Sankar Raman

Gaza Is Full of Dreams

Living in Gaza — one of the most dangerous places on earth — the Al Ghussein family learned years ago that where there is smoke,  

Brooke Hoyer

It’s All a Matter of Perspective

His left arm lay dangling from his body. The angle was alarming–entirely unnatural. His midsection was in shreds, ripped apart by Serbian shrapnel that had punctured  

Sankar Raman

Starting Over—and Over and Over Again

The Japanese phrase Ikoi No Kai translates in English to “the gathering place.” It could also mean a haven, a welcoming spot where people gather for fellowship. 

Sankar Raman

A Life Shaped by War

Tim Tran is quite the jokester.  “Old professors never die,” he told an otherwise serious meeting at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon.  

Sankar Raman

A Foothold On Two Continents

A Foothold On Two Continents He is a husband, a father and a dedicated Amazon employee. But Rudwan Dawod is also an impassioned freedom fighter,  

John Rudoff

Fleeing Hatred, Finding Home

The sanctuary of the First United Methodist Church in Southwest Portland is a cavernous space, and on Aug. 16, 1958,  the pews bulged as Evelyn Diamant  

Sankar Raman

Standing Firm Against Persecution

For as long as she can remember, her Asian features had made Hadia Sadiqi a target for ostracism in her native Afghanistan. Anyone who saw her knew instantly  

Sankar Raman

And The Quartet Played On

“Outside the monster raged with flaming nostrils. But inside there was tranquility. The melancholy notes of Albinoni’s adagio drifted into every corner of the room,

John Rudoff

Tears for the Country He Left

In a small town in the northwest part of Cambodia called Chongkal, the 5-year-old boy could not cry. His father had been taken by Khmer Rouge soldiers, bound for  

As a child, I used to take the train up from Berkeley to visit grandma Jessie in Sacramento. I thought her trim little bungalow in E Street was a palace. In the hot summer months, we drank root beer floats in the back porch. In the cooler months we shared hot tea and her buttery warm bread, warm from the oven. Jim Lommasson

Grandma Jessie’s Scottish Shortbread

My grandmother, Jessie King, was born in 1889 in a house on Holburn Street in Aberdeen, Scotland. Jessie was one of 13 children, 11 of whom survived childhood.

©2014 Jeffrey Ball

A Doctor with No Cure for His Country

The rigid, highly competitive public education system of Syria sent Hisham Amin Bismar into engineering. Leaving his country and then watching it

Kim Oanh Nguyen

A Career Wrapped in Banana Leaves

The first thing to know about Phet Schwader is that his first name is pronounced “Pet.” Unless it marks the start of a word, the letter “H” is typically

Sankar Raman

Leaving a Land of Chaos

Toys are everywhere in the small apartment in Vancouver, Washington. A sheet of paper posted at a child’s eye level shows the first, impressive attempts of a

Sankar Raman

Abdi Nor Iftin: Call Him American

Abdi Nor Iftin knew just what America would look like. It would look like a giant New York City. Tall, tall buildings would soar to the sky. Humans would scurry

Sankar Raman

“I Lived to Tell the World”

The guy on the MAX train shot an angry glare at a younger man sitting nearby. Emmanuel Turaturanye was dressed in the plaid shirt and down jacket of the Pacific […]