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Stories

Archive

We share stories to move people to act. Explore our stories archive using the filters below, then learn how you can help.

Habib Draws Water From Camp Hoses In Greece
Afghanistan

I Had a Mechanic Shop

A husband, a father, a mechanic. Now a refugee.
Mosuma
Afghanistan

I Had to Protect My Daughters

I brought my daughters here for their sake
027 Ls Mehria 3590
An Islamic Country

Teachers Were At Risk

She was targeted by the Taliban for teaching school.
Tabish With His Family
Afghanistan

The Struggles…Can Fill a Story Book

Tabish's journey to safety sounds like text from a fiction-thriller book.
Madina
Medina  ·  Afghanistan

Why We Flee: Because We Are Shia, They Want to Destroy Us

I just want to live in a safe place where everyone can live in peace.
Mahommad
Iraq

MAHOMMAD

Mahommad is five-years-old and just moved here.
Tiba
Iraq

TIBA

Tiba exudes joy.
Sakina
Iraq

SAKINA

Sakina’s favorite thing about being in America is that it is safe and she gets to go to school.
Mohaned and Zainab with their family
Iraq

MOHANED AND ZAINAB (3/3)

In September 2016, Mohaned & Zainab arrived in Binghamton, Alabama with nothing.
Mohaned & Zainab (2)
Iraq

MOHANED AND ZAINAB (2/3)

In Iraq, Zainab was a stay-at-home mom and Mohaned was a taxi driver.
Mohaned & Zainab
Iraq

MOHANED AND ZAINAB (1/3)

We only want to live in peace and safety.
Paris Ground Support Interview
United Kingdom

Tolerance Doesn't Help Much

It’s the situation that is the horrible… thing. It’s not the people in it.
Heather
United Kingdom

HEATHER

What we try to hand out is [empathy from] a human to a human.
Kelvin
United Kingdom

KELVIN

People were … going up and down in their daily lives, not noticing, not seeing.
Dignity

Dignity

Our inherent value and worth as human beings.
I am more than a number

I Am More Than a Number

Watch me fold this plane…
Khaldieh
Syria

KHALDIEH

The Boat was Sinking
Ahmad and his child
Afghanistan

Hope

Even when all else is beyond our control, hope keeps us from giving up.
Ahmad and his wife
Afghanistan

We Married Anyway

I know I have to start and build a new life from the beginning.
Kayra
United States

KAYRA

Art to help refugees
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241 - 260 of 300 stories
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
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