Student Photos and Writing
Abbasova, Sebeldzhan
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Abed, Ahmed
“My Life”
FROM IRAQ TO JORDAN
One day, when I was six years old,
I was leaving school and running to my house.
My mom was busy packing our house stuff.
My mom said, “You don’t have to go to school tomorrow.”
“Finally?!!!.” I said
My mom said, “Yes, finally.”
I knew that we were traveling... » Read more...
Akhmedova, Nilufar
I Have a Choice
Turkish culture has very different systems from other cultures. In my culture, girls should get married before eighteen years old. In my culture, I can’t choose my life partner; my parents will choose someone for me, whether it’s good or bad. On their engagement night, most girls... » Read more...
AL Khaldi, Nuam
The Treasure of Life
“Wherever you go in this life, you won’t find a pillow
Better than a mother’s arms.”
September, 2008; the black day
My tears were falling like a waterfall
When I heard words that cut my heart to pieces with knives
“Your grandmother has gone!”
I couldn’t say a word
I... » Read more...
Andres Valles Mezquita
Andres Valles Mezquita
5505 S. Mission Rd., Apt. # 10101
Tucson Arizona 85746
March 31, 2009
Dear,
I am a high school student and I’m doing a project on unemployment. Please take action on the economy. You know that the economy is terrible. A lot of people have gotten laid off because of the economy... » Read more...
Antillon, Valeria
The soldiers of tomorrow
Many teenagers have a hard life. I’m one of these teenagers. I work about 20 hours per week and I go to high school full time, to have what I want or what I need. I work to help my mom, my sister, my niece and people I care about. I have many responsibilities which include... » Read more...
Chavez, Jonathan
War
I was 10 years old
When my 12 year old brother told me and my family
He wanted to go to war
And my mom said “no way”
I felt afraid to lose him
It would hurt us a lot
It wouldn’t be the same without him
It would feel like falling off a big mountain
Every day would look dark
It would be like... » Read more...
Chavira, Amada Isabel
What Could Happen Next?
School? Do you like school?
Maybe not, maybe yes
Who invented the jail?
Is it the same person who invented the school?
I don’t know, I want to know who did that.
Study, study, and study
It is a headache, it is a torment!
Oh no! School again
Wake up early,
Who likes that?
My... » Read more...
Coronado, Norberto
Undocumented Workers, Solo Warrior
When you are an undocumented immigrant, your life is like a solo warrior…a warrior with nothing to fight with…
Alone in the darkness
With no family, with no…
…nobody
An immigrant with
No jobs, no money;
No family;
Nothing
Every day is pain.
When my dad came... » Read more...
Cummings, Naomi
The opportunities my country dreams of
I am from a little place where people dream a lot, but their dreams never come to pass. Some of the things they dream about are to have education and to have success in life. They really want education but they can’t get it because they don’t have the same... » Read more...
Dahal, Laxmi
Like a bird in a cage
I was persecuted
For being different
Where am I from?
My parents are from Bhutan
And I was born in a Nepalese refugee camp
Am I Bhutanese, am I Nepalese.
What do I call myself?
I have many homes with no home
Though I have identity, I am now identity less
I have asked many questions... » Read more...
DeLaCruzMancilla, Miguel
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EnriquezRuiz, Estefania
Roselia Araceli Torres-Ruiz was separated from her family and loved ones. Roselia Araceli Torres-Ruiz was arrested on March 18, 2008. She was in jail for 112 days. Ms. Torres-Ruiz was arrested for working illegally here in the U.S. While in prison, she wrote: “America has power but not justice. In... » Read more...
Falah, Amna
When I came from Kuwait to Jordan, I found that my new school was too small. The library was boring and I couldn’t focus when I was reading because of the noise outside. I stopped going to the library. Additionally, there were more than forty girls in the class. We were in the same class for the... » Read more...
Falilova, Khanifa
“Peace”
When I was in Russia I saw a lot of fights, in my school, in my country, and other places. Here in the U.S., I still see fights between my friends and their friends. I see bad behavior. We need to stop the fights between people, parents and students. We need to create peace.
Peace is important... » Read more...
