ROUTED: Stories Around Migration

The Asian diaspora in America is vast and diverse, but one theme ties the community together: migration. We interviewed a range of subjects to learn about their experiences related to migration, including their perspectives on identity and belonging. The interviewees come from various backgrounds and life experiences, illustrating the complexity of the Asian immigrant experience and the subsequent effects of migration on ensuing generations. Some of the interviewees were born in America, while others migrated from countries in Asia. Through these interviews, stories of leaving, surviving, and adapting emerged. Their stories explore how topics such as generational differences or cultural upbringing can contribute to their sense of being. We invite you to trace their routes — from Cambodia to Rhode Island, Bangladesh to New York, and journeys within the US — as they ultimately put down roots in the communities they have cultivated in America and grapple with Asian/Asian American identity, complicating notions of movement, home, and belonging. 

- Grace L., Sogna L., Karan S., Jannessa Y.

NAVIGATION

Muya Ya

Muya's journey from Cambodia to America as a refugee

Michelle

Michelle's experience as a first-generation American

DWL

Sogna and her father's experience with Asian identity and grief

Morjina

Morjina's early experience of migration from Bangladesh to America for work

Tahmid

Tahmid's experience as a first-generation American

Ahnaf

Ahnaf's childhood migration from Bangladesh to America