READ OUR OFFICIAL STATEMENT ON THE U.S. FY2026 REFUGEE ADMISSIONS CAP AND PRIORITIZATION
SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCES WITH DISPLACEMENT, RESETTLEMENT, DEPORTATION, AND ICE #ANONYMOUSAMONGUS

Germany

Nabi
Afghanistan

The Taliban Slaughtered Gay Men like Animals

It was hard to be gay in my country. You can’t live as a [free] man.
Rahim, an Afghan currently living in Switzerland
Rahim  ·  Afghanistan

I Fought to Keep My Hope

It gives me a bad feeling … that I am safe and my friends are still in trouble.
Rasheeda, Afghanistan
Iran

I Brought my Koran and Prayer Rug with Me

We left Iran because we are Afghans.
Kalil, Afghanistan
Afghanistan

I Am a Civil Engineer; I Am Good at My Job

I hope I can find a good life and that I can continue in my profession.
Layla
Layla  ·  Ethiopia

Belonging: I Want to Have Something of My Own

I want to be able to say, “This is MY house! We can stay forever here and nobody will tell me to go.”
Sahar
Sahar  ·  An Islamic Country

Our Lives Before: Not Everyone has Freedom of Religion

Then one of my friends got arrested in a park.
Khaldieh
Syria

KHALDIEH

The Boat was Sinking
Firoz Color
Syria

FIROZ

I’m Worried about My Family
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.
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.
1 2
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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