
sandis sveicers // Shutterstock
#23. Cameroon
Refugees that arrived from Cameroon since October 2023
To Virginia: 1
To the U.S. as a whole: 88
Top states receiving refugees from Cameroon
#1. Texas: 11
#2. Pennsylvania: 10
#3. South Carolina: 6
#3. Massachusetts: 6
#3. California: 6
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#23. Yemen
Refugees that arrived from Yemen since October 2023
To Virginia: 1
To the U.S. as a whole: 87
Top states receiving refugees from Yemen
#1. Michigan: 16
#2. Georgia: 13
#2. New York: 13
#4. Arizona: 8
#4. Montana: 8
This story features data reporting and writing by Emma Rubin and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 46 states.
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Bob Stuart (540) 932-3562
rstuart@newsvirginian.com
@oldyankee53 on Twitter
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