Reunite the Shah Family
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Daniel Flores is a US Army Veteran who served for over 6 years. During that time he was deployed to Afghanistan where he had the privilege of meeting some of the most talented interpreters of the most obscure and diverse languages of the world. Among them was his now dear friend Rahim Shah.
Rahim has been moving and on the run for most of his life. During the Russian backed regime in Afghanistan, Rahim and his family lived in Pakistan to avoid the conflict. They stayed there until the Mujahadeen pushed the Russians out of Afghanistan. They then briefly returned back onto their land only to turn around and flee again back to Pakistan when violence broke out again and the Taliban usurped Afghanistan. While in Pakistan, Rahim went to school where he learned English, a skill that would set he and Dan's paths to cross one day. Rahim's family waited in Pakistan until the US invasion in late 2001. Once they felt it was safe, they returned to their homeland where Rahim trained to become an interpreter.
Rahim worked as an interpreter for the Army from 2007 to 2013. During this time Rahim received threats from the Taliban saying that he was not to return to his family's farm or harm would come to him or his family. For the most part, Rahim ignored these letters focusing on his job with the US Army and also not concerned since his family was in Kabul at the time. This passed on for a few months until such time when Rahim received a letter saying that his family's land had been sold and that in order for him to dispute this claim, he would have to return to the village of his birth and go to court. There was no security in this area and he would surely have been killed had he done this. For now Rahim has lost his family's land and was never paid for the supposed sale of his property. It was then that Rahim applied for a US Special Immigration Visa. This process took over 4 years from start to finish.
During this time he lost his job as an interpreter due to the closing of US bases. He also had two children and a wife to support, so over the course of the 14 months that he was unemployed, he had spent his entire savings. During this time frame, Rahim and his wife had another child. Because of his unemployment, Rahim had spent his life savings on getting his family's papers in order and did not have the money for the cost of vaccinations, passport, and visa in order for their newborn daughter to imigrate with them. They were forced to make a heart-breaking decision to leave baby Sahra with Rahim's mother and younger brother.
Dan Flores vouched for his friend Rahim and his family acting as their American sponsor for the immigration process. Dan and his family also graciously opened their home to the Shah family while they established themselves in America. Since they arrived in July of 2014, the two families have grown close together with Dan often being referred to as 'Kaka' Dan or Uncle Dan in Rahim's native language.
Now that Rahim has established himself and the rest of his family here in the U.S., he is working to rejoin his daughter with her family here in Michigan.
We are hoping to raise money to help cover the costs associated with bringing the baby home to her family happy and healthy. Please consider contributing to this cause and helping us bring Sahra home!
Rahim has been moving and on the run for most of his life. During the Russian backed regime in Afghanistan, Rahim and his family lived in Pakistan to avoid the conflict. They stayed there until the Mujahadeen pushed the Russians out of Afghanistan. They then briefly returned back onto their land only to turn around and flee again back to Pakistan when violence broke out again and the Taliban usurped Afghanistan. While in Pakistan, Rahim went to school where he learned English, a skill that would set he and Dan's paths to cross one day. Rahim's family waited in Pakistan until the US invasion in late 2001. Once they felt it was safe, they returned to their homeland where Rahim trained to become an interpreter.
Rahim worked as an interpreter for the Army from 2007 to 2013. During this time Rahim received threats from the Taliban saying that he was not to return to his family's farm or harm would come to him or his family. For the most part, Rahim ignored these letters focusing on his job with the US Army and also not concerned since his family was in Kabul at the time. This passed on for a few months until such time when Rahim received a letter saying that his family's land had been sold and that in order for him to dispute this claim, he would have to return to the village of his birth and go to court. There was no security in this area and he would surely have been killed had he done this. For now Rahim has lost his family's land and was never paid for the supposed sale of his property. It was then that Rahim applied for a US Special Immigration Visa. This process took over 4 years from start to finish.
During this time he lost his job as an interpreter due to the closing of US bases. He also had two children and a wife to support, so over the course of the 14 months that he was unemployed, he had spent his entire savings. During this time frame, Rahim and his wife had another child. Because of his unemployment, Rahim had spent his life savings on getting his family's papers in order and did not have the money for the cost of vaccinations, passport, and visa in order for their newborn daughter to imigrate with them. They were forced to make a heart-breaking decision to leave baby Sahra with Rahim's mother and younger brother.
Dan Flores vouched for his friend Rahim and his family acting as their American sponsor for the immigration process. Dan and his family also graciously opened their home to the Shah family while they established themselves in America. Since they arrived in July of 2014, the two families have grown close together with Dan often being referred to as 'Kaka' Dan or Uncle Dan in Rahim's native language.
Now that Rahim has established himself and the rest of his family here in the U.S., he is working to rejoin his daughter with her family here in Michigan.
We are hoping to raise money to help cover the costs associated with bringing the baby home to her family happy and healthy. Please consider contributing to this cause and helping us bring Sahra home!
Organizer
Brian Gorski
Organizer
Blissfield, MI
