{"id":7903,"date":"2022-05-06T09:54:52","date_gmt":"2022-05-06T14:54:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/?post_type=campus_story&p=7903"},"modified":"2022-05-06T09:54:52","modified_gmt":"2022-05-06T14:54:52","slug":"afghan-refugees-start-a-new-journey-at-uw-milwaukee","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/afghan-refugees-start-a-new-journey-at-uw-milwaukee\/","title":{"rendered":"Afghan refugees start a new journey at UW-Milwaukee"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo
Afghan students Tahera and Farzana (center, in blue top and gray sweatshirt) listen during a writing class taught by Mark Sondrol, senior lecturer in the English Language Academy at UWM. (UWM Photo\/Troye Fox)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As they waited in their bus at the airport in Kabul last August, Samira and her friends kept watch out the windows in case someone might be approaching the bus with a bomb.<\/p>\n

That was just one moment in a long, harrowing journey from Afghanistan to Milwaukee for a group of young women now enrolled in UW-Milwaukee\u2019s\u00a0Intensive English Program<\/a>. (Because of the risk of retribution against family members who remain in Afghanistan, this story is using only their first names and photos that don\u2019t show their faces.)<\/p>\n

The young women, mostly ages 18-23, are part of a group of 147 students from the Asian University for Women (AUW) who fled Afghanistan together. Following a stay at Fort McCoy, a group of eight started class at UWM in January.<\/p>\n

Samira, the ninth young woman, is the sister of one of the UWM students. She is taking classes remotely at Arizona State University, but is thinking of doing graduate work at UWM. The younger students hope to stay and continue their undergraduate work at the university in the fall.<\/p>\n

Questioned by the Taliban<\/h3>\n

It took the group several tries to get into the airport as explosions rocked the area. Then they were questioned by the Taliban: \u201cWhy don\u2019t you stay? Why don\u2019t you go to your houses,\u201d recalled Samira, who was one of four leaders of the group of 147 AUW women.<\/p>\n

They were tired and frightened, but determined. \u201cAll we wanted to do at that time was to leave our country,\u201d Samira said.<\/p>\n

UWM became involved in helping the young women through the University and College Intensive English Programs, a national consortium, which put out a request for members who would be willing to work with newly arriving students.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe responded that we were ready to help,\u201d said Brooke Haley, acting\u00a0director of UWM\u2019s English Language Academy and its Intensive English Program, which focuses on helping students who want to improve their English before starting academic studies.<\/p>\n

However, although the university agreed to accept the students, the program leaders knew they would need financial support.<\/p>\n

Finding help<\/h3>\n

The university connected with Eastbrook Church, which is supportive of immigrants, through Mari Chevako, a senior lecturer in the English Language Academy. She is a member of the church. When Haley shared her concerns about the financial challenges, Chevako contacted the Eastbrook.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithin five minutes, we had an email from the pastor,\u201d said Haley, \u201csaying let\u2019s do this.\u201d<\/p>\n

The church agreed to pay for the young women\u2019s intensive English studies and find homes for them within walking or easy driving distance to the university. A local resettlement agency is also working with them.<\/p>\n

The university agreed to allow the Intensive English Program to reduce its costs and waive some fees.<\/p>\n

Host families are church members, many of whom have had previous experience welcoming international visitors into their homes.<\/p>\n

The Asian University for Women in Bangladesh had offered the Afghan women the opportunity to continue their studies and become future leaders in their country. However, when COVID-19 hit two years ago, they were forced to return to Afghanistan and study remotely. The Taliban takeover in August eliminated higher education and most job opportunities for women.<\/p>\n

Taking risks to continue education<\/h3>\n

UWM is one of 10 partner universities across the U.S. welcoming the women from the AUW who fled Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey wanted to serve their community in their new professions, but now with the Taliban rule, that\u2019s just not going to be an option for them,\u201d said Haley.<\/p>\n

The young women have left family and friends and most belongings behind and taken great risks to continue their education.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, the reason I left my country is because of the belief and the hope and the idealism I have,\u201d said Samira. \u201cI know that it was not possible to live with this kind of idealism and hope under the Taliban.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey all have mentioned how difficult it is to be a woman in Afghanistan,\u201d said Haley. \u201cOne of the young women said something about dogs having more respect than girls under the Taliban. It\u2019s just heartbreaking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tahera, another of the refugees, agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the Taliban came, they said the women won\u2019t have the rights they had before,\u201d Tahera said. \u201cThat\u2019s why I left.\u201d The combination of Taliban rule and the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a shortage of teachers, according to the young women, meaning their sisters and female cousins can\u2019t continue their education.<\/p>\n

Feeling welcomed<\/h3>\n

The students say they\u2019ve adjusted to the cold Wisconsin weather and feel welcomed at UWM and in Milwaukee.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are very nice people,\u201d Farzana said. \u201cThe people around me are very kind and very supportive. They help us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The families they are staying with and their fellow students let the young women take the lead in talking about their experiences. \u201cThey wait until we\u2019re comfortable,\u201d Tahera said. \u201cI think they will let us\u2026 if we want to talk about it, they will listen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eastbrook Church held a gathering in March to help the students raise money for their families back in Afghanistan. The young women, who hope eventually to get part-time jobs to send money to their families, prepared a meal in return for donations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat event helped us feel good,\u201d said Samira. \u201cI am so very far from my family right now. \u201cIt kind of scares me that we don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen in Afghanistan. Things are so unsettled. That\u2019s really very difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spreading the word<\/h3>\n

As the students settle in at UWM and in Milwaukee, some are becoming more active in telling others about what is happening in Afghanistan. They\u2019ve met with Chia Vang, UWM vice chancellor of diversity, equity and inclusion, who shared with them her own experiences as a refugee and an immigrant.<\/p>\n

The students are eager to get the word out about the circumstances for women and girls in Afghanistan and finding ways to empower them. One of the young women had the opportunity to meet with fellow Afghan and women\u2019s rights advocate Maryam Durani,\u00a0who has settled in Milwaukee<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Those students interviewed said they hope to complete their education and return to Afghanistan someday to help their country.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know when we are going to be able to go back, but we want to help,\u201d Tahera said. \u201cWe know there is work for us to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018I want to help my people\u2019<\/h3>\n

Farzana lamented the loss of her dreams, at least for now. \u201cI had my dreams. If I would have stayed there, I would not be able to follow them. I want to help my people. I have a dream to help my people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to make things different so that the women are empowered, and the men also,\u201d Samira said. \u201cBy building up and empowering the women, we are supporting the whole community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once the young women complete the intensive UWM English program, the goal is to have them enroll in undergraduate programs at UWM, Haley said. Both the church and the university are looking at ways to raise funds to make that happen.<\/p>\n

Anyone interested in learning more and contributing to help fund their education\u00a0can do so online<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

Written by Kathy Quirk<\/p>\n

Link to original story: https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/afghan-refugees-start-a-new-journey-at-uwm\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As they waited in their bus at the airport in Kabul last August, Samira and her friends kept watch out the windows in case someone might be approaching the bus with a bomb. That was just one moment in a long, harrowing journey from Afghanistan to Milwaukee for a group of young women now enrolled […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":7905,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[107],"story_category":[],"class_list":["post-7903","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-milwaukee"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/7903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7903"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=7903"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=7903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}