Sankar Raman

Assimilation and Nostalgia

When Deepak Kaul immigrated from his native Kashmir — territory disputed by India and Pakistan — to New Jersey at age 10, his family lived across the street from Annin […]

Sankar Raman

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

Sankar Raman

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 […]

Adam Bacher

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 […]

Jim Lommasson

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 […]

Jim Lommasson

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 […]

Sankar Raman

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 […]

Sankar Raman

Be a Blade of Grass, Not a Tall Tree

Among a total of 13 siblings, it was Sivheng who most resembled their father. Kilin Ung  was a businessman who traded in the teak and rosewood

Kim Oanh Nguyen

Around the World Through Music

Every morning, Monday through Saturday, 14-year-old Kim Mai Nguyen woke up at 5:45 a.m. She dashed out the door at 6:20 a.m. to catch the subway. By the end of […]

Sankar Raman

There Is More Than One Way

“I’ve never been a person who had a plan about what they’d be doing in 10 years,” says Susheela Jayapal, Multnomah County’s District 2 Commissioner. “I just do

Sankar Raman

Doing Everything With Her Own Hands

Ayan Salat can teach you all about scorpions. She can make fluffy injera bread and cook meals for an entire household. Ayan could ghost-write your next

Sankar Raman

From Fist Fighting to Mediating

Bernal Cruz had just been suspended from high school for taking part in a fist fight when one of the school counselors stopped him and said, “I think you would

Sankar Raman

Bending Toward Justice

When she started watching Perry Mason at age five, Jeanice Chieng was already intrigued by how the law could be used to fight injustice.

Jim Lommasson

Diaspora, Baghdad, Iraq

Dr. Baher Butti: Brother in law: Seattle Washington USA. Sister: Budapest Hungary. Brother: In Jordan….no maybe Dubai/UAE. Brother: Brighten England. G.B. 

Jim Lommasson

Domino Set, Baghdad, Iraq

Othman Al Ani: I brought this domino set with me from Baghdad because it reminds me of the great times I spent with my friends. I chose this from all […]