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1 week ago | 
jenniferchowdhury.substack.com | Jennifer Chowdhury
On August 24, 1874, Chy Lung stood on the deck of the steamship Japan, watching San Francisco's harbor come into view. After a long, arduous journey from China, she was ready to disembark and begin her new life. What she couldn't have anticipated was becoming one of twenty-two Chinese women detained the moment they arrived—all labeled "lewd and debauched" without a shred of evidence.
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2 weeks ago | 
jenniferchowdhury.substack.com | Jennifer Chowdhury
"All wars are fought twice, the first time on the battlefield, the second time in memory," writes Pulitzer Prize-winning Vietnamese-American author Viet Thanh Nguyen in his book Nothing Ever Dies: Vietnam and the Memory of War. Nguyen fled Vietnam with his family as a child refugee which inspired his life's work of exploring how war trauma echoes across generations, and how conflicts leave imprints that outlast bullets and bombs.
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3 weeks ago | 
shorturl.at | Jennifer Chowdhury
Twelve years ago this week, the Rana Plaza garment factory collapsed in Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing more than 1,100 workers—most of them young women producing clothing for Western brands like Primark and Walmart. The images of bodies buried under sewing machines and concrete rubble sparked a global reckoning. Consumers swore they’d shop ethically. Brands promised transparency. Labor rights groups rallied for the dignity of the hands that make our clothes.
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4 weeks ago | 
jenniferchowdhury.substack.com | Jennifer Chowdhury
Sahar Pirzada was elated when she found out she was pregnant in 2018 after four years of trying. She could never imagine that she’d end up getting an abortion. Her baby had trisomy 18 or Edwards syndrome—an incurable and rare genetic condition that almost always ends in miscarriage or stillbirth. She made the heart-wrenching decision to terminate the pregnancy. These types of community-centered stories are hard to place in mainstream publications.
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4 weeks ago | 
shorturl.at | Jennifer Chowdhury
Sahar Pirzada was elated when she found out she was pregnant in 2018 after four years of trying. She could never imagine that she’d end up getting an abortion. Her baby had trisomy 18 or Edwards syndrome—an incurable and rare genetic condition that almost always ends in miscarriage or stillbirth. She made the heart-wrenching decision to terminate the pregnancy. These types of community-centered stories are hard to place in mainstream publications.
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1 month ago | 
jenniferchowdhury.substack.com | Jennifer Chowdhury
"Why doesn't anyone have Ramadan decorations up?" My four-year-old daughter's question stopped me in my tracks as we walked to school in the morning just days after the holy month of Ramadan —when billions of Muslims all over the world fast from sunrise to sunset—began. At home, purple and gold-themed crescent moons and stars adorned our walls and tabletops. Twinkling lights and lanterns were strung up across our living room window curtains.
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1 month ago | 
jenniferchowdhury.substack.com | Jennifer Chowdhury
Just eight weeks into his second term, President Trump is preparing to make good on his campaign promise to bring back and expand his controversial travel ban. But this time, it's set to be much more extensive than the 2017 version. According to reports, the Trump administration is considering restrictions on citizens from as many as 43 countries. The draft plan includes:PORT OF ENTRY is a reader-supported publication.
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1 month ago | 
shorturl.at | Jennifer Chowdhury
Just eight weeks into his second term, President Trump is preparing to make good on his campaign promise to bring back and expand his controversial travel ban. But this time, it's set to be much more extensive than the 2017 version. According to reports, the Trump administration is considering restrictions on citizens from as many as 43 countries. The draft plan includes:PORT OF ENTRY is a reader-supported publication.
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2 months ago | 
jenniferchowdhury.substack.com | Jennifer Chowdhury
I cannot stop thinking about Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil who was at the forefront of the pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University and even more, his wife. Imagine being eight months pregnant, walking back from iftar in the holy month of Ramadan by your husband's side. You're dreaming of what life will be like in just a few short months when your baby arrives. Then suddenly, government agents appear, arresting your husband and threatening to arrest you too if you interfere.
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2 months ago | 
jenniferchowdhury.substack.com | Jennifer Chowdhury
Five years ago, I was crouched in Bangladesh's refugee camps, notebook in hand, documenting the largest refugee crisis of the last decade. The Rohingya story captivated global headlines, but so much remained untold. Between interviews with refugees, I was investigating Bangladesh's garment industry, uncovering the routine harassment women workers faced daily. Then March 2020 happened.
