There are almost 80 million forcibly displaced people world-wide. Whether individuals are displaced within their own country, have fled across borders as refugees, or are seeking asylum in a host country, each experience is unique. Individuals flee for a myriad of reasons including having faced discrimination and well-founded fear of persecution on the basis of race, religion, and sexuality. Refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced people are diverse in age, gender, economic background, and in other aspects of identity.

​As a way to understand the depth of what having to escape to another location can look like, we created visual resources following two stories of women who left their homes. Their names are Maria and Mariam. Maria is from Honduras and fled to Mexico. Mariam is from Syria and fled to Lebanon. Each story has its own tab. We encourage you to explore the additional resources linked throughout the web-pages to learn about different types of challenges displaced people face in the context of the countries Mariam and Maria are fleeing from and to.

​While scrolling through both stories, we hope you always remember no two experiences are exactly alike.

Meet Maria: This is Maria’s story. Maria is an asylum seeker, but she is much more than that.

She is a 30-year-old mom of two children whom she loves dearly. She is our sister.

Travel along with Maria on her journey by clicking here

Meet Mariam: Mariam is a refugee, but she is so much more than that. She is a loving mother and devoted wife.

Mariam was forced to flee from ISIS controlled Syria to Lebanon with her four children. Her journey was difficult, but unlike many Syrians, she and her family are now safe.

Travel along with Mariam on her journey by clicking here