top of page
This is intended to be a live, interactive website. We invite you to take part in the conversation and help build this repository by sharing your own experiences as and with newcomers through artwork, essays, reports, photos, short stories, and poetry about refugee life in San Diego.
Diana Calderon
Growth through Resiliency and Resettlement
Digital Collage
Day of the Dead
Drawing of the beautiful Day of the Dead booth at the Escondido Public Library full of members of the communities contributions!
0 views
0 comments
Resilience in Bloom
Portraying the strength, hope, and growth of the immigrant experience, inspired by Héctor Tobar's call for dignified and nuanced storytellin
0 views
0 comments
Beyond Barriers: Refugee Lives in San Diego
Families unite at Friendship Park at the U.S.-Mexico border located between San Diego and Tijuana as a result of a physical barrier and incr
6 views
0 comments
A Symbol Woven into Tradition: The Keffiyehs Resilience Today
The keffiyeh, a symbol of heritage, resilience, and solidarity; reflecting my cultural pride and commitment to justice and freedom.
2 views
0 comments
Bringing Life, Bringing Joy: Celebrating the Vibrancy of Refugee Communities in San Diego
This artwork entitled "Bringing Life, Bringing Joy" is a celebration of the greater refugee community of San Diego and their contributions t
2 views
0 comments
A Quasi-Literature Review of Community-Based Participatory Research Sampling Methods and Results Within Refugee Populations
I reviewed a series of research papers and literature reviews under the lens of community-based participatory research, holistic health...
0 views
0 comments
To More Bubbles Of Hope
A collage that recognizes many events, memories, and efforts of the Vietnamese community in San Diego and hope to inspire many more.
0 views
0 comments
Why San Diego
San Diego County is a hub for refugee reception and resettlement. What makes it so appealing?
1 view
0 comments
Chasing Sunlit Clouds - My Father's Refugee Journey from Vietnam to the United States of America
Driven by hope for a better life, my dad weathered the most difficult of conditions in his journey from Vietnam to America...
0 views
0 comments
Vietnamese Refugees in San Diego: How it came to be
Vietnamese refugees in San Diego today contribute to the city's rich cultural tapestry, embodying resilience and successful integration into
1 view
0 comments
San Diego's Compassionate Harbor: Embracing Refugees with Open Arms
Highlighting the significance of San Diego, CA for migrants and refugees is my contribution to this artwork.
0 views
0 comments
Puppeteered Refuge
An art piece that uses visual metaphors to reflect the refugee process and the concept of militarized refuge.
2 views
0 comments
First American Home
The Tran family’s persevering journey from Vietnam to a new life of opportunities in the U.S.
0 views
0 comments
Mapping Home: Land/Water/Place
It is crucial to explore refugees' relationships with resettlement in San Diego, the concept of home, and how refugees have redefined the te
2 views
0 comments
Commentary on the Border Crises in San Diego
Why does the border crises exist and how can we fix it?
8 views
0 comments
Ball Pit
A muted twist on childlike wonder to pay homage to immigrants and refugees within the Otay Mesa Detention Center.
2 views
0 comments
Urban Connections
Abstract watercolor painting featuring Chicano Park, with the park being depicted in bright colors to represent the heart of the community..
1 view
0 comments
Flying to New Heights: A Journey to America
The tough journey from Vietnam to America, filled with hardships, shows how strong my family is and honors my mom’s unwavering determination
2 views
0 comments
The Horn of San Diego
This contribution highlights the East African organization UWEAST and its role in my upbringing as a children of immigrant Kenyan parents.
4 views
0 comments
UCSD and the Refugee Community in San Diego
The separation and unawareness overall UCSD students have with the refugee community in San Diego.
3 views
0 comments
The Impact of Spreading Refugee Knowledge
This artwork aims to demonstrate the value of the education of refugee life in San Diego and how knowledge is a powerful tool that allows...
25 views
0 comments
From Lagos to Chula Vista
From winning a Visa lottery to navigating cultural contrasts and financial constraints, my mom’s experiences have shaped an intricate nar...
0 views
0 comments
A Beacon of Amal
A tribute to Little Amal's walk across San Diego, and how she brings hope and resilience wherever she goes.
