Samir was a teenager in love, his days full of farm chores, school and walking his girlfriend home. When war came to his corner of northeastern Bosnia, he pitched in to dig trenches and defend the village along with all his neighbors. Then came the bomb that struck his family home and he found himself lying on the ground outside with a body that didn’t work the way it used to. Weeks later, in a hospital far from home, he realized he was facing a world that had changed forever and it was up to him to move forward, although he couldn’t even get himself into the wheelchair beside his bed.
I Am My Story Live is a production of the award-winning nonprofit The Immigrant Story. The stories were presented live at First Congregational Church of Christ, Portland, OR on Saturday, April 1, 2022. With a focus on powerful voices of survival and soothing musical accompaniment, I Am My Story Live provided a space for storytelling, cultural exchange and empathy.
Organized as a part of Genocide Awareness Month, this free event is made possible by a generous contribution from the Zidell Family Foundation. This project is supported in part by a grant from the Oregon Heritage Commission, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. Additional funding was provided by a grant from Oregon Humanities (OH), a statewide nonprofit organization and an independent affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, which funds OH’s grant program.