Many Roads to Here

In middle school, Yamini Rajan dealt with bullying, isolation, and a sick parent. Her mental health suffered, and destructive habits and self-harm nearly ended her life.  As she healed, she committed to telling others about her story. Now Yamini helps start conversations about mental health in immigrant communities. A note to listeners: this episode contains references to suicide and self-harm.

Many Roads to Here is a production of The Immigrant Story, in collaboration with Portland Radio Project. This episode was produced by Caitlin Dwyer. Monica Salazar conducted the original interview in Winter 2019. Our audio editing was done by Rick March and Kent Randles, assisted by Gordon Graham. Music was composed by Denzel Mendoza. Our executive producer is Sankar Raman.

If you’re suffering from depression or having thoughts of self-harm, get help. Call 1-800-273-8255, or text the Crisis Line (you can text HELLO to 741741). Both services are free and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Someone is there to help.

Reza Uddin was born in the epicenter of the Burmese government’s ethnic cleansing campaign against Rohingya Muslims. For the first years of his life,  Reza wasn’t aware of the institutionalized discrimination against the Rohingya. And then, when Reza was in high school, the Burmese government began denying citizenship to its Rohingya population. When he graduated college, Reza’s father gave him a piece of advice: leave Burma, and don’t come back. 

The Rohingya refugee crisis is ongoing. There are a number of groups working in the refugee camps that accept donations, including BRAC, Action Against Hunger, and the UN refugee agency. You can donate to Reza’s organization at http://friendsofrohingya.org/ 

Many Roads to Here is a production of The Immigrant Story, in collaboration with Portland Radio Project. This episode was produced by Allison Merkel. 

Audio editing was done by Kent Randles, assisted by Gordon Graham. Our executive producer is Sankar Raman.

For more episodes, https://theimmigrantstory.org/category/episode/ or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

It took Dr. Elizabeth Flores through high school, college, and medical school to really understand herself. Born in America, raised in Mexico,  her identity is wrapped up in both places. As it turned out, the physical United States was never her final destination.

Many Roads to Here is a production of The Immigrant Story, in collaboration with Portland Radio Project. This episode was written by Stephanie Vallance and Emily Denny. Our audio editing was done by Kent Randles, assisted by Gordon Graham. The original interview was conducted in Winter 2020 by Britany Cano-Briceno. Our executive producer is Sankar Raman.

Many Roads to Here is expanding. We’re looking for radio producers, especially those from immigrant communities and communities of color, to join our team. We’re all-volunteer for now, but we’ve got dreams. Please email [email protected] for more information.

For more stories, visit theimmigrantstory.org/manyroads, listen live at prp.fm, or stream us wherever you get your podcasts.

Introducing Many Roads in Conversation, where we look deeply at issues affecting ethnic and migrant communities within the United States.  This inaugural three-part series will focus on the roots of anti-Asian violence. Joining us for the first episode of the series are Jennifer Fang, director of education at the Japanese American museum of Oregon, and Eliza Canty-Jones, editor of the Oregon Historical Quarterly. In this conversation, they talk through the issues raised by recent hate crimes against Asian-Americans, including historical restrictions on Asian immigration and how modern liberation movements might address acts of hate.

Many Roads to Here is a production of The Immigrant Story, in collaboration with Portland Radio Project. Many thanks to Jennifer Fang and Eliza Canty-Jones for agreeing to have this important and timely conversation, and for letting us eavesdrop on it.

This episode was produced by Caitlin Dwyer. Our audio editing was done by Rick March, assisted by Gordon Graham. Music was composed by Corey Larkin. Our executive producer is Sankar Raman.

This episode is produced as part of the Oregon Rises Above Hate coalition based in Portland, Oregon and made possible by a generous contribution by Anne Naito-Campbell.

Tsering Dolma was forced to interrupt her life twice, first, when she had to flee Tibet for Nepal when the Chinese took control and then again when her father made a decision she didn’t know about. But she never gave up on a desire to advance  her education even while living her life in exile in the U.S.

