Writing Your Way Toward Who You Are
“That was when I became myself,” says Ramiza Koya, remembering the backpacking trip she took in India when she was 25 years old.
Category: Portland
From Zim Kid to COVID-19 Advisor
When Bukhosi Dube recently took a big pay cut to work as a physician at the Multnomah County Health Department, his goal was to ultimately find work in public
Saying “Yes” to Both Career and Family
Three times, Lilia Boteva-Ayzoukian has received a violin. Each time the gift has been a link between, the two most important things in her life:
Like A Modern Day Odysseus
Homer’s Odysseus took 20 years to return to his native land from the Trojan War, battling hostile forces, deceiving enemies, even changing identities to stay alive.
The Power of Working Together
“Being an immigrant is part of my identity,” says Fiona McCann. “Even though I am aware of my good fortune at passing as part of the dominant culture, I’m most
Seeking out the “How”
“Being settled is such a privilege. But when you’re new (somewhere), every second is a thinking second,” says Mekdes Hilete, describing the feeling of becoming a
Learning to See a Future
“I’m never going to get out of this place,” AyeChan May thought as a young teenager. In Mae Ra Moe refugee camp in Thailand where she grew up, she saw […]
Going Public with My Story
For many years, Xiomara Torres avoided telling people she had come into the US as an undocumented immigrant. “There’s so much shame with knowing you were
Think About What You Want Most
“This country is still the ‘shining city on the hill’ but the path up is getting steeper,” says Ruth Lesser, reflecting on the difficult road she is still traveling to […]
Wedding Party, Kirkuk, Iraq
Samir Khurshid Memory: I carry this photo with me. It is the wedding party of my brother “Noori” when I was in Turkey in 2008 away from my family. I […]
Member of Our Family, Iraq
Zainab Al Qasiri: Tito is a member of our family, I could not leave her behind. I think this story is full of humanity. The hardest time of my lifewas […]
Yilan to Portland, a Lucky Life
In 1960, Chang-Shee Chang’s pharmacology lab partner promised him a date with the runner-up of Miss Taiwan. He eagerly accepted. Alone in the theater
Taking the Opportunity to Shine
Jeanette Amisi Mmunga was born Tosha Kitungano, but has decided to answer to a new name — one she chose for herself. Mmunga was born Feb. 19, 2001,
The Ingredients of Leadership
Although today she is recognized as one of Portland’s best-known chefs, Nong Poonsukwattana confesses that as a child, “I didn’t think (cooking) was
Creating New Narratives
When Naskah Zada immigrated from Iraq to the U.S. in the fall of 1997, she was expecting to eat pizza in front of a big-screen television in either a mansion […]