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Emily Johnson

Reporter

America Abroad

Freelance multimedia journalist working in East Africa and Southeast Asia

‘These songs are about us’: As Ukrainians grieve wartime losses, mourning rituals see a resurgence

Ukraine

Yaroslav Simkiv has played the trumpet for over 50 years and is a recognizable figure in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. Several times a day, he plays his instrument from the towering mayoral building in Lviv’s main square to announce the time of day. But these days, Simkiv has taken on a more serious role — bidding a musical farewell to Ukraine’s fallen soldiers. 

Conservators scan Ukraine’s wooden churches to help preserve them

Sacred Spaces

‘We have to care for every soldier, for every civilian’: Ukraine faces major mental health challenges as a result of war trauma  

Ukraine

Using literature to help children cope with war and trauma

Ukraine
Carnegie Hall in New York, May 12, 2020. 

As war rages at home, Ukrainian choir heads to Carnegie Hall to celebrate 100 years of ‘Carol of the Bells’

Ukraine
Cayuga Lake is the longest of central New York's glacial Finger Lakes.

A leadership dispute flares in Cayuga Nation amid evictions, arrests and demolitions

Conflict & Justice

The Cayuga Nation has ordered a series of demolitions and evictions over the last few years in western New York, which has stirred controversy within the community. 

The Kyiv Symphony Orchestra rehearses at the National Philharmonic in Warsaw, Poland, the day before the premiere performance of the "Voice of Ukraine" tour that took them to nine cities across Poland and Germany

The Kyiv Symphony Orchestra fights on the war’s ‘cultural front’

Arts, Culture & Media

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense granted special permission for the male musicians to leave the country, calculating that the world will be more motivated to protect Ukraine if it sees its culture as something precious and worth saving.

Students at the Warsaw Ukrainian School (SzkoUA), in Warsaw, Poland, sing during an English lesson.

‘Their lives collided with war’: Ukrainian refugees in Poland open their own schools

Ukraine

In recent weeks, some Ukrainians in Warsaw have opened their own schools to let displaced children finish the school year in their own language and according to their own education system. 

Ukrainian Nicolai, 41, says goodbye to his daughter Elina, 4, and his wife Lolita, on a train bound for Poland fleeing from the war at the train station in Lviv, western Ukraine, Friday, April 15, 2022.

‘Home is home’: Ukrainians in Poland consider options as Russia’s war enters new phase 

Ukraine

Many of the 3 million Ukrainians who found safe harbor in Poland amid war at home now find themselves at a crossroads: Build a new life in Poland or return to Ukraine?

Shamans, like Tsering Yangzom in the Haa Valley, often treat patients experiencing symptoms of mental illness. She describes them as being afflicted by deities and treats them by invoking mantras.

Bhutan, known for its Gross National Happiness Index, comes to terms with mental health crisis

Health & Medicine

The country’s tourism council paints an image of a real-life Shangri-La. But Bhutanese identity has been undergoing a seismic shift as it is thrust into a modern age, prompting a mental health crisis in a country that is struggling to keep up.