Beth Bwembya
Zambican
20” x 21”
While the U.S. is full of many great things and natural beauty, the process of immigration is complicated with hurdles making one ask: ‘is this country worth one’s allegiance?’. This quilt represents a personal immigration journey which enabled the quilter and her husband to blend the two countries important to them and to create one Zambian + American or “Zambican” family.
While there are also parallels, each immigration journey is tough and has unique twists and turns, represented in the one line of meandering quilting. The two flags are bisected by fabric symbolic of fences and walls: barriers to immigration. Beth strategically used both Zambian and U.S.-made fabric in both flags further representing the value of immigration and blending. In the end, integration through immigration enriches the U.S.
Beth Bwembya has been sewing on and off her whole life and got into quilting in recent years. She works for USDA and enjoys sewing in her lovely sewing room at her home in Capitol Heights MD.