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I am the face of a refugee. I was once a refugee. I was with my family in exile.

I have been a foreigner all my life, first as a daughter of diplomats, then as a political refugee and now as an immigrant in the U.S. I have had to leave everything behind and start anew several times, and I have lost most of my extended family.

My commitment to refugees comes from a very personal place.

I know what it's like when you are a refugee, living on the mercy of others and having to adjust.

The hardship of living in a refugee camp made me psychologically strong.

Once a refugee, always a refugee. I can't ever remember not being all right wherever I was, but you don't give your whole allegiance to a place or want to be entirely identified with the society you're living in.

I never did very well as an immigrant. I've lived in several countries and been a disaster everywhere.

We're so lucky where we live, but we're so out of touch. Everyone's mindset is made to feel that refugees are a problem, but it's more than that. They're human beings, too. They were forced from their homes.

You know, those of us who leave our homes in the morning and expect to find them there when we go back - it's hard for us to understand what the experience of a refugee might be like.

My experience as a refugee had made me strong; I could survive anything, even the world of fashion.