[Read the story - For Korean-Americans, culture,  too, is lost in translation - in English] 아마 이것이 그의 천 번…

Pyaohn acknowledges the natural barriers, such as age and time, to realizing his career goals now, but for this Karen Burmese refugee, there’s something far more important than opportunity; and that is braving the truth and attaining dignity.

Omar Muhammad did not seriously consider leaving Iraq until 2008—a full year after terrorists bombed his home. Now he can’t imagine returning to Baghdad.

Mesfin did not have any money, but he did have one resource not available to most refugees-a family member already settled in Kenya. “I go to the city and I ask this guy ‘you know him?’, and he said no, so I go to next guy, restaurant owner, and I say ‘you know him?’” He had found his uncle in a matter of hours.

“It’s quiet in here! This is like telling-your-mom-you’re-not-going-to-medical-school quiet!” The audience howled. The joke had hit close to home where young South Asian adults feel their way through informing their parents of their intentions to pursue creative vocations instead of careers driven by math or science.

Shortly after Ernest Pyaohn arrived at O’Hare International Airport as a refugee from a camp in Thailand, he was employed. His job: Working at O’Hare Airport.

Akol was unaware of complexities that came with obtaining the luxuries he desired in Sudan and Kenya that in the U.S. were the basic staples of daily life.