2 views
0 comments
Platicas & Painting
Platicas & Painting is the title of a project I worked on with my abuelito, a refugee who left everything behind in his small pueblo in...
0 views
0 comments
How Dầu Became a Symbol of Healing and Love
Learning what dầu was and having to apply it to my life in the U.S. was intimidating, but I've learned to embrace it and appreciate my...
2 views
0 comments
Rotary Echo: A Call for Justice
The phone - a call to Justice surrounding the Otay Mesa Detention Center.
41 views
0 comments
Vietnamese Coffee Culture: A Reflection and Photo Essay on Coffee and San Diego’s Vietnamese Community
A reflection about how coffee is a socializing tool for the Vietnamese community, drawing on my own experiences.
32 views
0 comments
Space BY and FOR Refugee Communities in San Diego
This zine sheds light on the services and opportunities of diverse San Diego based refugee organizations.
25 views
0 comments
Welcome to San Diego - Refugee Life
San Diego as we know it is perceived different to immigrant individuals who have been detained.
38 views
0 comments
Mixture of Cultures
This piece intends to highlight the diversity in San Diego by showing that there are multiple different refugee communities residing here.
12 views
0 comments
Vision of Migrants Detained
Depicting the struggles migrants face when seeking asylum and a re-imagination of the changes that would facilitate migrants to seek asylum.
12 views
0 comments
"Seeking Asylum" and San Diego
Connections from the documentary "Seeking Asylum: A Mother’s Journey" to the challenges refugees are confronted with in San Diego
17 views
0 comments
Ladder, Flower, & World
focusing on refugee personhood by presenting cheeriness, hope, and perseverance through the symbolism of a flower, a family, and ladder.
10 views
0 comments
Honoring Carlos Escobar MejÃa
A 2-D Altar collage dedicated to Carlos Ernesto Escobar MejÃa, who passed away in ICE custody in 2020 due to inhumane conditions.
12 views
0 comments
The Children
Explores how we can use the shared fight to bridge the gaps created by borders, the borders that create refugees, from the river to the sea.
9 views
0 comments
Waiting for Nothing
The artwork attempts to reflect part of refugees' prolonged struggles, depicted in oil and acrylic paints on canvas.
11 views
0 comments
Journey to a better life
A collage that depicts a migrants journey through 5 simple photographs.
11 views
0 comments
Hmong People in San Diego
This project is about the Hmong People's lives in the United States and San Diego
11 views
0 comments
Voices from the Margins: My Journey to Jacumba Detention Camp
This paper documented my experience in Jacumba Dentention camp.
5 views
0 comments
The Universal Language
A visual representation of the most culturally significant sport on the planet
6 views
0 comments
A People’s Guide to San Diego: Supporting Refugee-Owned Restaurants
A collection of refugee owned and operated restaurants created for people searching for authentic cuisine.
111 views
0 comments
A SpaceTime Tour of Chicano Park
A short photo essay on a journey through the history of Barrio Logan and Chicano Park.
61 views
0 comments
Lessons from The Kitchenistas of San Diego
In this commentary, I look at lessons learned from the documentary "The Kitchenistas of National City"
34 views
0 comments
Photo Essay: Afghan Refugees and Kabul Kabob House
refugee-owned restaurant 'Kabul Kabob House' brings forth Afghan culture and cuisine to the city of El Cajon.
63 views
0 comments
From The River To The Sea, Palestine Will Be Free
This contribution showcases my family's journey of immigrating from Ramallah, Palestine to San Diego and uplifts their story.
316 views
0 comments
Refugee Healing
With collective power in refugee mental health healing comes light.
91 views
0 comments
Refugee Spaces: Gentrification and City Heights
This zine discusses gentrification that is moving into City Heights and beginning to displace refugees, refugee spaces and others.
87 views
0 comments
Know That What Has Come to You Could Not Have Missed You
An Oral History Narrative of an Afghan refugee in San Diego
30 views
0 comments
The Activist East African Taxi Drivers of San Diego
Contextualizes the predominance of East Africans as taxi drivers in San Diego, the organizing work of the United Taxi Workers of San Diego.
36 views
0 comments
bottom of page