Jessica Goudeau

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Jessica Goudeau is the author of AFTER THE LAST BORDER (Viking 2020), a narrative nonfiction book about refugee resettlement in the US. She has written for The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Teen Vogue, The Los Angeles Times, and other places. She has a PhD in Poetry and Translation Studies from the University of Texas. In most of her writing, she partners with displaced people to tell their stories with dignity while protecting their identities. Find out more: jessicagoudeau.com and @jessica_goudeau

Stories

Cover Photo: Illustration by JC
“My art is a way to show that we are fighting”

For us in Myanmar, the art reflects our reality.

Sep 21, 2021
Cover Photo: An image from a protest in Myanmar
“It is the people who have power”

I must be ready to be the best person I can be to serve my country.

Jul 28, 2021
Cover Photo: A photograph of protestors. A woman is tying a red bandanna around a man's head, while he holds a sign that says in all capitals: " Myanmar military is doing crimes against humanity."
“Whoever Holds the Banner Will Be Shot”

That day, my sister was not scared. She protested because what is happening in Myanmar is not right.

Jun 30, 2021
Cover Photo: Photo by Rostyslav Savchyn via Unsplash
We Lined Up for Bread and He Massacred Us

Here in Idlib, Syria, we have gone back to the most primitive ways of living: We cook on coal. We wash our clothes by hand. But we are surviving. Some days it feels like a miracle.

Jul 23, 2019
Cover Photo: Photograph by Mohri UN-CECAR/Flickr
In His 70s, a Congolese Physician and Refugee Dreams of Medical School Once More

From the Congo to a refugee camp in Kenya to resettlement in Austin, TX—this is the story of a doctor who is starting over.

Jun 19, 2019
Cover Photo: Photograph by Robert Murray
The Guatemalan Asylum Seeker Who Was Almost Deported—to Mexico

I told him clearly in that interview: “I am here because I’m afraid I will be killed in my country. I cannot return to Guatemala. I will die if I do.” The immigration officer acted like he did not understand.

Mar 27, 2019
Cover Photo: Photography by kazuend/Unsplash
My Hijab Looks Great with My Cowgirl Boots

We left Syria at five a.m. on the morning after my ninth-grade exit exam.

Feb 27, 2019
Cover Photo: Photograph courtesy of  Amy Bench