Casa Cornelia’s Development office is about as far away from a courtroom as you can get, so when Rose suggested I attend an asylum hearing, I was thrilled. My assignment was to sit in the courtroom and take notes. “Don’t show any emotion, no matter what happens,” Rose warned. “If you feel your emotions start to well-up, just look [...]
Kamel* is an Afghanistan native who, opposing the Taliban, has endured significant danger during his life in his home country. He believes the Taliban’s ideology is oppressive and refuses to support their regime. This led to him being persecuted and twice having to seek refuge. During the Taliban’s rule in the nineties, Kamel was targeted and imprisoned. He was [...]
Growing up in Turkey, Kadir* hid his identity as a gay man to his conservative family and most friends in his circle. He even dated girls publicly to hide his sexuality – he says, “I never came out to my family or other friends because of fear that they would reject me, or that it could become public knowledge [...]
Sometimes, the most heartbreaking journeys can still end in new hope. Elisa’s* story is a testament to that. Growing up in Mexico, Elisa endured abuse from all angles just because she was different. She says, “From a very young age, I did not conform to or identify with the [male] gender assigned to me at birth.” Whenever she expressed her [...]
Hashem* was born in the 70’s in Iran to an extremely conservative Muslim family. Although it was all he knew growing up, there were many aspects of his family’s religious practices and beliefs that made Hashem uncomfortable. Some of the rituals included self-harm, polygamy, and public executions by stoning. As an Islamic state, Iran’s citizens live under this Islamic law, [...]
Emmanuel* never expected to have to flee his home country of Cameroon to save his and his family’s lives. He grew up in an Anglophone (English-speaking) region with his mother and sisters. His father died when Emmanuel was very young, so he eventually had to drop out of school to support his family. “I engaged in agricultural work with my [...]
As the third of four siblings growing up in Cuba, Leonardo* had a hard time gaining the support and education he needed. His family struggled financially and he eventually had to drop out of school at age 14. He says he did it, “In order to help my parents and siblings because we did not have enough money to eat.” [...]
Marcel* was born directly into the conflict between the English and French-Speaking regions of Cameroon. With an absent father, Marcel grew up with title of his mother’s Anglophone culture - he attended school in English and adopted Christian practices. But disputes with his father’s family over his up-bringing resulted in Marcel moving to a Francophone region with his uncle to [...]
