Welcome to the December 2025 issue of CVT World, CVT’s periodic compilation of the latest news, stories and public activities from our team.

Deadly Attacks Do Not Justify Collective Punishment of Asylum Seekers

Yumna Rizvi, senior policy analyst, issued this statement as the Trump administration increased restrictions on immigration after the recent shooting of National Guard members in Washington, D.C. John Rash with the Star Tribune quoted her statement Dec. 6 in this column, citing Yumna: “The shooting is a tragedy,” and adding, “So, too, is the Trump administration’s response — a series of collective punishments for all Afghans and immigrants more broadly in the United States. CVT condemns both.”

The murder is reprehensible. But Trump’s punitive actions are overreaching in their scale and cruelty to a group of people to whom we made promises of safe haven and the chance to make a new life.”

-Yumna Rizvi, senior policy analyst

CVT Stands with the Somali Community

“The president’s derogatory comments about the Somali community in Minneapolis are deeply harmful and divisive, and palpably untrue,” said Dr. Simon Adams, president & CEO, in this statement in response to recent negative remarks from President Trump. “His criticism is meant to sow division. His words do not reflect the reality of the enormous benefits Minnesota gains from the Somali community, including cultural vibrancy, as well as the economic and social contributions of this unique community,” Simon said.

Finding Hope, Healing and Connection in a New Land: Story of the Raahat Project in Minnesota

As the CVT Raahat project serving Afghans in Minnesota winds down, Mahdi Surosh, project manager, wrote this article about the project and its impacts on clients over the years. He writes, “Reflecting on this journey, I am profoundly moved by the resilience of Afghans and other refugees, whose courage and determination to rebuild their lives in a new land have taught me invaluable lessons about hope and perseverance.”

Commentary: Impacts on Afghans of the President’s Criticism after a Deadly Shooting

“. . . those acts of violence are exactly the things that we have fled from,” said Mahdi Surosh in this article in the Star Tribune. Mahdi comments on the president’s rhetoric regarding the recent shooting in DC and its impacts on the Afghan community. In addition, Mahdi spoke to the Christian Science Monitor in this article on the topic, saying, “Generalizing an isolated case of an individual and dehumanizing a community … can incite violence against the community.”

. . . those acts of violence are exactly the things that we have fled from.”

-Mahdi Surosh, project manager

Announcing CVT Mexico!

We are proud to share this new webpage for the program in Sonora, Mexico, and the region, where the team supports individuals and families who had their migration plans disrupted in Northern Mexico. They also provide training and capacity building to area organizations and connect with our program in Tucson, Arizona, to provide case management binationally. Congratulations to the team!

Commentary: Rise in Global Arms Sales

Simon Adams is quoted in this article in Press News Agency on the sharp rise in global arms sales in recent years. “We need governments to invest more in humanitarian solutions to global problems, not spend billions of dollars more every year on the manufacture and marketing of shiny new killing machines,” Simon said. He adds, “I long for the day when the arms trader will be seen like the slave trader, sex trafficker or drug dealer – as an international outlaw and pariah.”

Former CVT Ethiopia Colleague Being Sponsored by Eritrean Community in Canada

Our former colleague Samuel Kebede is quoted in this article from Canada Broadcast about how the Eritrean community is working to bring him to Calgary because of his specialized skills in trauma care. The article was picked up widely by media outlets.

Commentary: Minnesota Star Tribune Calls for Donations to CVT

“ . . . at a time when we should be scaling up, we’ve been downscaling and had to shut down programs providing essential care to people. And that’s heartbreaking,” said Simon Adams in this column in the Star Tribune. Editorial columnist John Rash wrote the article, titled “This Give to the Max Day, Support Groups that are a ‘Shaft of Sunlight,’” to call attention to CVT and organizations which suffered significant losses from the U.S. foreign aid cuts. Simon adds, “But what keeps me awake at night is I fear they also cost us lives.”

