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Archive

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

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
Zurvan Daughter
Afghanistan

Who Will Listen to Our Pain?

I am responsible for the welfare of my children.
Firoz Color
Syria

FIROZ

I’m Worried about My Family
Ualda
Afghanistan

Only a Mother Who has Lost a Child Knows My Pain

​Ualda comes from a world where it is dangerous for a woman to be educated or outspoken.
Greatest Weapon Is Love

Our Greatest Weapon is Love

Our greatest weapon against all workers of terror is love.
Goat Project
An East African Country

East African Refugee Goat Project of Utah

This video highlights some of the ways the goats are helping the three communities transition from their old lives in Africa to their new ones in America.
Amina Children 1
Syria

My Children's Childhood Has Gone with The War

I came from Syria from the city of Aleppo. I was a math teacher in Aleppo’s high schools.
Refugee Child Painting
Afghanistan

I am a Refugee Child

We hope for peace, friendship, good behavior and good treatment. And my wish is peace.
Faroosh Family
Afghanistan

If Peace Returns, We Will Go Back

If peace returns to Afghanistan one day, we will definitely go back. I had a peaceful and good life there. I had a house and a job.
Hassan From You Tube
Syria

"Are We in Control of Our Destiny?"

Hassan asks: "In times of war, are we in control of our destiny?"
Kamil Painting
Syria

KAMIL

Kamil was born a refugee, as was his father, Akhtar. His Palestinian grandparents fled to Syria in the late 1940’s and raised their family in Yarmouk, a thriving, almost exclusively Palestinian suburb of Damascus.
Ahktar Crying
Syria

AKHTAR

STORY UPDATE: Akhtar is an expert craftsman in marble and granite. His life's work. All gone.
Roksana1
Afghanistan

My Name is Roksana

I am from Afghanistan and I am 18 years old. I want to tell my story of my journey to Europe.
Holding On Full Image
Syria

Holding On

They live in uncertainty, but are remarkably resilient and cheerful in bad conditions. They hold up the best they can, and cling to the most important things - loved ones, faith, and hope.
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261 - 280 of 307 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


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