War survivors hold intimate details in their stories about the nature of war, their individual and collective suffering, and their powerful resilience and growth during their survival and recovery. These stories have the power to inform and move all of us to think and feel deeply about what we are doing when we allow war to occur.

As part of our mission, the War Survivors Institute (WSI) provides a forum for survivors to educate the public through their stories. Some of the stories are accounts obtained during research we have conducted, some are solicited, and some are offered through our website and/or personal contact. All survivors provided consent, and, where appropriate, names, places, and photos are either provided or withheld depending on the survivors’ permissions.

The format of these stories allows us to understand in general terms what the survivor experienced and their view of the effects of war and the profound resilience survivors’ have to engage in transformational healing for themselves and our world.