I really enjoyed listening to this broadcast of The Story from American Public Media. It tells the story of two people dealing with immigration: the first, a former soldier and child of immigrants who decided to become a movie maker, the second, a former translator and single mother that escaped from a war torn country. From the website comes this blurb:

Like many of today’s veterans, Brian Iglesias came home from the war expecting to put his skills as a Marine to good use in the civilian workforce. That didn’t happen. Despite his high academic achievements and military honors, Brian struggled to find an entry-level job.

Raya Asee is an Iraqi refugee living in Sweden. Dick spoke with her last fall and all Raya could talk about was her 10-year-old son, Bashar. She’d had to leave him with extended family in Jordan when she’d gone to Europe to seek refugee status. The two had not seen one another for a year and a half.

You can listen to the stories here. I think listening to the stories one right after another really highlights the way immigration plays out for women in a way all the polls in the world can’t. There are children to think of, and endless work, and violence, and fear, and longing for home, and sadness–and joy and love too. How bad is bad enough? When is it time to leave? What happens when there isn’t any better or maybe even worse that “here?”

Unfortunately, as Mala noted, stories and voices from people who are actually experiencing are not easily quantifiable, and thus, never seem to really count to the people who could make a difference. Maybe this is where immigration rights advocates need to be doing their work? Challenging the idea that statistics can really tell a story of a community that is so diverse–so completely undefinable.