Newsletter Archive

Immigrants are making history in a Massachusetts mill town where two Cambodian Americans were elected to public office last week. They’re part of a nationwide wave that saw a diverse group of candidates — including refugees, immigrants and members of the LGBT community, as well as racial and ethnic minorities — elected to public office. As for the two Cambodian Americans who celebrated victory in the city of Lowell, one garnered the most votes for nine open City Council spots while the other joins the school board as it’s first-ever minority member.

As a Muslim Rohingya living in Myanmar, Hamidul Hassan struggled to find an identity. He had no passport, lacked the freedom to worship as he chose, couldn’t travel and had no formal education. In 2012, he fled to neighboring Bangladesh and eventually to the US. When he arrived as a refugee in 2015, he spoke no English but just two years later, Hassan has found his voice … and a mission.

VIDEO: Has New Delhi become any safer for women in the five years since the brutal gang rape of a young Indian woman aboard a bus drew worldwide attention? The victim later died of her injuries and her story raised awareness of violence against women in a metropolis that’s home to 26 million people. We hit the streets of the Indian capital to find out if women are still on guard anytime they leave the house.

At least two women have filed sexual assault complaints against a prominent Islamic scholar in France. French-speaking, Swiss-born theologian Tariq Ramadan inspired a generation of young Muslims to believe Islam and citizenship are compatible in a distinctly secular Europe. Ramadan took a leave of absence from teaching at Oxford University last week after the allegations became public. VOA reports from Paris, where some say the absence of his strong voice on integration leaves space for increased political radicalism.

At the age of 80, Sue Finley has been involved with nearly every advance in space communications since 1958, the year she started working at NASA — and where she’s still employed today. Finley began her NASA career working as a human ‘computer’ at the space agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where she calculated trajectories for rockets. Today, a parade of younger colleagues constantly ask for her advice at the JPL, where she’s regarded as a guru.

VIDEO: In Egypt, a Somali refugee is using art therapy to help herself and other refugees come to terms with their situation. Egypt is both a destination and transit point for refugees and asylum seekers who come mostly from Syria, but increasingly also from sub-Saharan Africa. VOA attends dance classes, drawing lessons and theater workshops for refugees in Cairo, where the aim is to take any negative energy created by their experiences and transform it into something positive.