Resettled: Stories of Loss, Home, and Solid Ground from America's Refugee Resettlement Program
Resettled is a creative nonfiction, work in progress born from my time working in a Phoenix-based refugee resettlement agency. It was shortlisted for the Sutherland House Nonfiction Prize in 2022.
Resettled
Resettled introduces readers to three former refugees brought to Phoenix, AZ from Afghanistan, Burma, and South Sudan through the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program. They are the story-tellers, inviting you to listen to their personal histories of escape, survival, and cultural acclimation in the American west.
This project was born of the friendships I made with my coworkers at Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest, all former victims of war or persecution, all advocates for those still on the path toward security.
Each individual's story provides further insight into the lives of the people who have benefited from, and faced the challenges of, America's resettlement program.
Watch this page for more updates as the project progresses!
01
Amir
The family must quickly go into hiding when the Taliban unexpectedly seize Mazar-i-Sharif in 1998. Luck and family connections deliver them to neighboring Turkmenistan, but life within the tenuous confines of indefinite refugee status, unable to work or own a car, is trying.
Once again defying the odds, the family is approved for resettlement to the United States, though it means the end of Amir's stellar trajectory as a scholarship student in their host country.
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02
Sarah
Nine year-old Sarah is scared when her entire village flees from invading Burmese soldiers, and confused when the forest seems full with all the neighboring villages, too. They are all headed the same direction, towards Tham Hin camp. Life is volatile, always moving when forced to, or when the situation becomes too dangerous. After a failed attempt to follow her grandparents to Australia, Sarah's family receives the good news that they will be relocated to the United States.
03
Bandak
Bandak doesn't remember the night soldiers entered his village and his family began their long trek to Ethiopia. He grew up in Dima camp and speaks Amharic as if it is his mother tongue. Losing a chance at resettlement means little to Bandak until his friend is kidnapped from the camp.
Now a young man, he sets his sights on the greater, promising world beyond the camp, and his determination pays off when his resettlement case, together with his 18-year-old sister as legal guardian, is approved for resettlement to the United States. He has never heard of Phoenix, but it is full of promise.
