ANIKKE FOX: IMMIGRANTS AROUND THE WORLD FACE UNBELIEVABLE CHALLENGES ON THEIR JOURNEY SEARCHING FOR A NEW PLACE TO CALL HOME.

WHILE MUCH OF THE REPORTING FOCUSES ON THE BACKLASH REFUGEES FACE FROM THEIR NEW HOST NATIONS, MANY COMMUNITIES ARE OPENING THEIR ARMS AND MINDS.

IN THIS FIRST SEGMENT, WE LEARN ABOUT A TEAM OF JOURNALISTS IN MINNEAPOLIS WHO REPORT ON THE PERSECUTION OF THE OROMO PEOPLE IN ETHIOPIA.

THEY ARE TELLING THE DIFFICULT STORIES OF THOSE WHO HAVE SURVIVED THEIR ESCAPE, WHILE REPORTING ON THE GROWING CONFLICT BACK HOME.

[MAN SPEAKING OROMO] [MUAZ SNIFFLES] [DISTANT SHOUTING] [SHOUTING AND SCREAMING] FUAD SIRAJ: IMAGINE THAT YOUR WIFE AND YOUR DAUGHTER GOES DOWN AND YOU ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WATER.

I JUST PUT MYSELF THERE, AND I SAID, IF I WERE HIM, I'M SURE I'M NOT GONNA BE SURVIVING.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER] MAN: GOOD MORNING.

FUAD: THIS GOES HERE.

THE CAMERAS COME HERE.

MAN: WE LAUNCHED THIS CHANNEL.

WE LAUNCHED IT IN MARCH 1, 2014.

WITHIN TWO MONTHS, A PROTEST ERUPTS, AN OROMO PROTEST ERUPTS, AND THIS MEDIA WOULD PLAY A CENTRAL ROLE IN PROVIDING A CONSTANT UPDATE, BOTH TO PROTESTERS AND ALSO TO OUTSIDE WORLD ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING ON THE GROUND, AND WE BECAME PART OF THE WHOLE PROTESTER STORY.

WE'RE RIGHT NOW, WE ARE THE NUMBER ONE RATED TV IN THE REGION.

WE HAVE ON SATELLITE OVER 11 MILLION PEOPLE, OUR VIEWERS, SO WE'RE DOING OK.

FUAD: THOSE GUYS, THEY CROSS MEDITERRANEAN AND, YOU KNOW, THEY WENT THROUGH A LOT OF THINGS.

THERE ARE SO MANY OROMOS WHO ARE DYING IN THE SAME WAY OR DIFFERENT WAYS.

NOBODY KNOWS WHERE THEY ARE.

THEY DID NOT LEAVE THEIR COUNTRY JUST, LIKE, VOLUNTARILY.

THEY JUST MOVE AROUND, BUT THEY WERE FORCED TO LEAVE BECAUSE OF OROMO PROTEST, AND WE HAVE TO FOLLOW THEM WHEREVER THEY ARE.

[COMPUTER CHIMES] MAN: HELLO?

[MUAZ REPLIES IN OROMO] [MAN SPEAKING OROMO] [MAN SINGING] [MUAZ SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE] JAWAR: THE OROMOS OCCUPIED THE MOST FERTILE PART OF THE COUNTRY.

THEY ARE THE LARGEST IN THE GROUP.

THEY ARE THE LARGEST PRODUCER OF THE FOOD THE COUNTRY FEEDS ITSELF WITH, BUT ECONOMICALLY, THEY CONTINUE TO BE MARGINALIZED.

HELLO?

SO, AROUND 2014, THE GOVERNMENT REVEALS WHAT IS CALLED A MASTER PLAN TO EXPAND [INDISTINCT] TO THE NEARBY OROMIA CITIES AND RURAL VILLAGES.

IT WAS GOING TO REMOVE TWO MILLION OROMO HOUSEHOLDS.

THEY START TO PROTEST IN THE AREA.

IT CONTINUED TO ERUPT INTO WESTWARD, SOUTHWARD.

AND THE GOVERNMENT DECIDED TO DEPLOY THE FEDERAL ARMY TO CRUSH IT, AND THEY KILLED TWO YOUNG PEOPLE.

