Student voices
The first thing I saw in Boise was the washing machine. I though that it was a cooker or a fridge, but later, I asked someone I was living with and he told me, it is a washing machine. I wondered what that was. I saw him using it to wash his clothes. So the first thing I did was to call my family to tell them in Boise there's a washing machine that washes and dries everything within three hours. -Ernest, Uganda
The first thing I saw in Boise was snow. I just got down and touched it. It was very beautiful. - Christina, Pakistan
The first thing I saw in Boise was snow. I just got down and touched it. It was very beautiful. - Christina, Pakistan
What's Worth Saving
a collaborative poem
a collaborative poem
The way my baby says, Da, da, da, da
Spice beef smell of korma
the color of snow
my daughter's red wedding dress
God
Friendship
the sound of the ocean
the yellow red of every sunset
when it rains outside
the race of wind in the trees
the quiet of a lamb
quiet footsteps of an elephant
the raining color of the sky
the innocence of animals
the memory of my girlfriend's voice
the sound of a lion, when he cries the walls begin to shake,
when he cries it sounds like thunder.
Spice beef smell of korma
the color of snow
my daughter's red wedding dress
God
Friendship
the sound of the ocean
the yellow red of every sunset
when it rains outside
the race of wind in the trees
the quiet of a lamb
quiet footsteps of an elephant
the raining color of the sky
the innocence of animals
the memory of my girlfriend's voice
the sound of a lion, when he cries the walls begin to shake,
when he cries it sounds like thunder.
My name...
Kyaw
Burma
My name is Kyaw Pah.
In my language, my first name means to jump or flying over the sky.
My last name means small frog.
I am the color green.
My name sounds like a hurricane
blowing over the trees,
blowing through the clouds.
It is the number six,
in the middle,
not a high number,
not a low number.
I was named after my father,
my whole family gave me the name.
When I was born,
they saw me and told me my name.
Kyaw Pah.
And I believed them.
Burma
My name is Kyaw Pah.
In my language, my first name means to jump or flying over the sky.
My last name means small frog.
I am the color green.
My name sounds like a hurricane
blowing over the trees,
blowing through the clouds.
It is the number six,
in the middle,
not a high number,
not a low number.
I was named after my father,
my whole family gave me the name.
When I was born,
they saw me and told me my name.
Kyaw Pah.
And I believed them.
Writing Through Emotions
Kumar
Nepal
Sadness
Red like blood, like
the Royal Massacre in Nepal,
red across all of the doorways,
and flowing on the ground.
It happens when I think
about that night in Nepal.
It sounds like people crying,
like the sound of weapons,
like glass breaking,
like the buildings coming apart.
It smells like flesh, like smoke, like gunfire.
Sadness.
Nepal
Sadness
Red like blood, like
the Royal Massacre in Nepal,
red across all of the doorways,
and flowing on the ground.
It happens when I think
about that night in Nepal.
It sounds like people crying,
like the sound of weapons,
like glass breaking,
like the buildings coming apart.
It smells like flesh, like smoke, like gunfire.
Sadness.
Where I'm From
Mon
Nepal
I am from not remembering where I was born,
from growing up in the refugee camp,
a place like a small box,
a place that always sounded like birds quarreling,
from dreaming of a different place,
from mountains shaped like the letter M,
green spring leaves,
and red poppy flowers.
Nepal
I am from not remembering where I was born,
from growing up in the refugee camp,
a place like a small box,
a place that always sounded like birds quarreling,
from dreaming of a different place,
from mountains shaped like the letter M,
green spring leaves,
and red poppy flowers.
I can call back
Liban
Somalia
I can call back camels,
tall as trees,
long necks,
and backs shaped like mountains.
I can call back Kakuma Camp, small,
filled with trees, green like lemons.
I can call back the small trees and how
they smelled like perfume.
I can call back the camp called Kakuma
with it's hot sun, like fire, burning my neck and ears.
I can call back the mountains in Kenya,
just like the mountains in Idaho.
Somalia
I can call back camels,
tall as trees,
long necks,
and backs shaped like mountains.
I can call back Kakuma Camp, small,
filled with trees, green like lemons.
I can call back the small trees and how
they smelled like perfume.
I can call back the camp called Kakuma
with it's hot sun, like fire, burning my neck and ears.
I can call back the mountains in Kenya,
just like the mountains in Idaho.
Diversity is our Strength
Our students come from all over the globe. Here is some information on the countries that our refugees have come from in the last year. For more information about the current conflicts and crises in those areas, please check out the links below:
The International Rescue Committee
The United Nations Refugee Agency
The International Rescue Committee
The United Nations Refugee Agency
Afghanistan
Afghanistan is home to the world’s first oil paintings, found in the caves of Bamiyan, where the world’s two largest standing Buddhas once stood. It is also the birth place of the poet Rumi and boasts the worlds “wildest national sport”: buzkashi, or goat-grabbing;
Population: 30 million Population displaced by crisis: Nearly 9 million Recognized national languages: Pashto Dari central African republic
There are several national parks and wildlife reserves in the Central African Republic that are home to hundreds of species of animals including the endangered black rhinoceroses and bongo antelope.
