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Stories

Political Instability

Felipe Silva Work
Felipe Fernando Silva Ramos  ·  Venezuela

They are People that God Placed in my Path

It is not easy to have no family nearby, to start from zero, completely alone.
Carlos 2
Carlos Arturo Albino Reyes  ·  Venezuela

The Voice of My People

I had a meeting with Nicolás Maduro, the president of Venezuela, and he insulted me.
Hazrat
Hazrat  ·  Afghanistan

Always Be Proud That You Are Working

I am an engineer
Image 1
Jhennyfer and Carlos  ·  Venezuela

Outside the Land that Gave Us Everything

Nowadays, the journalist is persecuted and intimidated, and tortured for showing reality in a photo or image.
Rosie Par Cross Academy
Myanmar

Generation 1.5 Mentor-Bridging the Generational Gaps in Chin-American Families

Rosie Par
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Afghanistan

Vulnerability of Women

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Aarash  ·  Afghanistan

Fleeing the Taliban

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Norina  ·  Afghanistan

Discouraged and Alone: How One Afghan Refugee Is Struggling to Make a Home in Germany

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Noor  ·  Afghanistan

NOOR

Diary of An Afghan Woman
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Hasti  ·  Afghanistan

HASTI

Diary of An Afghan Woman
Baran Avatar with text
Baran  ·  Afghanistan

BARAN

Diary of An Afghan Woman
ZOYA Avatar
Zoya  ·  Afghanistan

ZOYA

Diary of An Afghan Woman
040 Mehrullah Zarghona LS 1915
Afghanistan

Five Years. Five Children. 4,300 Miles.

Giovanny 3 2
Giovanny Francisco Torrealba Ramirez  ·  Venezuela

Help Me to Keep Helping

We walked until we thought we must be lost. A truck driver gave me a ride. It took seven hours. Can you imagine how many days that would have taken to walk?
Rawah
Rawah  ·  Iraq

Here I Can Make My Own Future

Here I can make my own life
Maddie and Wilmot Collins - Mayor
Wilmot & Maddie Collins  ·  Liberia

I'm Here To Listen

Wilmot Collins - Mayor of Helena, Montana
DEPORTATION WOMAN LOOKING OUT WINDOW
Norina - Afghan from Iran  ·  Iran

I Just Want to Be Free

I had no rights, no freedom to choose my path.
PHYSICAL HEALTH ROHINGYA BURN VICTIM
Rohingya Child - Unaccompanied Children  ·  Myanmar

Arrival: Physical Health

"Refugees have often known extreme hunger, sleeplessness, frostbite, sunstroke, ... various sicknesses and ailments that have gone untreated during long periods preceding their flight and during the journey itself..."
WHO ARE WE NOW SYRIAN GIRL ZAATARI CAMP
Syria

Arrival: Who Are We Now?

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..."
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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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