{"id":343,"date":"2017-03-17T14:20:30","date_gmt":"2017-03-17T21:20:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usc2017.nextgenradio.org\/?p=343"},"modified":"2017-03-17T14:23:56","modified_gmt":"2017-03-17T21:23:56","slug":"a-refugee-family-finds-a-home-in-southern-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usc2017.nextgenradio.org\/a-refugee-family-finds-a-home-in-southern-california\/","title":{"rendered":"A Refugee Family Finds a Home in Southern California"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Shir Wakili and his nine-month-old daughter, Jaleh. Photo by Shaheen Ainpour.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Shir Wakili\u2019s first few days in the United States were a shock. Even simple tasks turned into awkward situations. \u201cMy wife… she can’t speak English,\u201d Wakili says. \u201c(If) we go together to a store or a park… anywhere there (are) a lot of women\u2026 my wife says, ‘What are you doing!? I should learn English to know what you say to the girls!’\u201d<\/p>\n

In Afghanistan, men and women rarely interact in public. <\/span><\/p>\n

Wakili, his wife Golandam, and their five children have been navigating sticky situations since they arrived in January.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

The Wakilis are refugees. Shir Wakili worked with the American government on community outreach projects in Farah, Afghanistan. The Taliban in that region condemned him for working with the Americans. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey say to us that you are American citizen… you are not working for Afghanistan… we will kill you,\u201d Wakili says.<\/span> The Taliban attacked his family twice, injuring his father. He felt he had no choice but to seek refuge for his family. <\/span><\/p>\n

That refuge came in the form of a one-bedroom apartment in Westminster, Calif. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Welcome to our apartment… we say… poor apartment… we don’t have anything more… but we try to (be hospitable)\u00a0to our guests,\u201d Wakili says as he gives a tour of his family\u2019s new home. The apartment is cramped for a family of seven, but the Wakilis are making d0.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A traditional spread of Afghan sweets and nuts prepared by Shir Wakili’s daughter. Hospitality is central to Afghan culture. Photo by Jolie Myers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But the family\u2019s first few nights in America were stressful. They arrived in their new apartment to find it without many basic necessities like beds or a refrigerator. Through the help of a local organization called <\/span>Miry\u2019s List<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>the Wakilis were able to furnish their apartment. \u201cAnything you know is in my home\u2026 she sent me… anything,\u201d he says of Miry\u2019s List founder Miry Whitehill-Ben Atar. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the few possessions that Wakili brought from Farah is a <\/span>rug<\/span> that hangs on the wall behind the family\u2019s small dining table. It depicts engines of war – tanks and rockets – that have become woven into the history of Afghanistan. Speaking through an interpreter Shir says, \u201cDifferent Afghan homes have different ways of reflecting the experiences that they’ve had but we have all experienced war.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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“This rug… it means that in Afghanistan (there) always was war,” says Wakili. Photo by Shaheen Ainpour.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In Afghanistan, buildings destroyed by past wars dot the landscape; a permanent reminder of violence. But when he looks out his window in Orange County, he\u2019s struck by the natural beauty of California. \u201cWe have beautiful places in Afghanistan too… (but) not so beautiful like here… here all things is (sic) beautiful\u2026 green… trees, flowers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He says, \u201cWhen we came here [we] felt safe\u2026 It’s a new chapter of my life. (W)e started our life from zero… all things (are)\u00a0hard… but we need to work hard to solve the hard problems.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shir Wakili\u2019s first few days in the United States were a shock. Even simple tasks turned into awkward situations. \u201cMy wife… she can’t speak English,\u201d Wakili says. \u201c(If) we go together to a store or a park… anywhere there (are) a lot of women\u2026 my wife says, ‘What are you doing!? I should learn English […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":330,"featured_media":350,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/330"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=343"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=343"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usc2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}