San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
Teens adjust to fleeing Afghanistan, new life in the U.S.
With the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in 2021, thousands of Afghans scrambled for a way out of the country as it fell back under Taliban rule. There were fathers who helped the U.S. military and found themselves at risk of retaliation. There were threats of kidnappings and demands for ransom payments.
“I didn’t know I would come until I came to the airport . ... I just came to the airport to see what’s happening. I didn’t know if I was going to go or not,” said Mohammad Rasooli, 18, a recent graduate of Crawford High School who grew up in Mazar-i-sharif. He was 16 at the time, with only the clothes on his back, what amounted to $10 in his pocket, and his 14-year-old brother in tow.
His parents didn’t know where they were, but he had been studying English since eighth or ninth grade and had planned to secure a scholarship to study in the U.S. (His parents joined them in 2022.) “But when the Taliban took over my country, I just went to the airport. There was no security. If you can pass the Taliban, you are free to go. There were NATO soldiers and they just helped you. They just move you onto a plane, they do not ask you where you are going. I didn’t know if it would go to the U.S. or somewhere else.”
More than 76,000 evacuees came to the United States, including nearly 3,000 who have resettled in San Diego, according to data from the county.
Jamshid Ibrahimi and Sohail
Sial, both 18 and graduates of El Cajon Valley High School, grew up in Kabul.
They were sad about leaving their homes while also excited to experience a new culture and new people. All three of them (who declined to be photographed for this story) come from large immediate families of at least seven people and have been surprised by the number of people who are unhoused in America.
They feel safer here, they say, and they would like to stay, go to college, and build a life here. They each took some time to share their experiences living in the U.S. for the past couple of years, and their plans now that they’ve finished high school in their new home. (These email interviews have been edited for length and clarity. For a longer version of these conversations, visit sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-lisa-deaderickstaff.html.)
Q:
What were your expectations of America before you arrived?
Sial: I thought it would be so different from what I am living now. I thought there would be no economic problems. We would live in a big house. I was thinking it would be, kind of, a dreamy life. It is such a busy life. Here, it is full of problems. Here, it is more difficult to access anything. Daily, there is more work. We have so much work, like appointments and meetings, and we cannot access it.
Ibrahimi: I had seen California in the movies, but when I came here I didn’t expect it to be like this. Also, I didn’t think America had poor people who live outside without homes. I thought it would be more green, more trees, more tall buildings with beautiful places and beautiful parks.
Rasooli: I thought it would be a beautiful city, more clean and organized. I thought it would be a better life. It was not like this when I got here.
Q:
What are some of the things you miss most about Afghanistan?
Sial: So, first of all, I would say I miss my hometown. I miss the ground I was born [on]. I miss my friends and my relatives, I miss our culture and our food. There are foods we cannot get here. Well, they are not the same here. I miss soup, but it’s not like soup like you call in English. It’s a special soup. And bolani [a fried, stuffed flatbread]. We can get here, but it’s not the same as there. Burger is a different burger than here. I would say mantu [a dumpling filled with meat and onions]. I miss mantu.
Ibrahimi: We had a big yard. We had a lot of different trees, like pear, apple, walnut, grape and other types of trees there. I miss a lot of foods. We had a fountain in our house. It had cold water and very fresh water. And we had fresh vegetables. We had a house under the ground that we could play. I would play with my friends and siblings there.
Rasooli: I would say the food we have there. The school, which is very different from here. The people are different; like, I have good friends over there, and they are different kind of people. And teachers are different. I had more fun with them than the friends that I have here. Q:
In the short time that you’ve been here, are there things you’ve come to enjoy about living here?
Sial: I’d say I feel safer than in Afghanistan, but I am also feeling free. I wasn’t allowed to go out after evening because there were too many thieves or bad people. Daily life here, I am going outside and I am driving a car and that wasn’t an option that I had in Afghan.
Ibrahimi: There are two weekend days, and in Afghanistan it was just one weekend day. The people here are so quiet. There, it was loud and much noise.
Rasooli: I really like the weather here. It is very good. Like summer and winter, it all feels good. In Afghanistan, in winter it was cold snow; in the summer it was super hot.
Q:
What would you like people to understand or know about your home country and how you grew up?
Sial: The most things people should know about our country is our history. We have a long history. It is 5,000 years old and the people of Afghanistan are so brave and they are so kind. When you meet them, you will know. There is so much natural beauty, and rivers and water and lakes and a lot of natural places to visit.
Ibrahimi: People think that Afghanistan is what is on the television and all fighting, but there are a lot of beautiful places and culture, and beautiful people and mosques and other things.
Rasooli: Yeah, like when I first got here they took our cellphone. I asked them for a laptop or cellphone and there was a lady and she said, “Do you know how to use a laptop and cellphone?” And she asked do we have those things over there? What do you think? I want people to know we are not so dumb that we cannot use a laptop or cellphone.