Lima

full interview

Hello, thank you very much for giving us the time to interview you today. Hi, I am Hosna Raofi from the Witness Change project, and I work in the Thousand Dreams program. This project is about refugees who leave their country for various reasons. Their life story and experience can be pleasant or motivating for those who migrate. This interview can be motivating not only for us but also for the audience of different websites that it is published on. Before the start of the interview, we will give you the form that contains your real name and surname and your fake name, if you want to use a fake one. In addition, if you want to have your own image, we will post it. If you do not want it, we can also interview you anyway. In addition to today’s interview, I want to make it clear to you at the beginning that the questions I have prepared for you may be very personal. You can answer the questions that you are more comfortable with and skip the questions that you do not want to answer.  Thank you for your time.  First, can you briefly introduce yourself? What is your name and who are you and what background do you want to convey to your contacts? Thank you Mrs. Raofi. My name is Lima from Afghanistan. I finished school there. That is it.

Thank you. We come to the main question that is the focus of today’s discussion. Why did you leave your country? Can you explain what happened that made you leave your country? As it is clear to the people from the media that in 2021, due to the re-domination of the Taliban in Afghanistan, many Afghans migrated. We are among those who decided to immigrate because one of our family members worked with the United States government, and this made us decide to immigrate to America.

The special reason that made you leave your country was the coming to power of the Taliban regime. Yes.

How did you feel when you left your country? The feelings of all refugees or those who leave their homeland for a reason are similar. No one is willing to leave the place where she grew up and spent her childhood and adolescence and her friends and relatives. Unless a person is forced to because of the political, economic situation, or her life is in danger, or because of education. We are among those refugees who left our country because of security problems where our lives were in danger. I mentioned earlier that one of our family members worked with the US government.  Therefore, we decided to leave Afghanistan and come to the United States of America.

How did you feel at the time? My feelings cannot be expressed in words. It was a feeling that burns the human heart.  I must say briefly, for example, if a person loses the dearest person in his life, such as a family member or a friend, how does a person feel at that time?  After that, a person cannot laugh from his heart. If he goes somewhere new, first. He already thinks about what it will be like there and how he can adapt to the new environment and whether he can have friends there that he had in his country. We go to a new place with a thousand pain and stress. The first pain is that you get away from your relatives and this gives a very bad feeling. It is like a nightmare and when you open your eyes, you say it was a nightmare and if it was true, I might die.

Well, how was your trip to America? Well, when we entered America and I was on the plane in America, I felt like I was in my own country and the plane landed in my own country. I felt like I was going from America to my country and the final destination of the plane was my country. When the plane landed at the airport, and it was said that “you have come to the United States of America”, I was heartbroken.

Is there any experience during your trip to America? When you were on the plane or when the plane landed at the airport, do you have any experience that is engraved in your mind? We went to Pakistan from Afghanistan because there was no US embassy in Afghanistan and we went to Pakistan to go through the legal procedures there. When we got the US visa and were flying to America, we were going to Turkey first, and at the airport Pakistani employees treated us very badly because they were asking us for a Turkish visa. We did not have a Turkish visa when we got the contract. It was their fault because they did not know about airline rules.  I tried to make them understand several times, but they did not accept and objected.

How did you feel at that time? I felt very bad because I had left my homeland and because I had a visa and a ticket, people from another country treated me like an enemy and not like a host. This is very disappointing, humanity should exist everywhere, and it does not matter where a person is from, everyone should be aware of its work and rules and then treat others accordingly.

Have you often thought that such things would happen to you? When did you feel that you might experience these events in the future? In addition, what effect did it have on you? I never thought that one day I would leave my homeland and I am forced to. Sometimes I thought that I would leave my country with a good feeling, but I did not think that one day I would leave my homeland because of the domination of a group and lack of human rights. I did not think that we would suddenly go from the 21st century to the early centuries or go back. I hoped that my country would progress and what we have today will be better in the next 10 years. Our generation and the generations before us were the ones who tried and had goals.

