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Mariam  ·  Afghanistan

The Journey: I Want to Go Back to School

I want to have a room with a bed and space to breathe.

Writing by Twila Bird
Photography by Lindsay Silsby
Mariam, Afghanistan

We left our home after the Taliban beat my father and made him quit his job. They threatened to torture and kill my sisters, my brother, and me. So we left.

I have seen many countries now. I have walked through Iran and Turkey. I have lived in Greece, walked through Macedonia and Albania, and lived in Serbia. We tried many times to get into Romania. It was very cold, and we walked all night in the mountains and had to be fast and quiet. We were caught and sent back every time. Now we are back in a camp in Greece.

I am thirteen. I want to go back to school. I want to have a room with a bed and space to breathe. I want to be safe again.

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What would you do if you had to leave everything behind?

By the end of 2025, more than 117.8 million people worldwide had been forcibly displaced by war, persecution, or human rights abuses — and 45 million of them are children.

They arrive in refugee camps and countries seeking safety and carrying little: legal papers, if they're lucky. A backpack. A child's hand in theirs.

What they carry that we can't see is heavier: fractured families, homes they'll never return to, professions they loved, friends and relatives they may never see again.

In a climate where immigrant stories are often ignored or twisted, we believe stories are a form of justice. When someone shares what they survived, they reclaim their voice. When we amplify it through film, photography, and advocacy, the world listens. Hearts soften. Policy begins to shift.

Because when a lawmaker sees a person instead of a statistic, and a neighbor understands instead of fears, rebuilding becomes possible.

Your support helps us share these stories where they matter most.

— Kristen Smith Dayley, Executive Director, Their Story is Our Story

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