The Beautiful Crossing grew out of one person’s journey via bicycle across the United States, and became a platform for sharing stories from former refugees and asylum seekers. In 2018, Alana Murphy cycled 4,380 miles across our crazy, beautiful, broken country. She started in New York City, and touched the Pacific Ocean 88 days later after reaching Astoria, Oregon. Along the way, she stopped in 15 different cities and met with individuals who had originally come to the United States as refugees or asylum seekers. The Beautiful Crossing is dedicated to sharing their experiences of starting life over in the United States, and celebrating their many different “crossings.” Some have journeyed over vast deserts and deep oceans in order to find safety for themselves and their families. They have worked hard to learn a new language and adopt a new culture. Many have gone back to school and acquired new skills in order to build new career paths for themselves in the United States.

As the word “refugee” has become a politically divisive term over the last four years, it has become increasingly clear that many Americans have not yet had the opportunity to meet these incredible people or to understand their experiences living in the United States. Through photographs and interviews, the Beautiful Crossing aims to share these stories with those who have not had the chance to meet these new Americans in person. The majority of media covering the “Refugee Crisis” tends to highlight why someone became a refugee in the first place and the dangerous journeys they took in order to seek asylum or find refuge. Although these often heart-wrenching stories are powerful, the Beautiful Crossing focuses instead on sharing one’s experiences living and adjusting to life in the United States.

Above all, the project hopes to humanize the refugee issue by reminding all of us that these once refugees are now our American neighbors: people living alongside us, wanting what’s best for their families and children. Secondly, the Beautiful Crossing aims to empower those who came to the United States as refugees to share their impressions and insights about our country. Lastly, it seeks to provide those who are curious about refugee resettlement policy with more information about the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and possible steps that we could take as a country in order to move towards a more sustainable solution.