One of Mariamou’s Abdoulye’s earliest memories of growing up in the Central African Republic: being chased by someone with a machete. At the time, her country was wracked by political upheaval and unprecedented levels of violence. Abdoulye and her family were forced to move into a refugee camp where they would spend the next five years. They later resettled in the United States under a refugee program. Abdoulye was in seventh grade when she arrived and knew no English. She worked hard to excel in school and eventually graduated from Portland’s Benson Polytechnic High School. She is now enrolled as a pre-med student at Portland Community College.
In September 2019, The Immigrant Story launched its first live storytelling event with “The Immigrant Story Live” during Beaverton’s Welcoming Week. They were coached by the Japanese-Korean storyteller Alton Takiyama-Chung and assisted by Janet Liu.
To learn more about Mariamou, please visit: https://theimmigrantstory.org/fear/