Turkish immigrants stepping up to help earthquake victims at home
By Almagul Serikbayeva Medill Reports In the wake of early February’s earthquake along the Turkish and Syrian border, the Turkish diaspora of immigrants in Chicago has packed and shipped more than 2,500 boxes of donations full of winter clothing, sleeping bags, hand warmers, diapers, baby food, hygiene products and other necessities, to their homeland through […]
Chicago pediatrician ‘bears witness’ to atrocities in Syria
By Maryam Saleh You would never guess that he was a stranger to Syria only three years ago. He speaks of Syria’s towns with familiarity, of its people with great fervor, of America’s need to do more with righteous indignation. He traveled to three countries to help Syrian refugees, and, at age 69, he risked […]
Chicago college students urge compassion and action for Syria
By Maryam Saleh Dana Zakieh gazed at the room full of students and gave them an order. “Sit down if you have ever been forced to leave your country by consequence of a violent occurrence in that country,” said the 20-year-old Syrian-American psychology student. Not a single person took a seat. “This is it. All […]
English is Syrian refugees’ ‘key to survival’
By Maryam Saleh She couldn’t visit a doctor’s office without a translator. Or communicate with her children’s teachers. Or get around a city that felt daunting yet safe. Her Syrian high school education had taught her the very basics. And the two years she spent helping her kids with their homework in Jordan had forced […]
Assyrians around the world ring in the new year with hope for a new spring
By Hannah Gebresilassie Assyrians in Chicago, and around the world, celebrate Kha b-Nisan, or the Assyrian new year. Milad Shaer, owner of Milo’s Pita, joined thousands in a Chicago-held parade to celebrate 7,000 years of Assyrian heritage. Their ancestry traces back to the ancient Assyrian empire in the prehistoric Middle East and present day Iraq, […]
Syria and Central America test the magic line between refugees and immigrants
By Aryn Braun and Meggie Morris By 2015, millions of Middle Eastern and Central American people had fled violence in their home countries only to have their progress blocked by nations sworn to help them. International immigration processing systems that have traditionally provided a path to safety are now crumbling as thousands of families leave […]
