Fighting for a Better Life
Life in calm Clackamas, Oregon, where Hamada Haaji Chamada lives with his family is very different from the war-torn city of Mogadishu, Somalia,
Tag: portland
A Resilient Daughter of the Arab Spring
When Rama Yousef was born in the Syrian capital of Damascus in 1999, her father cursed and cried tears of frustration. She was his fourth child and not the son […]
She is a Girl-Power Grandma
When Michael, age 9, was asked to identify the girl-power women in his life, his first choice was his surrogate grandmother. Vera Moroz, 76, was an immigrant
Building a Home and a New Life
Neither Govinda nor Januka ever expected to own a house. Govinda Dhimal and his wife Januka Bokhrel both grew up in refugee camps in Nepal.
Desert to Oregon, a Paintbrush in Hand
Hussein Al-Baiaty was about as far away as anyone could be when terrorists crashed two airplanes into New York’s World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
I Had to Earn my Way
Dr. Rahel Nardos’ credentials as an M.D. from Yale are not enough for some people, who question her status as a medical professional
Broken Glass to Breakout Senior
In 2013, when a bomb exploded and shattered all the windows of 15-year-old Sara Mohamed’s classroom in Damascus, Syria, she better understood
I am Here, and I am Not Sorry
“I will never be seen as an American. I don’t even know what being an American looks like. Is it being lighter? Is it having my hair out? Or is […]
To Portland, from Russia, for Love
Many immigrants move to the United States in search of new opportunities or a better life, but Irina Francis’ motivation was love. She was happy in Russia
Feminist Blooms Under the Headscarf
For Hanin, wearing a hijab and being a feminist go hand-in-hand. The 18-year-old Forest Grove college student, born in Saudi Arabia, has lived in the United States
It is the Only Way to Succeed
Alejandro was barely 10 years old when his father died. He was devastated, his world suddenly turned upside down. Alejandro was born in 1980 in Bryan, Texas.
The Best Of Both Worlds
When her 10-year-old daughter asked her, “What will happen to us? Will we be shipped out?” Sabina neither knew what to say or how to respond to her when she […]
Rebuilding Her Life to Reconcile
One of Dijana’s earliest memories is of sleeping in the woods with her family. They weren’t camping for fun though — they were hiding. “We were attacked in Bosnia
Crossing the Line in the Sand
Ivan was eleven years old when his family left Mexico. He had been doing well in his school in Mexico and he was very popular because of his loud voice […]
A Once in a Lifetime Journey
“When I was in a band, I pretended I was straight the whole time,” Franklin says. “Nobody knew I was living a double private life as a rockstar and a […]