You never imagined that such a regime would come to power and you and the people of your country would face it. How did you feel? The day the media announced that Afghanistan had fallen to the Taliban, I thought it was a nightmare and that it was not true and not possible. I did not believe it. However, when I looked out of the window of my house, I saw Taliban soldiers. We used to hear the news that provinces were falling one after another, but I never thought that Kabul would fall.  Before these events, when my mother and my family would talk about the first period of the Taliban, I would say at the end of their conversation, how did you live in that period for 5 years, when it was completely ignorant and dark?  People lived with sadness. How did you get out of that situation and how did you live in those 5 years? I did not think that situation would happen to us again. When they talked about that period, I was sad and felt bad. However, the day I experienced it myself, I could not go out for several months. I thought that there is no one outside and that a person cannot be outside, no sound can be heard except for the birds. We used to live in Kabul and I am talking about the experiences of Kabul.  For a week, when I looked outside, no one could be seen. Everyone was in absolute silence. After a week, the children would go outside to play and the women would not be seen at all. A few months later, when we were going out in the car with our faces covered, we saw the Taliban with strange styles, and there were no police officers and only people with handguns, I thought they were killing people. Girls are usually afraid of some animals and insects. I was not afraid, but when a student approached me, it was like the same insect and animal that other girls are afraid of. When I saw them and heard their conversations through the media, I was very upset. They captured a poor nation with their lies. A defenseless and poor nation who are all busy with their own lives and have no enmity with anyone. The news that they told the world about Afghanistan was completely different from the situation inside there. A nation that has 30 million people and only a few people who are in power make decisions for them.  It is very sad when you see millions of young people who lost their hope for the future. Not only girls and women lose their hope there, but men also lose their hope.  It is not possible that a girl who lives in the same house does not have a father and a brother, naturally, when the girl and woman of that family are upset and disappointed, the man of the family also feels bad. It was disappointing because not only women lose hope but also men lose their hope. Now that we came here, the situation has worsened with their new rules.

Exactly, can you tell me what influenced you in your current situation? Has it affected you? At first, I wished to have this opportunity in my homeland with my people. Not only should I, every person living in this world have this opportunity.

Does it mean that your current situation has affected you? Of course.

How? When a person comes to a place where he can study, work and decide for herself what to choose and what not to choose, and be free and independent and not afraid of anyone, it makes a person feel motivated and have peace of mind. However, a person has peace of heart when she has these opportunities in her country with her people who are captives there and they also had this opportunity and everyone was happy.

Is your peace of mind and heart in conflict? You have peace of mind but not peace of heart. Yes.

You have peace of mind and you do not have peace of heart, how do you manage and what effect has it had on you? I have peace of mind because here I can study and achieve my plans for the future. A person works hard to get what she wants. I calmed my heart that we will come back again.

Did you imagine that you could manage this situation? Of course.

Very good. How did you think you would get through this situation? What kind of strategy and mechanism did you have to get through your difficult days and difficult memories? Where did they get power? Who supported you to overcome these difficulties and manage? The hopes I have and the faith I have help me.  When I spent three years under Taliban rule there, those hardships made me strong.  A person can grow in difficulties and if she is in comfort, she will not strive for his goals. Difficulties make a person grow, which makes him progress step by step. Those hardships and bad days make one strong and experienced. In my opinion, most of the experiences make a person strong and his hardships and sorrows motivate her to try harder and achieve what she wants. I still hope that one day I will return to my homeland and Afghanistan will be better than before.

Very good. I am very hopeful.

What was your dream before the incident that led you to leave your country? My dream before leaving… was peace, smiles, education, freedom, independence…umm…someone comes to power who is sympathetic to the people. A dream that is possible and I hope that we will reach these dreams, if I do not reach it, the next generation will reach it, and if the next generation does not reach it, another generation will reach it. However, we never accept failure and we never accept that one person comes and thousands of others die spiritually. Because those people grow with difficulties and become more motivated than those who are comfortable. They endured lack of food, lack of education. Therefore, when they live with these conditions, it is very easy for them to live in countries with ease. They are a generation that strives and is awake and wants to progress. In addition, this brings me hope like a flower seed under the soil that grows slowly and becomes a big tree with many sweet fruits.

