Artist Karisa Keasey as she paints. 	Photo curtesy of Karisa Keasey

Artist Karisa Keasey as she paints. Photo curtesy of Karisa Keasey

Artist shares portraits and stories of refugees in the Northwest

Her book will be a required reading for 7th-graders in Kent School District.

Local artist Karisa Keasey was first inspired to help tell the stories of refugees after the Syrian refugee crisis nearly seven years ago.

Her heart was broken by the unspeakable violence that many of the Syrians witnessed and endured by the hands of the Syrian government.

Keasey said she understood her own privilege in being able to learn about these atrocities from Facebook and the internet. She was “appalled” when she read xenophobic comments from Americans protesting the Syrians coming to seek asylum and safety in the United States.

“It is not enough to be broken by these things and to just move on,” Keasey said.

At first, she felt helpless. But she recognized that she had a platform as an artist that could be used to tell the stories of the families and individuals who had to escape their country just to ensure their own security.

She realized the importance of allowing these people who were “more than just victims” to tell their own stories and to inspire empathy and understanding among the privileged and comfortable.

“I can share stats all day long,” Keasey said. “But you can’t argue with a story.”

From this inspiration came a book of refugee portraits painted by Keasey with stories told by the refugees themselves, titled “When You Can’t Go Home: Portraits of Refugees in The Northwest.”

This month, portraits and stories from the book will be featured in the Renton History Museum. Keasey said the book will be a required reading for 7th-graders in the Kent School District and will be available in every school library. Keasey said Kent and Renton both have relatively high refugee populations.

Half of the profits raised by the book are donated to the humanitarian organization World Relief.

Keasey said it was important for her project to give the platform directly to the diverse group of refugees featured in the book, to listen and to not be “the white savior.”

In her mission to correct some of the misconceptions the public may have held about immigrants and refugees driven by ignorance and miseducation, Keasey realized that she had many of her own.

“To be clear, no refugee experience is the same,” Keasey said. “You can’t put them in a box.”

She said many of the refugees were lawyers or doctors, holding prominent positions in their home countries.

Many of them overcame a “grueling” refugee application process, sometimes taking over 10 years to process. Americans often possess the misconception that the refugees are less capable or unintelligent because they do not speak English, without knowing that many of them speak five or six different languages.

Some refugee children have grown up in refugee camps, meaning they grew up isolated from the internet and technological literacy.

Despite these disadvantages and marginalization, it was important for Keasey to portray these individuals not as “victims” with their entire identity being defined by the worst part of their life, but as “victors” who were powerful and resilient enough to overcome unimaginable adversity.

“It’s their voices, not mine,” Keasey said of the stories told in her book, which she said can feel like a diary of their stories. “It’s about learning to listen.”

Keasey said a man featured in one of her portraits thanked her for recording his story so that one day, he could show his children how hard he fought for them to have a better life.

She said she hopes the project empowers people to want to empower others. As the current Afghan refugee crisis begins, she hopes people will feel a call to action and a will to help.

“People always say ‘pray for Afghanistan,’” Keasey said. “Don’t just ‘pray.’ Show up for Afghanistan.”


Talk to us

Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.

To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.

Karisa Keasey’s book “When You Can’t Go Home: Portraits of Refugees in the Pacific Northwest.” Photo curtesy of Karisa Keasey

Karisa Keasey’s book “When You Can’t Go Home: Portraits of Refugees in the Pacific Northwest.” Photo curtesy of Karisa Keasey

More in News

Courtesy File Photo, WSDOT
Section of State Route 167 in Kent to be fully closed night of April 24

From 10 p.m. Thursday, April 24 to 4 a.m. Friday, April 25 between S. 180th Street and S. 212th Street

t
Kent man wanted in DV incident reportedly ‘has left the area’

Avon Cobb still on the run; flashbang device might have caused fire at Auburn business where he fled

Courtesy Photo, Comcast
Some Comcast, Xfinity Business customers lose service in Kent

Vandals damage cable line; service expected to be restored by 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 22

The city of Kent Corrections Facility, 1230 Central Ave. S. COURTESY PHOTO, City of Kent
Female inmate, 45, dies while in custody at city of Kent jail

Found unresponsive Tuesday morning, April 22

t
Kent male pedestrian, 45, struck and killed by vehicle

Man was crossing Monday night, April 21 in the 900 block of Central Avenue South

t
WSDOT plans nighttime lane closures in Kent on I-5, SR 516

April 21-27: Northbound I-5, certain directions of SR 516

t
Kent Police to host prescription drug take back day

Drop off medicines from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m Saturday, April 26 outside of Kent Police Department

t
33rd Legislative District sets Telephone Town Hall for April 29

District includes part of Kent; call hosted by Sen. Orwall and State Reps. Gregerson and Obras

Kent Police officers will carry the latest Taser 10 model produced by Axon Enterprises. The gun can fire more shots and at a longer distance than the older model. COURTESY PHOTO, Axon Enterprises
Kent Police add latest Taser model to officers’ equipment

Taser 10 can shoot more shots at a longer distance; department also adds dash cameras

t
Kent crime numbers drop dramatically in first quarter of 2025

All categories down compared to first three months of 2024; commercial burglaries drop 62%

t
Kent Police arrest man in stolen vehicle after short pursuit

Seattle man, 36, taken into custody April 14 at apartment complex near Kent-Meridian High School

t
Kent church reaches $1 million milestone for assistance program

Kent United Methodist Shared Bread Program helps people pay rent, utilities