UNDER HEAVY, HEAVY PRESSURE, THE GOVERNMENT COMES TOGETHER AND THEY CANCELED THE MASTER PLAN, BUT BY THEN, THEY HAVE ALREADY KILLED SOME 200 PEOPLE.

ONCE BLOOD HAS BLED, THE WHOLE THING BLOW OPEN.

[PEOPLE SHOUTING] JAWAR: THIS IS STUDENTS AT HARAMAYA UNIVERSITY.

THEY START TO PROTEST.

SOLDIERS, THEY FIRE ON PEOPLE, AND THEY KILLED A NUMBER OF STUDENTS ON THAT DAY.

[PEOPLE SHOUTING] THIS ONE WAS A MASSIVE PROTEST IN FEBRUARY, AND THE SOLDIERS SHOT, I THINK, 11 OR 12 PEOPLE.

THESE ARE THE KIDS ON THE BILLBOARD.

[PEOPLE CHANTING IN OROMO] JAWAR: 14 PEOPLE FROM THIS SMALL TOWN WAS KILLED IN ONE DAY, AND I ACTUALLY HAPPEN TO KNOW THIS KID.

THEY WERE SHOT AND KILLED ON THAT DAY.

AND THIS WAS TWO WEEKS AGO.

IT'S IN AWADA, WHERE--THIS IS A LITTLE KID, WAS SHOT AND KILLED.

[PEOPLE WAILING] HEY, I'M DEALING WITH A SATELLITE ISSUE RIGHT NOW.

I'M TRYING TO FIND OUT EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED.

WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY NOW WHETHER IT'S JAMMING OR THEY COME BY TO OPEN US, SO WE'LL TRY AND FIGURE OUT THAT.

THE GOVERNMENT, YOU KNOW, THEY BLOCK WEBSITES, SO THEY HAVE FOUND A MACHINE FROM CHINA THAT JUST JAMS SATELLITE SIGNALS.

SO WE HAVE BEEN JAMMED 15 TIMES SO FAR, 15 TIMES IN TWO YEARS.

YESTERDAY YOU WERE HERE AND ASKING ME ABOUT THE JAMMING PROBLEMS.

IT ACTUALLY GOT JAMMED WHILE ME AND YOU WERE TALKING.

SO, YOU KNOW, SO IT'S A, YOU KNOW, CAT-AND-MOUSE RELATIONSHIP, BUT THE, YOU KNOW, THE SITUATION BETWEEN US AND THE GOVERNMENT.

BUT WE'LL BE BACK AGAIN, HOPEFULLY TOMORROW.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER] [MEN PRAYING] ANIKKE: WHILE WAITING FOR THEIR ASYLUM TO BE APPROVED IN ICELAND, WAEL AND FERYAL HAD A BABY.

THEN THEIR ASYLUM APPLICATION WAS REFUSED.

BUT DESPITE ICELAND'S ACCEPTANCE OF ONLY 600 IMMIGRANTS IN THE PAST 60 YEARS, THE LOCAL ICELANDIC COMMUNITY RALLIED TOGETHER TO SUPPORT THE FAMILY AND KEEP THEM IN THE COUNTRY.

[NEWSCASTER SPEAKING ICELANDIC] [FERYAL SPEAKING ENGLISH] HALLDORA: TO BE AROUND THEM, THEY ARE VERY FRIENDLY, AND THEY--YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH THEM IMMEDIATELY, AS A FAMILY.

AND, UM, THEY WANTED EVERYTHING TO-- TO DO EVERYTHING TO STAY HERE, AND WE THOUGHT IT WAS ABSURD TO SEND THEM BACK TO, REALLY, THE STREET OF GREECE.

AND WE FELT IT RIGHT AWAY IN THE GROUP OF STAFF AND THE SOCIETY HERE NEARBY, THE PARENTS.

SO EVERYBODY WAS LIKE COMING TO US, LIKE, "IF I CAN DO SOMETHING, TELL ME."

