Refugees’ stories hit close to home

3 (1)
Afghan refugee Abdul escaped a dangerous situation in his home country and arrived in the U.S. last November with his family. Abdul is friendly, well-educated and speaks English–skills that should help him in the United States. Still, like many refugees, he is struggling to adapt to a new life. (Photo: K. Sturm)

By Kellen Browning, Claire Alongi and Katrina Sturm,
BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–

In the living room of a small apartment, Abdul sits on a worn couch near a window overlooking a run-down part of Sacramento. The view from the window isn’t much: a parking lot and a dumpster. The small lot is fenced in and lined with trees that block the sight of a small barbeque and boarded-up shop front next door.

None of this bothers 23-year-old Abdul. Excited to have guests, he serves tea and snacks. Smiling, he speaks animatedly in accented English.

Abdul, who has asked that his last name not be included, arrived in the United States as a refugee last November from Afghanistan with his 20-year-old wife and one-year-old son.

The son of a truck driver and a hotel cleaner, Abdul had a good life in Afghanistan. He picked up English at a young age from foreign guests at his mother’s hotel, and was teaching seven English classes per day by the age of 13.

A dangerous profession

The refugee is also a computer whiz, and taught computer programming and Microsoft Office. Abdul laughed at recalling that many of his students, in their mid-20s, were being taught by a child.

“When I finished teaching, they said that ‘You are the best,’ ” he remembered.

[pullquote]“I said that my life was in danger.” ~Abdul, Afghan refugee[/pullquote]

Abdul says some of his students suggested a way for him to make money–an Internet cafe.

He didn’t know it then, but this idea started Abdul on a path that would have life and death consequences.

“When a person wants to have access to Internet there, in my country,” he explained, “they don’t have Internet on his mobile [phone]. Just they are coming to the net cafe.”

The agreement was that Abdul would earn what people spent to use the cafe–one hour for 50 rupees, which is about $0.75 U.S. dollars–but was told he had to “make all the computers, all the cablings.”

“I said ‘it’s fine for me, I can make,’” he said. “Then, I made. I made a net cafe. I made three computers by myself–I bought from the market a motherboard, also a processor, RAM and the part supplies, casings.”

Abdul said it took him just one day to make those three computers and install programs in a total of 12–when he was still just a teenager.

(Photo: K. Sturm)
Abdul’s talent for technology served as a source of income, but his frequent contact with foreign companies while working for a tech business made him a threat to the Afghan government. (Photo: K. Sturm)

“But I am hard worker,” he said.

Between the Internet cafe and more computer programming classes, Abdul was making about 15,200 rupees a month–approximately $227 U.S. dollars.

His success did not go unnoticed; Abdul worked for three years at a technology company called Victy, and for a year and a half at a company called Net Links.

Both companies sent Abdul through 34 different provinces in Afghanistan, working with foreign companies, which his father cautioned Abdul against. Soon enough, Abdul’s work caught up with him. He says the country’s Ministry of Defense views foreign people as “our enemies” and threatens those who work with them.

While at Victy, Abdul sought out a co-worker he knew was a U.S. citizen.

“I said that my life was in danger,” he said. “She said that ‘I will give you a paper, so you should apply for that; then you will see what will happen.’ Then I applied for that and I came here.”

It took two years for Abdul’s application for refugee status to be processed. During that time, he married his wife (Abdul asked that his wife not be interviewed or named) and spent all his money on the wedding.

Starting over

Though now out of reach of the Afghanistan government, Abdul and his family still had to overcome the challenges involved with resettling in a brand new country and beginning a new life.

After flying from Kabul to Sacramento, Abdul stayed at a friend’s apartment for two days before connecting with Rebecca Brown, who works for the Sacramento chapter of World Relief, a non-profit refugee resettlement organization.

Brown says Sacramento is a hotspot for refugees.

“[The Sacramento] office is actually resettling the most in the [United] States right now; out of all the resettling agencies–not just World Relief but out of everyone–World Relief Sacramento is resettling the most,” she said.

Brown was formerly a resettlement associate, which entailed providing refugees transport to requisite appointments and ensuring those appointments went smoothly. Now, she’s a caseworker, and handles financial aspects of the refugee transition.

One of those aspects is “welcome money,” which is provided to World Relief by the federal government. Brown’s organization pays for initial refugee necessities like lodging, food, clothes and furniture.

[pullquote]“[Refugees are] coming from really bad situations and any help we can give them they’re so grateful for.” ~Rebecca Brown, World Relief caseworker[/pullquote]

The balance of the “welcome money” ($3,375 in Abdul’s case) is given to the family to spend.

But resettlement agencies don’t just give refugees money and leave. In fact, Abdul and his family have developed an unusually close relationship with Brown.  

When Abdul and his family arrived, they were paired with Brown, who at the time was still working as a resettlement associate. As she drove him to and from appointments, they began to develop a friendly bond.

So when Abdul needed a place to stay when all the other host homes were occupied, it was Brown who stepped up to the plate.  

“We were just getting desperate, so the housing coordinator at the time reached out to the staff and said ‘Is anyone willing?’ ” Brown said. “I talked to my dad about it because he has a big heart for the Afghan community, too, so I knew he would be okay. And that’s how [Abdul and his family] came to live with us.”

It was unusual at first to be sharing a house with people from a very different culture, but Brown enjoyed it. The experience, along with her transition from resettlement associate to caseworker, has reinforced her drive to help refugees and spread awareness of their struggle to the public.

“[Refugees are] coming from really bad situations and any help we can give them they’re so grateful for,” she said. “They’re not taking our jobs, because the jobs they take are usually jobs that you don’t want. […] I think a negative view of refugees makes me sad because [other people] don’t understand the full picture sometimes, and if there’s a way we can get that word out there, that’s what I want to do.”

