Four Student organizers recount the events of Columbia University’s Gaza Solidarity Encampment, a protest that challenged institutional power, inspired campus activism globally, and eventually faced university crackdown. NYPD on the site of Gaza Solidarity Encampment minutes before the first arrests…
Ukraine’s Information War: The Race to Document War Crimes in Kramatorsk
How a missile attack on a train station came to emphasize the role of investigators tasked with combating disinformation about war crimes in Ukraine. Geolocated and authenticated locations of civilian harm in Ukraine, downloaded from Bellingcat’s “Civilian Harm In Ukraine”…
Vegetables of the war: A life of a Ukrainian amid never-ending conflict
A generation of young Ukrainians grew up with war being the only way of life they know. Darka Harnyk copes by moving in and out of the country Darka Harnyk. Photo: Barbora Chaloupková By Barbora Chaloupková I wanted to talk…
‘I don’t have a place to stay’: Catalina’s Journey
Catalina, an asylum seeker, embarks on a dangerous, transcontinental search for home. Painted fence outside Casa Juan Diego. Photograph: Meg Spasia By Jonathan Griffin The treacherous journey was not her first choice. At the age of 21, Catalina traversed the…
There’s room at this table
How a chef and a community fight food insecurity in Paterson’s Little Lima Chef Edgardo prepares a meal in the Oasis kitchen. Photo: Marco Gutierrez Rosales By Marco Gutierrez Rosales A little past 9 in the morning, the breakfast hustle…
Three Generations of Exile: A Tibetan Family’s Journey to Preserve Their Heritage
Photo: Tenzin Dekyi Through a chain of whispered warnings, passed from neighbor to acquaintance to friend, Tenzin Dekyi’s mother learned devastating news: her brother – a Buddhist monk in Tibet – had been taken away for questioning by Chinese authorities.…
From Financial Despair to Hope: An Under-The-Table Dogwalking Job Helps an International Student Stay Afloat at Columbia University
Alexandre’s story of navigating financial hardship during his studies highlights how one of the world’s elite institutions is unprepared to support underprivileged students. Alexandre’s first day walking dogs in the summer of 2024, taken by the friend that referred him…
After the Sky Fell: Two Afghan Women’s Remarkable Journeys, and the Men Who Champion Them.
Parween and Fahima’s lives changed when they left Afghanistan. Now they fight for gender equality. The men in their lives fight for them too. “I always dreamed of living abroad, meeting new people, learning different languages. My dream came true,…
The Day Democracy Stood Still: One Israeli Woman’s Fight Against Netanyahu’s “Judicial Coup”
Eden Cohen, an Israeli graduate student at Columbia University, participated in one of the large protests during the Israeli “Judicial Coup” of 2023. Eden, on the far left, and her friends, wearing hats that say “democracy” on the day of…
Do Not Cross This Line
Humanitarian Work under Gang Control in Haiti By Christine McNeill The truck pulled away through a throng of unknown faces. Faces of people who happened to live on the wrong side of an invisible line, recalled Pete Staffelbach. He could…
The Things We Don’t Carry: Samia Halaby’s Memories from Palestine
A Glimpse of the Life and Relocation of Palestinian Artist Samia Halaby Samia’s old Family Home in Jerusalem (taken 2017) By Sidney Kuri Poor In the Spring of 1948, Samia Halaby’s family fled their home. At age 11, Samia was…
The Invisible Front
Russian Exiles Who Crossed Lines to Aid Ukraine Roman (right) flew with 26 duffel bags of aid for Ukrainian troops By Mariel Povolny The Organizer It was February 27, 2022— three days after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Organizer…
Heavy Lifting from Kampala’s Streets to U.S. Citizenship
A young immigrant’s success story after being orphaned at age five, and how he found faith through his experiences. Anthony’s professional headshot, provided by the NACC By Katie Ryan Anthony Mugagga started running drugs for prostitutes in Kampala at the…
Pens of Longwood: How a Rohingya Poet is Helping his Community Rediscover Their Voices
Amidst violence and strife, Ali Mayyu found refuge and resistance in his writing. Now, he is passing it on, teaching Rohingya youth that their voices matter A mural made by Rohingya through the Rohingya Memorialization Project. Each sub-image is an…
A Stateless Odyssey From Peshwar to New York
Reshad Sharif has battled impersonal bureaucracies and Taliban soldiers across the world in his struggle to carve out a home. By Juhi Srivastava In the summer of 2011, Reshad Sharif found himself sitting on the steps in front of the…
Temporarily Protected: The Precarious Reality for Migrants Living in the U.S.
By Claudia Villalona In 1998, Modesta Rodriguez trudged through Central America’s dense jungles and the frigid deserts and mountains of Mexico to escape domestic violence and poverty in her home country of Honduras. At nearly 50 years old, she walked…
For Asylum Seekers in New York City, Work Begins with the Struggle for a Permit
Winter approaches and limits on migrant shelter stays are expiring. Most asylum seekers in New York have yet to receive the work permits that would allow them to provide for their families. By Sonya Ribner For the security of interviewees,…
Being Black in America: The story of Two NYC Men
By Abigail Raghunath In May of 2023, in a small cafeteria at Great Meadows Correctional facility in Great Meadow, New York, a choir of all men sang the words of JJ Hairston’s 2017 record “You deserve it.” Through their chorus,…
Larry and Margaret
Larry and Margaret were one of the few lucky couples of the Vietnam War to return to each other’s arms earlier than expected, but tragedy found a way back to them in the form of Margaret’s untimely death Margaret and…
Homeland in a Suitcase: My Grandfather’s Journey as a Palestinian in Exile
In the wake of the ongoing war in Gaza, a Palestinian-Canadian recounts her grandfather’s journey as a Palestinian refugee in exile and the intergenerational effect this had on her own life in the diaspora. The last time I saw my…
Echoes of Conflict: International Students’ Experiences of the War in Gaza and Israel
Amidst growing turmoil and polarization at Columbia University over the conflict in Gaza and Israel, international students try to balance their complex identities with psychosocial strains and divisive US politics. By Hannah Sattler Throughout October and November, the hum of…
Tasting to Know: Learning about Brazilian and Mexican culture through food
Food makes it intimate connection possible. Get to know my friends, and a little bit about the world, through these New York City restaurants. By Emmanuel Ikenna Ohiri I first learned how to make bolognese in a small apartment kitchen…
Who Is to Blame for Kenyan doping?
Kenya’s once famed elite running programme is under increased scrutiny as the extent of doping comes to light. By Helena Hussey Over the past 50 years Kenyan athletes have come to dominate long-distance running; yet, what started with a generation…
A Labor of Love.
New York City passes a new policy targeting soon-to-be parents with limited income and offering more support during birth. Kohn and baby Louisa in Brooklyn, NY. Source: Kohn By Kaitlyn Conway Nataleigh Kohn, 33, of Hudson, New York, gave birth…
Out of North Korea — Breaking the Golden Chain
Hyun Seung Lee, born into North Korea’s privileged elite, chose to abandon his life of luxury and security, embarking on a perilous journey towards freedom and a new identity. By Terry Cao The Privileged Life From a very young age,…