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Emilia  ·  Honduras

Arrival: I Took Sanctuary

I Fear for my Daughter's Life and My Own
CAMPS COXS BAZAR
Bangladesh

The Journey: Camps

LIBYA PAT
Pat  ·  A West African Country

The Journey: My Heart Felt Dead

So the man started flogging me. See the scars? All over my body!
LIMBO COXS BAZAR
Stateless Refugees - Cox Bazaar  ·  Myanmar

Arrival: Limbo

"Of the 71 million forcibly displaced people in the world, 41 million are displaced within their own countries..."
WHAT WE CARRY Rasheeda
Rasheeda  ·  Iran

The Journey: What We Carry

I pray most of all for my children who are still in Afghanistan and Iran.
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
Christine Dolan, Paris, France
Christine Dolan  ·  United Kingdom

I Was Called the Sock Ambassador

There are many desperate people…
Tamba, West Africa
Tamba  ·  A West African Country

Arrival: I Want to Work

" I want to leave something for my children and grandchildren. The Italians give me a place to sleep and food, but I need help finding a job..."
Hania, West Africa
A West African Country

“God Knows Who I Am; He will Help Me”

God knows what I am, so He will help me.
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.”
Bahar
Afghanistan

“I Married When I was Ten-Years-Old”

Now I am alone, living in a tent here in Greece.
Nasira
Iran

For the Safety of Our Children

Wife, mother of three. Now a refugee seeking a better future for her family.
Khaldieh
Syria

KHALDIEH

The Boat was Sinking
Ahmad and his wife
Afghanistan

We Married Anyway

I know I have to start and build a new life from the beginning.
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.
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?"
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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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