Finding Identity in Resilience
Looking back on the many changes in her life, Sara Houranpay likes to quote her father’s advice: “When life throws you down, you get up,
Category: Refugee
The Heaven Between
War has been part of Saron’s family’s history for three generations. The last time he saw his father was when the Khmer Rouge came and took him away to be […]
A Resilient Daughter of the Arab Spring
Rama Youssef was 12 years old when she left Syria, escaping violence caused by the beginning of the Syrian Civil War. But life didn’t get easier for Rama when
May Be Awkward, but It Has to Be Said
Belise Nishimwe was 5 years old when she arrived in the U.S. She was born in a Tanzanian refugee camp, the daughter of genocide survivors.
Jewish Children Please Stand Up
Leslie and Eva Aigner’s childhood were marked by horror. Born in different parts of Czechoslovakia as Nazi soldiers took hold, the two took very different paths to
Living the World in Color
In February, 2021, Nyibol Bior published a children’s book called “My Beautiful Colors.” She chose the title because, “Colors are metaphors
Fabric, Nyarugusu, Tanzania
Jeanette Amisi Mmunga: when the world unravels before you and even your dreams are crumbling stones when everything you dare to touch is set on fire and all
Birth Certificate, Goma, DRC
Johana Amani: I lost my birth certificate while fleeing for safety from my home country Congo, DRC. I never thought I would lose my sense of belonging
Bowl, Central African Republic
Mariamou’s Abdoulye: It’s called tummude and we use it to hold milk. In the Fulani tradition we use it every morning to milking our cows or where we carry the […]
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.
Shirt, Makamba, Burundi
Olive Bukuru: This was the shirt I was wearing when my family first got on the 1st bus from Nduta Camp to another camp to be screened before we arrived […]
Dodge Ball, Kanembwa, Tanzania
Divine Irambona: Life in the camp was hard for me. The only thing that kept me excited was playing a game with my friends. My favorite game was dodgeball
Leave Home and Don’t Come Back
Reza Uddin was born in the epicenter of the Burmese government’s ethnic cleansing campaign against Rohingya Muslims. For the first years of his life,
A Way Around Closed Doors
“Always find a way to climb back up,” says Souleymane Adam, reflecting on what he has learned as a survivor of genocide. “And not back up to where we came […]
A Continued Love for Learning
As Rekesh Subedi’s family prepared to leave Nepal for the United States, he talked excitedly with his friend about travelling on planes. “I told him, when you see a plane […]