by Joyous In this vast earth, in some country, the seasonal snow never touches its ground, instead, there’s a 35 degrees Celcius heatwave with intense UV on the daily. Along with said heatwave, there’s soundwave from many gadget around the country. A soundwave that radiates the sound of idiocy from country’s leader and its attendants. Should the people walk the street to strike protest regarding the leader and its subordinate’s idiocy, the confining jail awaits or worst yet,

by Dua Shah The winter did not just bring the frost; It brought a long, heavy stillness. It dragged out the nights like shadows, forcing us to carry our homes inside our pockets. We walked through terrain that forgot our names, nursing small sparks in the dark. But the ice never stays unscathed. Beneath the frozen earth, the soil always remembers. The sun is returning, slow and steady, to unravel the cold from your shoulders. Breathe out the frost. Your spring is finally begi

by Manal Rashid Zoya Miari is a Ukrainian-Palestinian refugee who grew up in Lebanon. In the midst of the war in 2021, her family emigrated to Ukraine. In 2022, the Russia-Ukraine war broke out, and her family once again emigrated to Switzerland. Her story is living proof that despite the challenges one faces, being a refugee twice, she emerges as one of the inspiring young women around the world. For Zoya, she has firsthand experience of the double standard refugees face. In

by Manal Rashid Won't you follow me? Look into yourself deeply. Feel the blood pulse within Those pounds in your chest The heart that beats With such love to keep you alive Won't you follow your heart? Akin to the needle of a compass The elixir of life to those who are lost Won't you follow your heart? Whose needles that flow blood throughout And points to intuition when it desires An internal compass, The gift of mankind So won't you follow, Won't you follow your heart? ​ An

by Manal Rashid You, The pride of your ancestors To see who carries on their blood Their eyes Their resilience You, The heir of it all Who carries the laugh of your friends The habits of those you love With hair crafted of the culture you belong to With the silhouette of the mighty who came before you You, Who has the fire of the rebels The heart of the lovers The strength of the leaders And with it, you, Still carry shame Tucked deep into the corners of your heart Misery tha

by Manal Rashid Despite everything, life still goes on. The Earth’s natural rhythm keeps resounding, resonating, a sonorous striding noise that cuts through even the worst of events. In between the Earth’s rhythm , there is you. Who moves as fluid as a breeze amongst the sea, a tide against the current, a flower amidst the infertile soil, the smile not wiped off from a child’s face, the gray hair that flies free in the wind. Despite what they went through, they dance to the E

by Alonna Freerksen People love metaphors involving birds. Mary Angelou wrote about birds that sing in cages. Harper Lee wrote about the innocence of birds. Yet even so, I don’t think many metaphors exist for migrating birds. Which is odd because many things can be said for birds that migrate. Birds that migrate dance in the wind, they somehow always know where to go. Young children watch them with a sense of awe no matter if the birds are geese, seagulls, bluejays, or maybe

by Alonna Freerksen Resilience as defined by the American Psychological Association as… “The ways in which individuals view and engage with the world, the availability and quality of social resources, and specific coping strategies.”—A.P.A But it's more than that isn’t it? Resilience is standing up despite getting knocked down. A well known example is Spider Man who is known for his resilience whether its Peter Parker, Miles Morales, or Gwen Stacy they never stay down for lon

by Alonna Freerksen Waves crash from the distant sea shore. The young child walks along the path made by the feet of people who wore down the grass before their parents were born. The clouds are white and bright, and the child hums a low soothing tune, counting the steps. One, two, three… A boat horn blows in the distance and the child looks over at the huge ship covering their ears from its flamboyant cry. But the child knew to not linger, the mountain was straight ahead and

by Ishwarya Tyagi Why do we need spring? We all say that spring welcomes the warmth of summer to the dormancy winter creates. The soft breezes break the tightly packed cubes of ice and the sunlight melts mornings into feeling like freshly baked muffins. But what makes it the best, is how it changes our life. Our gaze shifts from the inside to the outside world; we start going out more, looking around more, touching and feeling the soft bits of blooming flowers and plants in o

by Emma M. Cevallos The first birthday party I was invited to in the United States is a bittersweet memory for me. I had just moved to the U.S. on October 15, 2020. I was in third grade, and the pandemic was starting to fade, so this party felt important. It was going to be my first real interaction with people in the U.S. It took place in the summer of 2021, and looking back, I realize my biggest challenge wasn’t just learning a new place—it was getting people to talk to me.

