“After miles of walking and restless nights, we finally came to a stop.” This is the story of how my dad and my mom had to leave their home. Tonga, a place where there is peace and hardly any violence. People would wake up to the sound of singing birds and a beautiful view of the beach and the sun ... Read More »
Tag Archives: Washington
Kimiko – Japanese Hidden Within
Sirens blaring, fighter planes soaring, and the cries of thousands, this was the everyday life and struggles of Japanese men, women, and children. It was a life filled with bombings, hunger, and loneliness. My grandmother, Kimiko, was just five years old when World War II broke out. It was one filled with terror and misery, a world in which ... Read More »
Escaping Post-War Vietnam
“We left our house with our small bag to go to the cargo ship knowing that I may never see my house again, and that we could be shot for walking the streets during the curfew.” My uncle Tai was born and grew up in Cholon. Cholon was a district of Saigon which was the capital of old South Vietnam. ... Read More »
My Journey Crossing La Linea
1994 was when everything went downhill in Mexico. I wasn’t getting enough money to provide for my family, and if it wasn’t for the money I would still be in Michoacan. My two friends and I decided to leave El Sauz De Magaña Michoacan the Rancho, where I was raised, to come to the United States. The jobs in Mexico ... Read More »
Lelaine’s Opportunities After Leaving the Philippines
I was born and raised in the Philippines until my teen years, around the age of 15. My father died in a war when I was a baby. Growing up, I lived a lifestyle that was difficult for me to handle. I had four siblings… an older sister, a younger brother and two younger half-sisters. My mother was always busy, ... Read More »
Immigration Story:Escape From Domestic Violence
It was a normal day in Mexico Lazaro, Cardenas Michoacan. My mom was working en palacio municipal de Michoacán. It was hot outside, I was in school, and my dad was working en la terminal portuaria de contenedores. It was the same kind of day as always. After school, I would always stay at my grandma’s house, I would always ... Read More »
Quy Lee’s Immigration Escape Plan
Watch Quy present his story in front of an audience, or scroll down further for the written story. It was 1975 in Vietnam. Quy was living in Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam. All around him, he was seeing effects of the Vietnam War and communist control. Ethnic Chinese like him were being discriminated against to the point where their ... Read More »
William Davis and his lineage
For the most part my family comes from the British Isles. We have been on this continent for 300 plus years, that I have been able to document. For the bulk of that, in what is now Grayson County, Virginia and just over the border in Ashe County, North Carolina. All came here due to religious presecution and generally getting ... Read More »