It can be hard for young men to step outside the “Man Box,” which pressures them to act a certain way. Here are questions to help step beyond. The above video was produced by Jesuit Social Services, which is based in Melbourne, Australia and operates under...
My family fled civil war in Liberia to a refugee camp in Guinea in West Africa. I learned the power of resilience and the value of diversity. The author, in white next to the woman on the right, at the Kouankan refugee camp in Guinea This story won first prize in News...
News Decoder’s goal is to create a global community, and Varlee Fofana has added his unique voice to the conversation with an essay about growing up in a refugee camp in Guinea. Not many News Decoder students have had to flee civil war as Fofana did, yet many play football, as the author did to connect with other refugee children. Gathering wood, plowing farmland or selling kerosene might not be common chores for most News Decoder students, but they, too, face challenges. Ask your class to read Fofana’s story and then, in up to 600 words, describe a personal experience that shaped their life and character. Encourage them to follow Fofana’s example by using simple words and an unassuming tone to draw readers into their world.
I’d gone to Chinatown before, but only when I looked closely did I see how waves of immigration have shaped its character and history. It is easy to take for granted the lessons one can learn just a subway ride away. I live in New York City, not too far from...
I was in Afghanistan when mujahideen guerrillas fought Soviet invaders. Three decades later, security remains precarious and peace a distant dream. Men walking from the Pakistan border into Afghan territory abandoned by Soviet-backed Afghan forces in 1988 (All photos...
COVID-19 has forced billions of people into lockdown. Two survivors of earlier crises tell how solidarity and patience are antidotes to fear. Patients receive blood transfusions in Karachi, Pakistan, 1 April 2020. A lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic has created...
My father used to tend our garden. Then he was taken from us — changing what I understood about America’s fundamental covenants. He doused the roots of his white carnations, careful not to soak the generous stems that lived inside this hanging pot. They...
Ashamed of flying because it worsens your carbon footprint? You’re not alone if you want to ride the rails — as I recently did when my life took a turn. (French countryside viewed from a TGV fast train. Video and photo by Sarah Edmonds) I am suffering an...
Chinese immigrants form a growing community in France. Two manicurists gave me insight into challenges facing workers in Paris’s beauty industry. Finding a good nail salon in a new city can be a challenge. After roaming the streets of Paris’ 14th arrondissement...
In a world with nuclear weapons, every agreement counts. So the decision by the U.S. and Russia to scrap a disarmament treaty does matter. Demonstrators with masks of Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. President Donald Trump...
By Kaitlyn-Lee Mun It was a Sunday afternoon in early June at Hong Kong’s Kowloon Park. Cicadas buzzed incessantly, delivering a deafening chorus. On this humid day, the air like soup, people gathered to watch a weekly Kung Fu performance. I was in the crowd,...