“A bundle of belongings is not the only thing a refugee brings to his new country”
Albert Einstein-
I am one of the million refugees in the United States. I was born and raised in Afghanistan, attended high school in Kabul, and after passing the university entrance exam successfully, got a scholarship from the government of Pakistan to study at one of its prestigious and privileged universities. My bachelor’s is in computer science from the University of Engineering and Technology in Lahore, Pakistan (https://uet.edu.pk). As a new international student in Pakistan, I struggled with languages, subjects, and the new culture, but I eventually overcame my speech impediment by watching, reading, writing, and speaking in both languages.
In Pakistan, life had ups and downs. During my four years of university, I could not go back to Afghanistan to see my family because of the security situation. Thus, I had no choice other than to apply as an asylum seeker. I completed 12 interviews, and for every interview I had to travel from Lahore to Islamabad, sleep on the bus, and walk miles in cold weather. Sometimes I argued with police officers as they wanted money because I did not have a valid visa while I was a student, and I was busy with my immigration case. I waited five years, one month, and three days to get the U.S visa. It was a GREAT day for me; it was like a great dream come true.
Long before reaching one of the great nations (the U.S.A), I lived in a small town where terrorism, crime, drugs, gang violence, and bomb explosions were on every corner. I am Hazara, and we have a long story of systematic persecution, facing violence at the hands of the Taliban, the Islamic State group (ISIS), and some other groups. For the last 15 years, I have lost my teachers and classmates right in front of my eyes, but I never gave up; I pursued my education with even more passion.
I have been living, studying, and working away from my family, taking care of myself. I also have been self-financed in my education since high school until now, not troubling my family as they are not able to pay my education expenses, and it is what I intend to continue to do. Besides that, I contribute marginally to provide financial support to my family and a few other students whose parents are unable to provide their school and course expenses in Afghanistan. Additionally, even though there were always possibilities of attacks from the Taliban and ISIS, I voluntarily used to go from Kabul to my village during my summer vacation and winter break to teach English, math, and other subjects to students.
I plan to complete my higher education in one of the best universities in the United States, and I am working for it every waking hour. Let me say this: living in another country reminds you of how incredible life is. Besides all the ups and downs, you get used to a new routine and enjoy new comfort. It gives you an appreciation for everything, things that you would not usually pay attention to or notice.
