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 […]
Tag: portland
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 […]
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 […]
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
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 […]
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
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
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
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.
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.
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 […]
We Are an Asset to Our Society
It’s a long way from Mexico City to the Revolución Coffee House in Portland, Oregon. But Maria Garcia — business owner, mother, activist, advocate —
A Heart in the Right Place
Ever since grade school, Abel Getachew has known what he wanted to do with his life—heart surgery for those in need. “When I was in elementary school,