Okay, you mentioned that you had a dream before leaving your homeland, what did you dream about for the future when you left your homeland? Maybe you had an idea in your mind that I am leaving my country for now and I see the future like this in my dreams. What did you imagine for the future when you left your country? Small and big plans. When a person becomes a refugee to another country, of course, the culture and traditions are not the same but different. We have to get used to the new culture and people, I mean that we are here, we have to know what their tradition and culture is like so that we do not get culture shock. I do not like to be labeled as a refugee and do not understand, because it is true that we are refugees, but immigration does not mean that we are ignorant people. I want to learn the language to a high level like someone who was born here and speak English with a proper accent. My bigger plans are to study as much as I can until a Masters or Ph.D. I want to have my plans and achievements.

Very good. What is your current situation and where and in what kind of house do you live? Okay, we live in a house in (redacted) Texas.

Can you explain your current life situation? Whom do you live with and how do you spend your time? Do you work or not? I live with my family, my parents and siblings. I do not work. I started college and the fall semester starts next month. I applied for several jobs and I am waiting for an interview.

You mentioned how you spend your time. What makes you happy right now? To continue my education and transfer my learning to the other side of the mountains and seas to the people of my country.

Very good. How has your life been since you arrived in America? What was the benefit of being here? It has been a while since we have been here and I do not have friends here because I have not been in the community much and I do not have a job. However, I can study and continue my education. This makes me happy.

What was difficult for you? Hmm… The days when you realize that you are in a different place, culture and society and it is hard to get used to the new place and make friends.

How does living here make you feel? Neither good nor bad feeling.

Can you explain more about how you feel about this place? Were you away from your family members or not? Have you noticed discrimination in this country? Do these issues exist in this country or not? In general, how have people treated you here? My happiness in immigration is that my family is with me. I did not notice any discriminatory behavior. People here are like that, even if they do not know you, they smile at you and this makes you get used to this place.

Very good. You mentioned different things about your life in America. Did you ever imagine that you could cope with this situation with the things you narrated? I have already mentioned that people who have grown up with difficulties and reach a place where the facility is more compared to their previous place, it is not too difficult for them because they have become strong.

You said it was not difficult for you, how did you overcome the problems? How do you manage the current situation? How could you live with this situation? Well…aah…With the thoughts and dreams we have.

Do you think you have the ability to face the current challenges in your life?  Do you think you have the skills, strengths, mechanisms and resilience to cope with the current situation? Hundred percent. Because we came from a place where living conditions were more difficult. When people come from a difficult situation to a better place, they can adapt quickly. However, if I wanted to emigrate from America to a country like my homeland or go for any purpose, then it would be difficult for me.

Before leaving your country, what do you see as your strength? As someone who has migrated, what are your strengths? Is it in your mind and if not why? Yes, it is. The day I reach my goals for the future, I want to serve the human society and it does not matter if it is my country or another country and wherever fate takes me. I want to be a good person and the definition of a good person is not to harm anyone because of her dreams and goals. At least I want to be that kind of person and this is happiness for me.

How did you remember these strengths? Humans in the world are not afraid of animals and are afraid of bombs and guns. Man is afraid of man himself. I am afraid of man and I feel that others are also afraid of man because man harms and helps man. I want to be a person who can help others through education and awareness to people who need it. If they do not need help, I still want to be a good person. When I realized that man’s fear is of man, I understood that man should work on motivation and energy that brings good things.  In this way, one can reach peace of mind and serve.

What you described from your life story seems difficult and your resistance to this challenge is commendable. Do you feel that you grew with the experiences you gained?  Did you get anything positive from those experiences? Thank you, you are kind. Humans have strengths and weaknesses with experiences in life. Its weakness is that its hardships hurt you, and its strength is that the things that hurt you make you strong. It increases your defense system against problems. If I did not have my weaknesses, I would not be able to be strong today and endure hardship and I would not be able to endure three years of Taliban rule.

Okay, Now that you are here, what is your dream for the future? My dream is to finish my education and start my own business. I want to stand on my feet and serve others as a human being.

Very good. We thank you and your answers to our questions. We appreciate your comments, your words and your interview today. If you have, something to say that will help the American people and the refugees who come to America to go through the refugee life better, as a person who has emigrated and overcome the hardships of immigration with strength. If you have something to say, we are here to hear from you and convey your story to the refugees. Okay, Thank you for giving us the time to share our experiences, hardships and good things with those who decide to immigrate to America or to other countries. I am happy that others will benefit from my experience. I will be happy if there are new experiences among my experiences that can be useful and have an impact on others.

Thank you for your time.