Oral history interview with Salsabel Al Masri
Scope and Contents
This oral history interview with Salsabel Al Masri was conducted by Dora Totoian and Sankar Raman on January 5, 2020. The interview was recorded for The Immigrant Story, an organization that documents and archives the stories of immigrants and refugees in the United States.
In this interview, Al Masri discusses her early life and education in Daraa, Syria, and talks about her love of math and her ambition to become a doctor. She discusses the beginnings of the Syrian civil war in 2011 and her experiences moving to Irbid, Jordan, the next year. She talks about her life and education in Jordan from 2012 to 2016, including racism she experienced and her feelings upon learning that her home in Syria had been bombed. She describes the process of immigrating to the United States, and describes adjusting to life in Portland, Oregon, including learning English and attending American high schools. She shares her experience wearing headscarves in Portland, discusses her parents’ jobs, and talks about family still in Jordan. She closes the interview by reflecting on her immigration experience.
Dates
- Creation: 2020 January 5
Creator
- Al Masri, Salsabel, 2003- (Interviewee, Person)
- Raman, Sankar (Interviewer, Person)
- Totoian, Dora (Interviewer, Person)
- Immigrant Story (Hillsboro, Or.) (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Joint copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society and The Immigrant Story. Use is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted, https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/
Biographical note
Salsabel Al Masri was born in Daraa, Syria, in 2003. In 2012, a year after the beginning of civil war in Syria, she moved with her family to Irbid, Jordan. In 2016, she and her family immigrated to the United States, living in Portland, Oregon.
Source: Information provided by Al Masri in her interview.
Extent
929 Megabytes (1 audio file (1 hr., 24 min., 37 sec.)) : WAV
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Oral history interview with Salsabel Al Masri, conducted by Dora Totoian and Sankar Raman on January 5, 2020. Al Masri discusses her early life and education in Daraa, Syria; her experiences living in Irbid, Jordan, from 2012 to 2016; and her experiences adjusting to life in Portland, Oregon, after immigrating to the United States in 2016.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of The Immigrant Story, June 2023 (RL2023-081).
Publication note
Subject
- Al Masri, Salsabel, 2003- (Person)
Genre / Form
Geographic
Topical
- Title
- Guide to the oral history interview with Salsabel Al Masri
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Sarah Stroman
- Date
- 2023
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid is written in English.
Repository Details
Part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library Repository
1200 SW Park Ave.
Portland OR 97205 United States
5033065204
5033065240
libreference@ohs.org