Gelee, Patience
What is the American dream? The American dream is the dream that we immigrants dream about in our country. We dream that if we come here to the United States life is going to be easy and better, that the hard working and suffering is going to end. As a young immigrant, I gave up my life in West Africa... » Read more...
Jallayu, Eugenia
The profound story
Living the life of a happy child,
Guess I’m very lucky
Yet
I don’t know how to speak the language of my homeland
Just ask and I’ll say
Yes,
I speak Liberian English.
I understand Krahn and I speak most of it,
But it isn’t my homeland language.
Yeah,
Thanks to war,
I was raised... » Read more...
Kana, Chris
Dropping out of school is a very bad idea. Why? Because it makes your life a whole lot harder. You’ll probably miss out on a lot of opportunities and it will make it harder for you to get a job. Without a job, you can’t really be successful in life. It is important to have a degree in life because... » Read more...
Kpandbeia, Mariama
Preserve your identity but share your culture
Continue to show your identity anywhere you go
No matter what
Love your identity
But discover and celebrate other cultures
I am a young beautiful Sierra Leonean
I like the way I dress, I like my culture
I am a very happy child
And proud of my identity
In... » Read more...
Le, Tam
“Go back to you country, dirty boy!”
Oh! My poor boy! He couldn’t take a step forward or even look at them. He just froze there; stared at the ground with wet eyes, while all white boys were around him, laughing. He shivered, but he didn’t cry. He was trying to keep his tears from coming out... » Read more...
Lumeh, Tenneh
Dry Less Tears
Tenneh L.
The world is too small
But the people are not
I hear the voice of the homeless baby
But there is no way for me to help
There are so many people crying out there
The world is falling apart
And we ain’t doing anything about it
Our people need us
They need our support
There are... » Read more...
Macias, Martin
Where is the American Dream?
Where is that dream that everybody seeks?
Where is that dream that kills people in the desert?
That drowns millions of lives in the deep sea
Where is that dream that makes my dad work hard?
In the sun…
In despair…
Where is the American Dream?
How can someone achieve... » Read more...
Madden Balamani
Time is precious; use your time to make a difference in the world.
When I was in India, I used to go door to door with a bowl begging for food and money, but was often turned away with a grumbling stomach, not knowing when I would be able to eat another meal again. I used to be small and skinny. I lost... » Read more...
Mendivil, Mayra
Like all immigrants, I still remember it as if it was yesterday when I got here. My mom got divorced in 2006. After 14 years of being together with my dad, it was hard to stop seeing him. We used to live in Nogales, Sonora for 14 years. Then I moved to Tucson, Arizona because it was close to the border... » Read more...
Obono Enye, Perpetua
Poverty
I lived in a very different world
In a very divided world
Worlds that are not connected
Who knows if they will ever be connected?
Living in my country Equatorial Guinea
Was a terrible experience
Everything and everybody is divided
Rich and poor
What about the middle class?
People living without... » Read more...
Ruiz, Grethel
Peace in my world
I have experience with violence with my family, friends and strangers. My friends get angry because they want me to fight with the people that have problems with me or my family, but I say, “I don’t care. If you call me chicken or Scary- cat because fighting is not good. If you... » Read more...
Sanchez, Edgar
When you hear about endangered species, do you think of giant pandas in China, Bengal tigers in India, or other large mammals from other places? Unfortunately, there are 19 endangered animals right here in the Sonoran Desert.
In the Sonoran Desert, animals are endangered for many reasons. The principal... » Read more...
Shukurova, Leyla
My mom’s hard time in the USA
In Russia, my mom had a professional job and now she is a housekeeper.
When my family was in Russia, my mom was a teacher.
She could teach many things.
My mom taught me how to read and write.
She helped us to do our homework.
She loved her job and she was happy with... » Read more...
Siddiqi, Suleiman
In February 2008, I arrived in America from a very long and tiring journey. But I was happy because coming to America was our dream. At some point, I thought it is the time to achieve the best of our life in America. We were making our life again after a very terrible and poor life before coming to... » Read more...
Simion, Samson & Valenzuela, Andres
Dropping out of school is a very bad idea. Why? Because it makes your life a whole lot harder. You’ll probably miss out on a lot of opportunities and it will make it harder for you to get a job. Without a job, you can’t really be successful in life. It is important to have a degree in life because... » Read more...