After 15 days in Davis, World Relief was able to set Abdul up with an inexpensive apartment in Sacramento.

From refugee to aid worker

World Relief isn’t the only organization working to help refugees; Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services (SFBFS) is another group that assists refugees in their transition to life in the U.S.

Nematullah Sarvary and his family, also from Afghanistan, arrived in the U.S. with the help of SFBFS.  Now, more than a year later, Sarvary works with the organization, helping refugees much like himself adjust to life in a new country.

[pullquote]“It hurts a little bit [to leave your family behind], but it’s worth it to save your life.” ~Nematullah Sarvary, Afghan refugee and SFBFS worker[/pullquote]

Sarvary’s path to becoming a refugee began many years ago. In 2010, he was employed by the Afghan government as an interpreter, and also provided cultural advice to foreign governments. Sarvary worked closely with the U.S. government in particular.

Sarvary knew that his job put him in peril. He faced the same dangers as Abdul–he was working with outsiders, and that made him a threat by association.

“If someone is working for a government in Afghanistan that is a kind of risk that he is accepting for himself, especially when it comes to working for [foreign] forces and [particularly] for U.S. armed forces,” Sarvary explained. “It means you are dealing with your life.”

Sarvary’s situation became even more dire when he was let go from his job with the government. His unemployed status meant that he was home most of the time–essentially, a sitting duck.  

At this point Sarvary was seeking refugee status for himself and his family; it took nearly three and a half years for the visa to be completed.

Even though Sarvary had a U.S. tie in Sacramento, it didn’t make the transition any less difficult.  Still, Sarvary knew leaving Afghanistan was the best option.

(Graphic: N. Pugh and K. Sturm. Sources: United Nations Refugee Agency, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services)

“It hurts a little bit [to leave your family behind], but it’s worth it to save your life,” he said.

Sarvary seems to have acclimated well.

“[The U.S.] is my new home now,” he said with certainty.

Now that he has found his footing, Sarvary has taken his experience as a refugee and channeled it into his work with SFBFS.

His new life also presents his daughters, ages two and four, with opportunities they never would have had access to back in Afghanistan.

“[Educational opportunities are] a good thing that [my daughters] will obtain here. In my country, they will not even get a chance to have an education at all. That will not be as much good as it is here. My kids will get the best education possible,” Sarvary said, with a touch of pride.

Abdul agrees that women’s rights are very different in the United States. In Afghanistan, he says, “some people are beating or hitting wives or daughters” and there are a generation of girls who are illiterate.

Sarvary has also managed to avoid much of the anti-refugee sentiment that has saturated politics and media of late. He doesn’t quite understand; after all, aren’t refugees and the U.S. on the same side?

“Those people that escape from their country, they’re escaping from the same people the
Americans are,” he said. “They are leaving their country because the insurgents are killing them.  And the U.S. government is also fighting against those who are killing innocent people.”

An ongoing conflict

[pullquote]“Our resolution made very clear that we felt the United States has a moral obligation to assist Syrian civilians.” ~California State Senator Lois Wolk[/pullquote]

Still, the issue of whether or not to accept more refugees has played a large role in the 2016 presidential election. Most notably, Republican candidate Donald Trump in December called for a temporary ban on all Muslims entering the U.S.

In January, the U.S. Senate failed to pass bill H.R. 4038, which passed the House of Representatives and would have placed restrictions on accepting Syrian and Iraqi refugees; proponents viewed the stricter protocols as a safeguard against terrorist infiltration.

Many Davisites were shocked when local U.S. Representative John Garamendi voted in favor of the bill. In response to the outcry, Garamendi posted an explanation of his decision on his website.

I saw this vote as an opportunity to assure the American public that we are thoroughly vetting refugees,” Garamendi wrote. “In America, we know who our refugee populations are, and if bringing that knowledge up to the cabinet level in a more systemized way helps prevent overreactions that would stop future refugees altogether, so be it.”

Garamendi stressed that he supports aiding refugees.

“I would never vote for a bill that I thought stopped our refugee programs,” he said.

By contrast, California State Senator Lois Wolk, who lives in Davis, was one of the principal authors of Senate Resolution 52: a unanimous, bipartisan exhortation from the State Senate urging President Barack Obama and the United States Congress to accept more Syrian refugees.

“Our resolution made very clear that we felt the United States has a moral obligation to assist Syrian civilians,” Wolk told The HUB.

Wolk explained that the states handle refugee aid and assistance that comes from the U.S. Department of State. Information from the California Department of Social Services Refugee Programs Bureau, provided by Wolk’s office, shows that Sacramento County is one of eight California counties considered “refugee-impacted,” meaning it has received 400 or more refugee arrivals in the last five years.

“If you’re high impact,” Wolk explained, “you get more refugee assistance.”

rsz_img_0292_1
Abdul, the oldest of five children, had to leave most of his family behind when he fled Afghanistan. He talks to his father frequently on the phone, and eventually hopes to reunite with them.

Hope for the future

Fortunately for Abdul, his technical skills have paid off; after months of phone calls and job searching, Apple recently hired him to work in its refurbishing department.

“Right now I just am thinking to make a good life in here,” he said.

But he’s worried that his family is in danger. Abdul recently learned that relatives are being questioned by the government about his disappearance; he has exhorted his father to escape to Tajikistan or another nearby country.

That explains Abdul’s urge to find a job; he has promised his father that he will use his salary to pay for his family to join him in the U.S.

“I have one concern in my life,” he said. “That’s my family.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *