Fill 1 Created with Sketch.
hamburger
READ OUR OFFICIAL STATEMENT ON THE U.S. FY2026 REFUGEE ADMISSIONS CAP AND PRIORITIZATION
SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCES WITH DISPLACEMENT, RESETTLEMENT, DEPORTATION, AND ICE #ANONYMOUSAMONGUS
April 30, 2019

Stories of Loss — Stories of Reconnection

Mental Health Issues Are Common Among Refugees Who Have Lost Homes Work People Status And A Sense Of Belonging

Fleeing your home and country means loss. The journey of a refugee is a story of loss.

In his book Lost Connections, author Johann Hari argues that depression doesn’t stem from a chemical imbalance in the brain, but from life circumstances, especially those that disconnect us. He identifies some mayor disconnectors of our day:

  • Disconnection from other people.
  • Disconnection from meaningful work.
  • Disconnection from good values.
  • Disconnection from trauma.
  • Disconnection from status and respect.
  • Disconnection from nature.
  • Disconnection from the hope for a meaningful and secure future.

It comes as no surprise that mental health issues are so widespread among refugees. But, knowing what disconnects, can help provide reconnection.

How to reconnect

The field of Peacebuilding (yes, that is a thing, I even majored in it) provides us with some valuable insights into how reconnection is possible.

Paramount for effective peacebuilding is the restoration/building of a relationship. This can be personal, interpersonal, within families or communities, between whole communities or even nations. This relationship component is core.

When people are in conflict, they are continually losing relationships. Love for a spouse weakens and animosity to the other side grows, for example. Refugees in a very real sense also are losing. Losing homes, loved ones, security, jobs, hope for the future, country, community, friends, health, control, mental health, identity...

Refugee peacebuilding efforts are therefore effective when we help to replace this loss as best as we can. Once we understand their loss and their needs, we can get to work.

Yes, the immediate need of refugees are food, security, and shelter. However, there is this other need that runs much deeper.

Their Story is Our Story’s role

Their Story is Our Story intersects right here, at the paramount need for relationships (a sense of belonging) and meaning (a task in the new environment).

The new environment and the locals won’t be able to replace the loss completely, but they can build new relationships, new meaning, new life, new future.

When I studied peacebuilding, I thought I might mediate marriage conflicts or negotiate peace treaties, but when I returned home to Germany, I found one of the most pressings needs in the area was the reconnection of refugees to the new environment.

Refugee peacebuilding will succeed when organizations facilitate this process of helping the locals to help the refugees, thereby easing their loss and building the necessary relationships for wholesome peace, real reconnection, and genuine relationships to happen.

What can you do?

Be close to them.

Listen.

Understand.

Comprehend.

Share.

Love.

Author: Eric Hachenberger, Volunteer Assistant Director, Video Production, Their Story is Our Story

Image credit: ©TSOS/Christophe Mortier


Other Posts

Official Statement on the FY2026 Refugee Admissions Cap and Prioritization of White South Africans

November 17, 2025

Official Statement for World Refugee Day 2025

June 20, 2025

Official Statement on Recent U.S. Immigration Policy Changes Affecting Vulnerable Populations

March 24, 2025
Back to CPC Blog
All Blogs
What would you do if you had to leave everything behind?

By the end of 2024, more than 123.2 million people worldwide had been forcibly displaced from their homes due to war, persecution, or human rights abuses.

An increase of 7.2 million over 2023, that’s more than 19,619 people every day — roughly one person every 4.4 seconds.

They arrive in refugee camps and other countries, like the US, seeking the one thing they’ve lost: safety.

Fleeing political imprisonment, ethnic violence, religious persecution, gang threats, or war crimes, they come with what little they managed to carry:

Legal papers – if they’re lucky.

A single backpack.

Sometimes a child’s hand in theirs.

They also carry the weight of what they left behind: fractured families, homes they’ll never return to, professions they loved, friends and relatives they may never see again.

They carry loss most of us can’t imagine – but also the truth of what they’ve endured.

At TSOS, we believe stories are a form of justice. When someone shares their experience of forced displacement, they reclaim their voice. And when we amplify that voice – through film, photography, writing, and advocacy – the world listens. Hearts soften. Communities open. Policy begins to shift.

That shift matters. Because when neighbors understand instead of fear…

when lawmakers see people, not politics…

when a teacher knows what her student has survived…

Rebuilding life from the ashes becomes possible.

We’re fighting an uphill battle. In today’s political climate, refugee stories are often twisted or ignored. They’re reduced to statistics, portrayed as national threats, or used to score political points.

The truth – the human, nuanced truth – gets lost, and when it does, we lose compassion.

We are here to share their truth anyway.

At TSOS, we don’t answer to headlines or algorithms. We are guided by a simple conviction: every person deserves to be seen, heard, and welcomed.

Our work is powered by the people we meet — refugees and asylum seekers rebuilding after loss, allies offering sanctuary, and communities daring to extend belonging.

Your support helps us share their stories — and ensure they’re heard where they matter most.

“What ultimately persuaded the judge wasn’t a legal argument. It was her story.”

— Kristen Smith Dayley, Executive Director, TSOS

Will you help us keep telling the truth?

No donation is too small — and it only takes a minute of your time.

Why give monthly?

We value every gift, but recurring contributions allow us to plan ahead and invest more deeply in:

  • New refugee storytelling and advocacy projects
  • Resources to train and equip forcibly displaced people to share their own stories
  • Public education that challenges fear with empathy
  • Local efforts that help communities welcome and integrate newcomers

As our thank-you, monthly supporters receive fewer fundraising messages — and more stories of the impact they’re making possible.

You don’t have to be displaced to stand with those who are.

Can you give today — and help carry these stories forward?

Support Monthly Give Once
Add Impact to Your Inbox
Sign up for our emails to get inspiring stories and updates delivered straight to you.
Subscribe
© 2025 Their Story is Our Story Privacy Policy
Their Story is Our Story is a 501(c)3 Non-Profit Organization under the United States Internal Revenue Code. All donations are tax-deductible. Our tax identification number is 812983626.