out of many lynn i — The Documentary Works

Sister Hilda Uzokwa hails from Nigeria but claims Biafra as her national identity. She spoke at the

ceremony—powerful in her conviction and nun’s white habit: a symbol of determination.

Michael Nduwimana from Sierra Leone through Tanzania (refugee camps), his wife, Capitoline, and daughter.

Ibetesam and Mtanyous Georges arrived from Homs, Syria, with their only son, George, in 2001, with a tourist visa. They saw, after two days, the difference between the U.S. and Syria and began to dream of living here. Ibetesam said, “I asked my God to help us and give a chance to live and stay here and everything became true after sixteen years.” Mtanyous works in a pizza shop. They recently moved to this home to give their son a chance at the best education possible.

Dua Zeglam, Khalid Azzouz, and their two children: Zizo, three, and Zayd, three months, from Tripoli, Libya.

Sabitra Subedi is Bhutanese from Nepal. Her room in this modest apartment in Pittsburgh, home for the past six years, is part shrine and part storage for the multiple generations that live here.

Khatiwoda family from Bhutan: Tara N. Khatiwoda, seventy-eight (grandmother); Illa D. Khatiwoda, seventy-eight (grandfather).

Mirza family from Pakistan: Naeem Mirza, fifty-one; Raqna Mirza, forty-two; Laiba Mirza, fourteen; Mohid Mirza, twelve; Muhab Mirza, four.

Naeem Mirza has been in the U.S. for eighteen years. His first visit was in 1999. His company transferred him permanently in 2001. The Mirza children dress in American attire except when they must don traditional clothes for the photograph session. The family, originally from the flat, hot, dry part of Pakistan, stand outside in the first snow of the season in their suburban neighborhood.

Chang family from Taiwan: Po-Yu, Chia-Chen, and their children, Caleb and Joshua, nine, and Canaan, seven.

Po-Yu is a mathematician and came to the U.S. in 2004 to further his education. Chia-Chen followed two years later and is currently in nursing school. The Changs are devout Christians and attend church in the homes of other believers in the area.