CLEVELAND — Jin Yu was born in Shanghai, China, where he said his family faced persecution for their political beliefs.

What You Need To Know

  • Asian Services in Action, a human services agency, is collaborating with the Jin Huo Community Center to publish a cogenerational magazine that highlights the experiences of refugees and other immigrants from across the globe

  • The project began with five high school interns interviewing seniors at the community center; now, the magazine features around 65 student voices and 30 elder voices

  • A digital version of the magazine will be published on their website at the end of the month, and a link will be shared on their social media

"My parents were politic prisoners there," Yu said. "With the war in Shanghai, they kick us from Shanghai all the way to the northeast part in the mountain, in the wilderness."

Yu one of around 30 refugee and immigrant voices that are featured in a co-generational magazine, uniting students from Asian Services in Action and seniors from the Jin Huo Community Center in Akron. The magazine centers on the students conversations with elders from across the world, including Korea, China, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar (Burma) and Taiwan.

Emily Grad is a program specialist at Asian Services in Action. She said the project started with five high school interns visiting the center; they later created written interviews and artwork based on their time with the seniors.

"After getting to know them through playing games with them, doing crafts, then we started asking questions and hearing stories about their life as individuals who had faced intense discrimination and persecution and had to flee to refugee camps for their safety," she said.

Around 65 students from ages five to 17 are also featured in the magazine, Grad said, with the hopes of creating intergenerational bonds and highlighting diverse perspectives.

"For the participants themselves, it was really trying to have an intention of building friendship across generations," Grad said. "But the other incentive too, was for the readers, of hearing the voices of refugee and immigrant community."

For some people, the magazine is an opportunity to overcome language barriers and deepen cultural connections. 

Grad said one of the students, inspired by the project, sparked a conversation with his family that led him to uncover information about his own heritage.

"He ended up interviewing both of his parents and found out that they were from Bhutan," she said. "He was born in a refugee camp in Nepal and then came to the states."

For Yu and others, the magazine has profoundly impacted their lives.

"I feel so blessed, yeah, and it is just great," Yu said. "And the program is just so nice."