. . . at a time when we should be scaling up, we’ve been downscaling and had to shut down programs providing essential care to people. And that’s heartbreaking.”

-Dr. Simon Adams, president & CEO

Commentary: Fighting against Authoritarianism

“Democracy does not always expire with a single event, like a military coup. Sometimes it slides, slowly, into the darkness, corroding norms and corrupting independent modes of thought along the way,” said Simon Adams in this speech titled “Poison Ideas: Universities and other Antidotes to Authoritarianism,” which aired on ABC Radio National Australia. Simon comments on the spread of authoritarianism and its global impacts, noting, “In this era of global disruption, the new authoritarians generally wear business suits rather than military fatigues.” Simon spoke as part of the annual conference of Australasian Council of Deans of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities.

A Legacy of Internships that Support Trauma Healing

Maki Katoh, country director for CVT Ethiopia, wrote this article about the long-standing internship program that began in 2014 and has been implemented at four major universities in the country. The internships brought students from a wide range of psychology programs and physiotherapy to CVT’s centers, allowing first-hand experience serving people who had experienced deeply traumatizing events while providing students with training and clinical supervision. The internships have been enormously successful, and Maki writes, “Some students even deferred their graduation in order to attend an internship with CVT.” She adds, “With so many of its citizens having experienced grave traumatic events, Ethiopia needs trauma healers more than ever.”

Cost Savings from Integrating Behavioral Health in Primary Care: A Pragmatic Randomized Control Trial with Karen Refugees

CVT has demonstrated significant cost savings when behavioral health interventions are provided as part of primary care for refugee populations. A major research paper showing these results from CVT’s randomized control trial for Healing Hearts was published by the Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health. On average, the study found that inpatient cost savings were more than $8,000 per patient. The authors write that these results “underscored the value of integrated behavioral health approaches in primary care for saving costs while simultaneously improving service utilization and addressing complex healthcare needs.” The authors include Maria Vukovich, Jennifer Esala, Alison Beckman, Andrea Northwood, Gregory Vinson, James Letts and Christine Danner.

Repairing the Wrongs in Northern Uganda: Survivor-Defined Justice for Mothers and Their Children Born of War

CVT has published this new assessment report which presents perspectives on justice and healing from formerly abducted women and their children who were born in captivity in Northern Uganda during the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) war. As these mothers have sought to reintegrate into communities, their children are often unrecognized as legitimate members of society and their rights and needs have been neglected. “Working towards healing and justice is a deeply integrated process. There is a need for repair, to directly address the harm that occurred in the past, and then there also is a process of restoring well-being, dignity, and hope,” said primary author Dr. Shannon Golden, evaluation and research lead. Read the press release here.

There is a need for repair, to directly address the harm that occurred in the past, and then there also is a process of restoring well-being, dignity, and hope.”

Dr. Shannon Golden, evaluation & research lead

Report authors include Shannon Golden, Joel Innocent Odokonyero, transitional justice specialist, Brian Jakisa, monitoring and evaluation officer, Diana Amito, monitoring and evaluation assistant, and Noor Saleem, program evaluator.

Working in Coalition with Partners

Working with partners brings strength to CVT’s policy advocacy. We regularly participate in organized coalition actions that support survivors of torture. Below are recent coalition and partner actions.

• CVT endorsed the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act introduced by Representatives Pramila Jayapal and Adam Smith, which aims to enact oversight to protect immigrants’ civil and human rights. Rep. Jayapal wrote, “Under the Trump Administration, we have seen a shocking surge in the detention of people who have committed no crimes being locked up in increasingly horrifying conditions.”
• CVT endorsed the War Powers Resolution to Block the Trump Administration’s Boat Strikes, introduced by U.S. Representatives Meeks, Smith, Himes, Thompson, Crow and Omar. The authors wrote, “The Constitution grants Congress, not the president, the power to declare war; without Congressional approval, the president is not only circumventing the legislative branch, but grossly expanding his power to act as judge, jury, and executioner.” See Rep. Gregory Meeks’s press release here.