Population: 4 million Recognized national languages: French Sango Eritrea
Because the constitution of Eritrea states “equality for all Eritrean languages” there is no official language. Eritrea’s waters are home to 1,400 fish species and 250 coral species (17-20% are found nowhere else).
Population: 6 million Recognized National languages: Tigrinya Arabic Tigre Kunama Saho Bilen Nara Afar Iraq
Called the “Cradle of Civilization”; Iraq is the birthplace of the first written story “The Epic of Gilgamesh” as well as other well-known classics like “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves”. It is also one of the three largest date producers in the world.
Population: 33.4 million People displaced by crisis: 3.4 million Recognized national languages: Arabic Kurdish REpublic of the Congo
Home to the worlds “last Eden”, Nouabal-Ndoki National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to a variety of unique wildlife such as the okapi, African golden cat, and the giant otter shrew.
Population: 4 million Recognized national languages: French Kituba Lingala Syria
The capital city of Syria, Damascus, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the word and the National Museum if Damascus contains artifacts from every age. Syria is a founding member of the United Nations.
Population: 22.8 million Population Displaced by crisis:11 million Recognized national languages: Arabic |
Bhutan
Called the “Land of Thunder Dragons” because of powerful Himalayan storms, Bhutan is home to the world’s highest unclimbed peak, Gangkhar Puensum. Bhutan is one of the only countries in the world where citizens have a constitutional obligation to protect the environment.
Population: almost 800,000 Recognized national languages: Dzongkha Cote d'ivoire
Code d’Ivoire has two capitals; that official capital at Yamoussoukro and the commercial and administrative capital at Abidjan. Cote d’Ivoire is the largest exporter of cocoa and is home to the pygmy hippopotamus.
Population: 23 million Recognized national languages: French Ethiopia
Ethiopia is one of the oldest nations in the world and the only country the world to have a 13 month calendar; it is also the only country in Africa with its own alphabet. The oldest fossil human skeleton was found in Ethiopia’s Great Rift Valley.
Population: 99 million Recognized national languages: Amharic Myanmar
Also known as ‘Burma’, Myanmar is the largest country in mainland Southeast Asia and, like the United States, is one of only three countries that don’t use the metric system of measurement. Myanmar is home to the largest book in the world.
Population: 53.2 million People displaced by crisis: 1.7 million Recognized national languages: Burmese Somalia
Formed in July of 1960, Somalia is known as the “nation of poets”, with poetry playing a major role in Somali society. This is also the place where camels were domesticated for the first time.
Population: 12.3 million People displaced by crisis: 17 of every 100 Recognized national languages: Somali Arabic |
Burundi
Lake Tanganyika in Burundi is estimated to be the second largest, and second deepest, freshwater lake in the world. Burundi is also the home to Gustave, a Nile crocodile who – at 7 meters long - may be the largest crocodile in the world.
Population: 11 million Recognized National languages: French Kirundi democratic republic of Congo
The second largest country in Africa, the people of the DRC represent over 200 ethnic groups with nearly 250 languages. It is also home to the oldest national park in Africa; Virunga National Park.
Population: 67 million People displaced by crisis: 1.6 million Recognized national languages: Lingala Kituba Swahili Tshiluba Iran
One of the world’s oldest continuous civilizations, Iran has settlements dating back to 4000 B.C. and was home to one of the Seven Wonder of the Ancient World; the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. Iran is currently home to 21 UNESCO World Heritage Sites including the Bam Citadel and the Lut Desert.
Population: 79.2 million Recognized national languages: Persian Pakistan
Pakistan boasts the largest canal-based irrigation system, the largest earth-filled dam, and the largest salt mine in the world; as well as the longest glacial system outside the polar region. Pakistan is also home to a number of famous archaeological sites including Harappa, Taxila and Takht Bhai.
Population: 200 million Recognized national languages: English Urdu Sudan
The two tributaries of the Nile, the White and Blue Nile, merge at Khartoum, the capital of Sudan where they flow north towards Egypt and the Mediterranean. There are more pyramids in the northern Sudanese desert than there are in Egypt.
Population: 40 million Recognized national languages: Arabic English Ukraine
The first gas lamp was invented in Lviv, Ukraine, a city in the west that is also known as the “café capital of the world “. Ukraine boasts a long tradition of crafting beautifully intricate Easter eggs, known as pysankas. Ukraine is also home to seven UNESCO World Heritage sites, including the primeval beech forests of the Carpathians.
Population: 42 million Population displaced: possibly up to half a million Recognized national languages: Ukrainian |
Language is Power