Many Roads to Here is a production of The Immigrant Story, in collaboration with Portland Radio Project. This episode was written by Degen Larkin and Fran Silverman. Our audio editing was done by Rick March and Kent Randles, assisted by Gordon Graham. Music was composed by Corey Larkin. The original interview was conducted in Spring 2020 by Ashley Mosher. Our executive producer is Sankar Raman.

Joe Kye fell in love with music in elementary school. But becoming a career musician was never on the table. After arriving in the U.S. from South Korea, Joe was expected to pursue a life of stability and recognition. Pursuing passion required money, connections, and a secure immigration status— all things Joe did not have.

Many Roads to Here is a production of The Immigrant Story, in collaboration with Portland Radio Project. This episode was written and produced by Allison Merkel and edited by Fran Silverman. Rick March edited the audio, assisted by Gordon Graham. All music used in this episode was provided by Joe Kye. Our Executive Producer is Sankar Raman.

Ruth Zuñiga grew up in a rural, evangelical Christian town in Costa Rica. Both restricted and supported by her community, she eventually set out on her own, becoming a psychologist and professor in the U.S. Her commitment to serving others, and to her family, led to unexpected new connections in Idaho, Alaska, and Oregon.

Many Roads to Here is a production of The Immigrant Story, in collaboration with Portland Radio Project. This episode was written by Caitlin Dwyer, and Monica Salazar. Rick March edited the audio, assisted by Gordon Graham. The original interview was conducted in Spring of 2020  by Hannah Kendall. Our executive producer is Sankar Raman.

Divine Irambona loves to challenge herself. Maybe because her life was a struggle from the moment she was born. Her mother died shortly after giving birth to Divine, in a Tanzanian refugee camp. She grew up walking miles to get to school and faced horrifying prejudice when she immigrated to the U.S. 

To get to where she is today, Divine has turned to instincts and courage to survive, as well as the promise of her name. Irambona, or “to be seen,” given to Divine as her mother’s final wish, serves as a guidebook to her life. 

This episode was written by Degen Larkin and Fran Silverman. Music was composed by Corey Larkin. Rick March edited the audio, assisted by Gordon Graham. The original interview was conducted in the spring of 2019 by Shea Seery. Our executive producer is Sankar Raman.

It’s 2010 and Johana Amani is 10 years old. She is speeding through the Congo in the middle of the night on the back of a stranger’s motorcycle. She and her mother and younger sister fleeing from domestic abuse and the political influence of her father. As they flee, Johana’s mother looks back at her two young daughters and says, “Look through the mirror and say goodbye to all your problems.”

Although Johana Amani’s struggles did not end here, she has embraced her story with courage. She has gone from the Congo to Nairobi, Kenya to Portland, Oregon, where she remains determined to break cultural expectations of women and be a role model for her younger siblings.  

This episode was written by Stephanie Vallance and Emily Denny. Rick March edited the audio, assisted by Gordon Graham. The original interview was conducted in Spring of 2019 by Julianna Robidoux. Our executive producer is Sankar Raman.

Growing up poor in the mountains of Romania, Anna Giurgiev dreamed of a young man in strange blue pants. She didn’t know that this dream boy was her future husband, clad in denim, a fabric she had never seen. She didn’t know that their lives would be restricted by Romanian communism, or that he would try to defect without telling her. She didn’t know they would be separated for months and watched by police. She did not know that she would become a nurse and raise their children in the United States. All she knew, as a teenager in the mountains, was that this boy would be part of her future.

Many Roads to Here is a production of The Immigrant Story, a nonprofit based in Portland, Oregon, in collaboration with the Portland Radio Project. This episode was written by Caitlin Dwyer and Monica Salazar. Audio editing was done by Rick March. Original music was provided by Harmonia. The original interview was conducted in the Spring of 2019 by Caitlyn Malik. Our executive producer is Sankar Raman.

For more stories, please visit theimmigrantstory.org or listen at the Portland Radio Project at prp.fm.