State: Missouri City of Residence: St. Louis Country of origin: Soviet Union Arrival in the U.S.: 1988 JULIA OSTROPOLSKY, MSW, LCSW arrived in the U.S. with her parents as a stateless refugee near the end of the Soviet era. Growing up, she witnessed the struggles of her family and the Russian-speaking community to adapt to and understand their new lives in America. […]
State: Kentucky City of Residence: Louisville, Kentucky Country of origin: Somalia Arrival in the U.S.: 2009 Mr. Mukhtar Ahmed is a Somali refugee who was reunited with his family in Louisville, Kentucky in 2009. After being displaced many times and becoming separated from his family, Mr. Ahmed fled to Kenya with friends, where he spent four years without knowing where […]
State: D.C. City of Residence: Washington, D.C. Country of origin: Sudan Arrival in the U.S.: 2000 Reverent Thon Moses Chol was only four years old when the war in Sudan forced him to flee his village as a “Lost Boy” and fend for himself before being resettled as an unaccompanied minor. Mr. Chol was resettled to the United States in 2000 and […]
State: Texas City of Residence: Fort Worth, Texas Country of origin: Democratic Republic of the Congo Arrival in the U.S.: 1999 Mr. Jean-Claude Mauridi was 16 years old when war broke out in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He fled his country in order to avoid recruitment by the rebels, and spent the next ten years in a refugee […]
State: Ohio City of Residence: Blacklick, Ohio Country of origin: Bhutan Arrival in the U.S.: 2008 Mr. Hari Niroula is a refugee from Bhutan who came to the United States in 2008. He currently lives in Blacklick, Ohio with his wife and daughter, where he works as a language interpreter and community advocate. Mr. Niroula has worked with several community […]
State: Texas City of Residence: Denton, Texas Country of origin: Rwanda Arrival in the U.S.: 2000 Ms. Hadidja Nyiransekuye is a survivor of the Rwandan Genocide. She was sponsored to come to the United States in 1998 based on her teaching experience and education background, as well as her extensive language skills, which include English, French, Swahili and Kinyarwanda. She […]
State: Maryland City of Residence: Baltimore, Maryland Country of origin: Rwanda Arrival in the U.S.: 2001 Ms. Eugenie Mukeshimana is a survivor of the Rwandan Genocide. After struggling with this traumatic experience for nearly eight years, she and her daughter finally left in 2001 for the United States and were granted asylum. She currently lives in Baltimore, Maryland and has […]
State: Alabama City of Residence: Mobile, Alabama Country of origin: Viet Nam Arrival in the U.S.: 1993 Mr. Tuan Do is a Vietnamese refugee who came to the United States in 1993. He currently resides in Mobile, Alabama with his wife and daughter. He works as a program coordinator at Boat People SOS, assisting the Vietnamese population affected by the […]
State: Washington Country of origin: Mexico Arrival in the U.S.: 1997 Ms. Jacque Larrainzar came to the United States from Mexico in 1997, and was the first Mexican lesbian to win political asylum in the United States on the basis of her sexual orientation. Ms. Larrainzar currently lives in Seattle, Washington and works as an Immigrant and Refugee Outreach Specialist […]
State: Utah City of Residence: Salt Lake City, Utah Country of origin: Bhutan Arrival in the U.S.: 2008 Mr. Gyanu Dulal was a 20-year-old college student when he was forced to flee Bhutan in 1991. He spent the next 18 years living and working as a teacher in a refugee camp in Nepal. In 2008, Mr. Dulal was resettled to […]
State: Wyoming City of Residence: Gillette, Wyoming Country of origin: Democratic Republic of the Congo Arrival in the U.S.: 2003 Mr. Bertine Bahige fled the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the age of 15 when rebels raided his house and tried to forcibly recruit him. Traveling alone, he undertook a dangerous journey to a refugee camp in Mozambique. In […]
State: Minnesota City of Residence: Columbia Heights, Minnesota Country of origin: Somalia Arrival in the U.S.: 1991 Ms. Fatuma Elmi fled the civil war in Somalia and came to Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1991, where she was granted Temporary Protection Status. Immediately after arriving, Ms. Elmi began volunteering with Lutheran Social Services to help new refugees adjust to life in the […]
State: Georgia City of Residence: Acworth, Georgia Country of origin: Gambia Arrival in the U.S.: 2008 Mr. Sheriff Samsudeen Phatey came to the United States from the Gambia by himself in 2008 at the age of 18. Mr. Phatey was born into a political family in the Gambia, and at an early age he hosted a radio program where he […]
State: Indiana City of Residence: Fort Wayne, Indiana Country of origin: Myanmar Arrival in the U.S.: 2008 Mr. Myo Myint is a refugee who fled Myanmar after being persecuted, imprisoned, and tortured for his support of the National League for Democracy. He arrived in the United States in 2008 and now lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Mr Myint is a […]
State: Montana City of Residence: Helena, Montana Country of origin: Liberia Arrival in the U.S.: 1994 Mr. Wilmot Collins is a refugee from Liberia who was forced to flee the Liberian civil war after the ceasefire collapsed and two of his brothers were killed by rebels and government soldiers. Mr. Collins arrived in the United States in 1994, and he […]