by: Elizabeth Macrohon The sun is gone, replaced with gloom. The memories of what was—they keep behind them as a tomb, and now, all they see now is a world anew. The foreign terrain, a mark of what is, Yet, they continue to carry the baggage of what they miss. A fiery storm rages in the core of their heart, But surely, the season will soon part. The trees they planted will bear fruit, And wonders, in no time, will be afoot. Therefore, despite the thrashes of rain, They will g

by Sehajpreet Kaur Lakhyan If spring had witnessed winter, It would not arrive so easily. It would hesitate, At broken windows still holding Fragments of old light. At empty streets, That once carried footsteps Now remembered only by silence. At names, That tremble differently on Unfamiliar tongues, As if language itself has Learned caution. It would notice, How even the air changes When a place has learned loss. How some walls stop Feeling like shelter And start feeling like

by Sehajpreet Kaur Lakhyan No one talk about what survives. They talk about numbers. statistics, headlines, crossings, camps, crisis. But not the little things. Not the little girl, who still insists her sun be yellow. Not the boy, who keeps a pebble from a street he may never see again. Not the mother, who remembers every ingredient without ever writing it down. Not the father, who laughs too loudly just so his children forget the sound of fear. No one talks about how human

by Sehajpreet Kaur Lakhyan I have never crossed a border with my whole life zipped inside a suitcase. Never had to choose between my photographs and my future. Never had to teach myself how to call somewhere else home. But I have seen people who did. And what amazed me was not their grief. It was the way they still smiled while pouring tea. The way they still braided hair told stories, held babies, made jokes. As if even after winter, they refused to forget warmth. And maybe

by Scarlet Salas “Success is the sum of all ef orts, repeated day-in and day-out.” —Robert Collier Education is considered a top priority by many immigration refugees. Being in an environment where you don’t know what to rely on, you rely on education to know more about it and to expand. Having education in pursuit can be viewed as a stable and trustworthy path in order to land yourself employment. This path requires hard, relentless work, and it’s not easy for most. Enrolli

by Scarlet Salas “When I think back to Congo, I get irritated. I get angry and I start fighting. But I don’t want that at all...” — Nelson, WarChild Not every child that sees and/or experiences war, violence, and conflict has the same reaction. The most expected reaction is that kids live with trauma that keeps them up for nights, suffering persisting mentally that makes them miserable even after finding sanctuary,.. And that is true! But it’s not the case for all children,

by Scarlet Salas "Sometimes when you're in a dark place you think you've been buried, but you've actually been planted." — Christine Caine Trying to maintain your balance and move forward in a world that doesn’t do favors for anyone isn’t easy. The world is unfair, and it’s not guaranteed that you’ll succeed or prosper in any way. You’ll have to bear your own burdens, live with your own pain, deal with your own suffering, and become independent in a sense that you’ll just hav

by Zainab Hassan The bitter chill of winter does not last forever, though my darkest nights made the dawn feel impossibly distant. As a refugee, my experience of forced displacement mirrored an endless, freezing season. The journey away from conflict and persecution was defined by the bite of harsh winds and the perilous navigation of untrodden snow. I was forced to flee the warmth of my ancestral home, carrying only what I could hold, leaving behind everything familiar to st

by Ria Manchada Oh gosh, my alarm was at it again. It was another day, the same routine, the same route, the same people, the same food, the same day. I peeked out the windows in the hope to see something new but there was nothing. The same brown buildings were standing there just beneath the cloudy weather, the trees were dancing in the wind and the people were dragging themselves to work while coffee shops were still selling the same coffee to everyone. Nothing new, nothing