From Michigan to the Middle East and Back: The Path from Storytelling to System-Building

I’m riding on the back of my friend’s motorcycle in Lebanon, interviewing Syrian refugees as they’re being forcibly evicted from their homes. As a journalist, I believe that storytelling has the power to change lives, and the stories they offer recount their escape from war only to be systemically dispossessed by a country pursuing a policy of immigrant deterrence. “They took our things and threw them in the street,” they tell me, “they said we only had a few days to leave.” An unsympathetic military general who overhears my conversations grabs me by the arm and shouts in my ear, demanding to see my papers. It’s a situation that my interview subjects experience on a daily basis.

My mind goes back to a large research project I headed, assessing the macroeconomic impact of the Syrian crisis on the Lebanese economy. The findings were striking: despite hosting more refugees per capita than any country in the world, the refugee flow had substantial economic benefits that ultimately buoyed Lebanon through a period of regional economic crisis. This pattern wasn’t limited to the Middle East. As my research concluded, a Detroit-based organization published a report on the economic impact of refugees in Michigan — where I grew up — revealing similar positive financial contributions. The remarkable courage of the refugees I covered and these compelling economic findings sparked a lifelong interest in migration that eventually called me back home.

Michigan, like Lebanon, navigates the complex waters of population decline and fiscal sustainability and is also a beneficiary of the talent, diversity and capital that immigrants infuse into the economy. I also discovered  that charting the course to a prosperous future requires more than storytelling alone; it demands systems change and policy reform. This realization prompted my career shift from reporting to advocacy. After earning my master’s in international migration and public policy in London, I returned to Michigan to advance inclusive economic development programs with Global Detroit.

My recent move to the Michigan League for Public Policy presents an incredible opportunity to scale up system change work to the state level — work that has never been more urgent. At the time of writing, our country has turned its back on refugees, attempted to revoke legal statuses without due process and is reviewing another travel ban including Muslim-majority countries. I can’t help but contrast current policy with the incredible hospitality people offered during my travels through Arab-majority countries: the man in Egypt who escorted my friend and I to every train station in Cairo when we asked for directions, personally carrying our bags; my teenage driver in Yemen who vowed to protect me when I had a credible fear that al-Qaeda extremists were monitoring my movements.

I also often remember the feeling of helplessness when that military general threatened to deport me from Lebanon and separate me from the ones I loved. We have a choice about the country we want to be and the future we want to create. When systems fail vulnerable people, transformative change requires both compelling narratives and policy frameworks. I’m honored to have the opportunity to work toward that inclusive future at the League, where compassion and evidence-based policies can shape our shared tomorrow.