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.
Tag: Iraq
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
A Key To The American Dream
“I was pregnant when the U.S. invaded,” recalls Murooj Alshawi. “When I heard the bombs, I started shaking and didn’t even feel my daughter in my stomach.
A Whirlwind of Unsettlement
This is a story of a man whose determination, courage, ability to deal with unexpected adversity, and willingness to take risks brought him from war-torn Iraq
Desert to Oregon, a Paintbrush in Hand
Hussein Al-Baiaty was born in Iraq during the first Gulf War. To escape the dangerous living conditions, he and his family fled to a refugee camp in Saudi Arabia.
Woman Without a Country
As the daughter of an Iraqi, Eman Abbas and her family faced severe discrimination in her home country of Kuwait during the 1980s when the country enacted
Flags, Kurdish Area, Northern Iraq
Khairi Al-Karsafi : Iraqi Flag, Yazidi Flag, American Flag. The respect for the flag is a national duty: I am born as Izidi, my land is Iraq, and my country […]
Wedding, Kurdish Area, Northern Iraq
Khairi Al-Karsafi: Top Arrow: This family picture was taken at the Khairi Al-Karsafi wedding back in 1994 in Iraq. Left Arrow: My wife Najad.
Painting his way around the world
On a Wednesday afternoon in 2003, Samir Khurshid burned his own painting. The rest of his 480 works were also destroyed that year, he said, in his hometown of Tus, […]
Barat, Kurdish Area, Northern Iraq
Diar Alkhalo: Top Left: This is called Barat. Barat is made of soil from the holiest Yazidi temple, Lalish. Religious Yazidis at Lalish make the Barat on one night of […]
From Bullets to Building
Marbles, three books of short Kurdish stories written in Arabic, and two AK-47 rounds. “With war always going on, those were my trophies (to take with me),”
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 […]
I Haven’t Brought Anything, Iraq
Endrious Esho: “My name is Endrious Esho. I am from Nenwah, Iraq. I haven’t brought anything from my home. We left home because of ISIS attack in our areas. We […]
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 […]
A Candle in the Darkness
Dr. Baher Butti’s earliest memory dates from 1963, when he was just two years old. His uncle took him to visit his father in prison, where he was serving time