AND THEN ONE OF THE BIGGEST NEWSPAPER CONTACTED ME, WANTED TO DO A STORY ABOUT IT.

AND THEN WE HAD MANY PEOPLE GO DOWNTOWN FOR TESTING, THAT THEY WERE SENDING THEM BACK.

[WAEL SPEAKING ENGLISH] HALLDORA: THEY WERE VERY HAPPY.

OF COURSE, WE WERE HAPPY, THE OTHER PARENTS REALLY VERY HAPPY.

HA HA HA!

[FERYAL SPEAKING ENGLISH] [GIRL SPEAKING ICELANDIC] [FERYAL SPEAKING ENGLISH] HALLDORA: THEIR YOUNGEST NOW-- VALGEROUR HALLA--HA.

YOU DON'T FIND MORE ICELANDIC NAME THAN THAT.

WAS NAMED AFTER THE--ONE OF THE PARENTS' NAME THAT HELPED THEM A LOT.

SO THAT IS A GREAT EXAMPLE HOW BOTH THE PARENTS' GROUP HERE WORKED TOGETHER AND HOW THEY ARE EAGER TO STAY HERE AND FEEL SAFE.

ANIKKE: A HOTEL IN VIENNA IS OFFERING MORE THAN FRESH TOWELS FOR THEIR GUESTS.

THEY'RE OFFERING JOBS AND TRAINING FOR REFUGEES, WHILE ALSO CREATING A BUSINESS MODEL THAT CUSTOMERS APPRECIATE.

[MAN SPEAKING GERMAN] WOMAN: YES!

[OVERLAPPING CHATTER] [TELEPHONE RINGS] MAN: YEAH, I REMEMBER OUR FIRST BOOKING.

THEY WERE COMING FROM ISRAEL.

ON THE FIRST DAY, THEY WERE OK.

"WHY IS THE CHECK-IN TAKING SO LONG?

WHY IS IT TAKING ABOUT 15, 20 MINUTES BEFORE I GET MY ROOM?"

THEN, AT THE SECOND DAY, THEY'RE ALREADY OK.

HERE'S SOMETHING DIFFERENT.

AND AT THE LAST DAY, AS THEY CHECKED OUT, THEY WERE WITH THE EMPLOYEES, THEY WERE GETTING LIKE THIS, IN THE SELFIE-MAKING.

A GREAT FEELING.

de VOS: IN AUSTRIA, REFUGEES, WE CALL THEM FLUECHTLINGE.

AND THE WORD FLUECHTLING, IN AUSTRIA, HAS GOT A NEGATIVE TOUCH.

AND DURING THE JOB INTERVIEWS WE HAD WITH OUR EMPLOYEES, THERE WERE PEOPLE WHO SAY, "I WANT TO WORK.

I'M MOTIVATED, AND I WOULD LIKE TO LEARN, BUT EVERYBODY TOLD US, 'NO, I'M SORRY, YOU GOT NO WORK EXPERIENCE.'"

THE INTERESTING PART AT THE OTHER SIDE IS THEY ARE MOTIVATED.

JUST BEFORE THE HOTEL OPENED, OUR RECEPTIONISTS, THEY HELPED US PUTTING BEDS UPSTAIRS, THEY HELPED US TO CLEAN THE ROOMS.

THEY DO THINGS I NEVER HAVE SEEN BEFORE.

[MAN SPEAKING ENGLISH] ♪ EE-I-EE-I-O ♪ [CHUCKLES] [DANIEL SPEAKING GERMAN] [SEGUN SPEAKING ENGLISH] [HUMS] ANIKKE: STARTING OVER IS HARD ENOUGH, BUT THE LAYERS OF PERSECUTION, POVERTY, AND VIOLENCE COMPOUND THE DIFFICULTY FOR REFUGEES SEEKING A NEW LIFE.

BUT IN MANY PLACES, LOCAL COMMUNITIES ARE WELCOMING REFUGEES AND PROVIDING MUCH-NEEDED SUPPORT.

IF YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS EPISODE AND LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP IMMIGRANTS FIND A PLACE TO CALL HOME, PLEASE VISIT LINKTV.ORG/TRUSTDOCS.