Public registry
The people already on file
Portraits are representative. The hunger is not. One column wants a Constitution. The other wants a committee with better branding.
Freedom seekers
Cuba, North Korea, the United Kingdom. They would like your grocery store, your church, and the right to finish a sentence.
Wants freedomBeijing, China
Wei Chen
Software engineer, 34
“I can write the code that watches a billion people. I cannot write a sentence the Party dislikes.”
Wants freedomShanghai, China
Mei Lin
Independent journalist, 29
“I do not need a platform. I need a country that will not delete the article and then the author.”
Wants freedomHavana, Cuba
Carlos Mendoza
Mechanic, 41
“I can keep a 1958 engine alive. I am not allowed to own the garage.”
Wants freedomHavana, Cuba
Ana Vargas
Physician, 36
“They tell the world I am free. They pay me as if my work were a rumor.”
Wants freedomHyesan, North Korea
Yuna Park
Textile worker, 28
“I have never chosen a meal, a book, or a quiet hour. I would like to try all three.”
Wants freedomChongjin, North Korea
Min-ho Kim
Factory technician, 33
“They call it equality. It is a silence so complete you can hear the loudspeakers.”
Wants freedomLondon, United Kingdom
James Whitaker
Publican, 46
“I can lose the pub to the rates. I can lose the joke to a visit from the police. I would like a country that still knows the difference.”
Wants freedomBasildon, United Kingdom
Helen Croft
NHS nurse, 39
“I trained to treat patients. I was promoted to wait in corridors and fill in forms about my feelings.”
Wants freedomLeicester, United Kingdom
Priya Nair
Shopkeeper, 33
“My parents came here for a shop and a quiet life. I am leaving because both became a permit.”
Wants freedomSantiago de Cuba, Cuba
Luis Ortega
Farmer, 47
“I can grow the crop. I am not allowed to sell it to the neighbor who is hungry.”
Wants freedomWonsan, North Korea
Soo-jin Han
Schoolteacher, 31
“I was hired to teach children. I was ordered to teach a man.”
Wants freedomBirmingham, United Kingdom
Tom Bradley
Electrician, 52
“I can rewire a house. I cannot rewire a country that fines you for noticing.”
System seekers
United States. They would like the experiment without the waiting list, the informants, or the empty pharmacy.
Wants the systemPortland, Oregon
Ashley Brennan
Graduate student, sociology, 24
“Late capitalism is a violence. I should not have to earn the right to exist.”
Wants the systemBrooklyn, New York
Tyler Brooks
Barista and chapter organizer, 31
“Private property is the original theft. I am ready to live the alternative.”
Wants the systemBerkeley, California
Madison Cole
Undergraduate activist, 22
“Borders are violence. America was never great. I want a country that admits it.”
Wants the systemSeattle, Washington
Jordan Hayes
Product manager, 29
“Fully automated luxury communism is not a joke. The state just needs better software.”
Wants the systemAnn Arbor, Michigan
Kayla Simmons
Campus organizer, 26
“If the West is so free, why does it still let people be wrong in public?”
Wants the systemMadison, Wisconsin
Devon Walsh
Graduate instructor, 23
“If speech can wound, the state should have a sharper knife than the First Amendment.”
Wants the systemPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Harper Quinn
Nonprofit caseworker, 27
“America is a harm factory. I want a country that plans the grocery and the truth.”
Wants the systemAustin, Texas
Nico Reyes
Climate organizer, 25
“If the planet is dying, the Constitution is a luxury. Plan the rest.”
Wants the systemChicago, Illinois
Samira Bennett
Labor researcher, 28
“Work is theft unless a committee assigns it. I am ready to be assigned.”
Wants the systemDenver, Colorado
Blake Morrison
Mutual-aid coordinator, 24
“If people still own things, the revolution is just a potluck.”
Wants the systemQueens, New York
Iris Vale
Culture writer, 26
“America is a content warning. I want an editor with an army.”
Wants the systemMinneapolis, Minnesota
Gavin Price
Tenant-union staffer, 30
“Landlords are the original state. I want the sequel, with better branding.”