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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.

Hania, West Africa
Haniah - West Africa  ·  Ghana

Arrival: Law

"He left me with two babies and went to Libya ... I wemt to Libya, but I didn't find him."
ARRIVAL SUPER STORY PORTRAIT REFUGEE WOMAN TRAIN
Saheba - AFghan from Iran  ·  Iran

Arrival

"I only want to be treated like a human being. I just want to be free and to live in peace and safety..."
Rohingya Woman
Rohingya Women  ·  Myanmar

Why We Flee: The Rohingya Women

Whilst safe from the Myanmar military in the camps, Rohingya women remain at risk due to gender-based and sexual violence, discrimination, human trafficking and health problems
Asylum | Gangs and Drug Cartels Eduardo
Eduardo  ·  Honduras

Why We Flee: Gangs and Cartels

We lived peacefully. But when gang members wanted me to sell drugs in the middle of my fruit, I said, “No.”
PERSECUTION GHEZAL
Ghezal  ·  Afghanistan

Why We Flee: The Taliban Says We are All Infidels

If you have a child, you will understand how I feel.
OUR LIVES BEFORE NO FAULT OF OUR OWN ROHINGYA CHILDREN
Rohingya Children  ·  Myanmar

Stateless and Homeless Through Birth

The first to see the magic - the last to lose hope
ROYA AND MUNIR OUR LIVES BEFORE UNTHINKABLE LOVED ONE THREATENED
Roya  ·  Afghanistan

Our Lives Before: The Unthinkable Happened

In the constitution, on paper, women have equal rights with men, but in reality, they have no rights there.
Adam Abdoali Jamal Suleiman OUR LIVES BEFORE no stories
Sudan

On the Streets of Paris

Until contention, rumors of conflict, angry politics and war triggered fear and anxiety
Amina Children 1
Amina  ·  Syria

Belonging: A Math Teacher and a Mother

I have missed three years of their lives. I will never get them back.
Large Ali 2016
Ali  ·  Afghanistan

The Journey: I Crossed the Mountainous Border

I kept thinking, "I will be dead; I'm not going to make it!"
OUR LIVES BEFORE Leonard Bagalwa
Leonard  ·  Democratic Republic of the Congo

Our Lives Before: Born a Survivor

Forced to be a rebel then a spy, Leonard was protected by the pygmies
Amina no watermark
Amina  ·  Syria

Leaving Aleppo

Amina is one of countless indomitable refugee mothers in the world
D C Sunset Run for Refugees 2019
Afghanistan

Sunset Run For Refugees, D.C.

Refugees and advocates ran or walked from George Washington University to Lincoln Memorial (approximately 2 miles) as part of an annual event in celebration of World Refugee Day. An Afghan family from Kabul seeking refuge in Frankfurt, Germany, would have to walk almost 4300 miles. That distance is the equivalent of walking from Boston, Massachusettes to San Diego, California, then up the West Coast past Seattle, Washington to the Canadian border.
Mathudo
A West African Country

This is What They Did to Me

The people of Europe, they that think that we just came here to look for money. No!
Nicole Ludwig, Frankfurt, Germany
Germany

I Organized a Refugee Support Group

In the end you will be judged by the fullness of your heart.
Julie Anderson, Frankfurt, Germany
United States

She Established a Library for Refugees

I’m thankful to be a small part of this.
6 7 8 910 11 12
161 - 180 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?

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