The Immigrant Story Live Podcast
Introducing, The Immigrant Story Live, our new series that brings you voices from the stage. In 2019, the Immigrant Story began hosting live storytelling events
Category: Episode
Caught Between War and Paperwork
Raised in Yemen amidst intense civil turmoil, Ghassan bin Hammam made a life-changing decision to leave for the United States to start a new life
Call Me Dr. Olive Bukuru
When Olive Bukuru was six months old her and her family fled their home country of Burundi in search of a safe life. They ended up in a refugee camp
Finally Free to Make Music Again
Ahmad Fanoos spent the first 57 years of his life searching for the freedom to play music. In Afghanistan, where singing and playing music were banned under the
You Know What, This Is Me, Okay?
Franke Tokem Powell was born in Central Africa, in the city of Douala, Cameroon. Growing up in the 90’s, Franke did not feel that he’d ever be
Patriotism Despite Incarceration
Janice Okamoto was just a baby, only a few months old, when she was sent to Minidoka with her family. Her father was a musician, and like all the
Something Greater in Life
Vasyl Matsyuk, a Yale Divinity student, grew up in the fully Democratic Ukraine only to see it ravaged by a war with Russia that began a year ago in February. […]
A Different Kind of Inner Calling
Balamurali Balu, who goes by Bala, immigrated to the United States from Southern India. He completed his PhD at Georgia Tech.
Coming Out of the Shadows
Sindy Avila Gutierrez was born in Morelos, Mexico. At the age of two, she was brought to the United States to live with her parents in Oregon. Arriving without formal […]
So Many People, So Many Miracles
Twenty-one-year-old Samir Mustafic was in the small orchard behind his home in Bosnia when Serbian bombs rained down upon his family’s property.
I Create So It Cannot Be Erased
Portland artist Roberta Wong is the daughter and granddaughter of Chinese immigrants. She grew up partly in Chinatown, itself a product of segregation.
Changing the System from Within
Chanpone Sinlapasai was born in Laos during a bloody civil war, and narrowly escaped to the US with her family at just four years old.
War Doesn’t Stop in Iraq
Ghaith Shahib fled Iraq as the United States prepared to invade his country. Instead of finishing high school, he left home on a harrowing journey across the globe
It Is a Genuine Reconciliation
Emmanuel Turaturanye was born and raised in a small town in Rwanda called Ngoma. His whole life he was taught by his parents to love and respect everyone,
There is Surviving and There is Living
Saron Khut was only ten years old when he and his family fled the Khmer Rouge-led genocide in Cambodia. His mother’s strength and a key decision one scary