Afghan Teen Refugee Makes It To The U.S., But Has No Relatives With Him

By: Jenna Zhang

In Goodwin House, a retirement community outside Washington D.C., a front desk worker’s family is stuck 8,000 miles away.

The worker’s initials are BH. BH’s name is not given because most of his relatives are in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, and often change homes because they fear the Taliban.

BH can recall the last time he has seen them. He, along with 10 of his relatives, were desperately pushing their way onto the planes along a desperate crowd as the Taliban charged into the city.

According to the article “An Afghan teen makes it to the U.S., but his family is left behind in Kabul,” BH said, “Everyone was pushing each other and they didn’t, you know, care about old people and children.”

Among the thousands of frightened Afghans, some people were trampled to death. BH found his way to the gate but was separated from his family, who didn’t make it on the plane.

During the two months when BH was traveling to make it to the U.S., he was able to reach his mother on the phone. He said his mother was crying, and that it was the only thing she did.

BH was only 17 at the time. The refugees were given 3 months of financial aid. Most of the other 80,000 refugees had relatives to go to. But BH had no relatives in the U.S.

After hearing that Virginia had a good education, BH flew to Virginia, got an apartment, and enrolled in Alexandria High School.

BH was going to school, studying, and working to pay his rent. When a teacher discovered his financial situation and that he lived alone, the school informed Christ Church, a church that was founded in the 1700s and even frequented by George Washington.

The church has been trying to aid Afghan refugees and has been helping more than 50 million families.

Today, BH lives in a quiet studio apartment in Southern Towers, a vast complex close to Goodwin House.

Sources: https://eb18600f7bb2916037f5ee8e636ce199.cdn.bubble.io/f1690137839810x418677197240414200/An%20Afghan%20teen%20makes%20it%20to%20the%20U.S.%2C%20but%20his%20family%20is%20left%20behind%20in%20Kabul%20_%20NPR.pdf