Support T, an Afghan Refugee in Greensboro

T (name redacted for her safety) has lived a life most of us cannot even fathom. Growing up a strong, educated girl in Afghanistan was a struggle. Bombs tore through her school, insurgents took over her office building, and she had only one chance to escape, leaving her family without saying goodbye. Now, as a refugee in Greensboro, T has worked hard to create a new life for herself, learning English and becoming a certified interpreter. She’s resilient and will not let her past hinder her future.

T has been living with various families in Greensboro during the past year and it is time for T to take a step towards her independence. She hopes to move into a space of her own, possibly buy a car, further her education and build her foundation so she can continue to support refugees like herself. To do this, T needs our help.

Help T get out of survival mode for good. Please read T’s story, make a gift today, or share this with your friends and family. As Greensboro welcomed T, let us continue to make a difference in the life of this inspirational young woman. Thank you.

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Like so many Greensboro children, T was born into a comfortable life with loving parents who doted on her. Her father, a lawyer, and her mother, a schoolteacher, raised their three children to be resilient, well-educated, and driven.

Tragically, T was growing up a resilient, well-educated, driven young woman–in Afghanistan.

Born in 2003, T was one year old when women were able to vote in Afghanistan for the first time, two years after Taliban control ended. Only five years later, Shia Family Law was passed, requiring women to ask permission to leave the home unless under urgent business.

Throughout her life in Afghanistan, the rights of women and girls were in constant question and flux. The Afghan government was unstable and daily life a warfield as the US conflict with the Taliban waged on.

T was not deterred in her dreams. In her early teens, she had an opportunity to speak in front of powerful leaders about women’s issues. In 2016, she graduated high school early. She was an excellent student, and was accepted into university. Even as the capital city suffered frequent terror attacks, she enrolled in Kabul University, studying computer science while also apprenticing in nursing school.

She excelled at her studies and showed a commitment to her schoolwork. The one time she missed an assignment may well have saved her life. One day in Fall 2020, having forgotten the homework assignment, T was told to take a seat in the back of the class. During the lecture, a bomb tore through the campus, killing dozens of students. After the blast, terrorists rushed in with guns to take the lives of any survivors. Hiding beneath a desk at the back of the classroom, T watched as two classmates ran directly toward her, dying before they could get to safety. T was injured, but survived.

In 2021, at only 18 years old, T was working in media, producing a combination of feel-good video spots and hard-hitting interviews on topics affecting women. That August, the Afghan government collapsed, and Taliban fighters flooded the capital. T’s office building was threatened and she and her coworkers rushed to hide in a basement room. They stayed in that windowless space for 2 days before she called her parents and settled on her only course of action–she would attempt to flee the country.

T was able to get to the Kabul Airport where NATO forces were working to airlift as many foreigners and refugees as possible out of Afghanistan. T sat among strangers, waiting for a turn that might not come, watching from across the road as bombs exploded in the airport.

The day before her flight, T learned that her name wasn’t on the list of those able to come to the US. T, resigned, spent the night trying to figure out how she’d get back to her family home while Taliban fighters roamed the streets. She woke up, ready to set off on her own, and heard the final manifest being read. T’s name was the first one called.

Safely aboard a flight, medics could finally address an infected wound T had gotten while hiding in the office basement. She had surgery during a layover in Kuwait at a military hospital, and then, finally, arrived at Fort Dix in New Jersey. T was finally on solid ground.

At the military base, T waited with the other Afghan girls to see where she would be placed. Many women had families–children, sisters–with them, and would be placed together by one agency or another. T was completely alone. When she got word she would be moving to Greensboro, North Carolina, all her resiliency crumbled, and for the first time in her story, T was too frightened to go on.

Military commanders sat down with this teen girl and gently explained the services they had in place for her, the agencies that awaited her arrival. Even as she boarded the flight, T was still panicked. She took her seat next to an older man and he introduced himself, respectfully giving her space, understanding how fearful this young Muslim woman was. She cautiously told him where she was headed, and the man explained that he was from Greensboro, born and raised. “You’re going to be fine,” he said. “Greensboro is a nice place.”

That’s exactly what T has come to find. She was welcomed into strangers’ homes, eventually finding new friends and several caring mother-figures to help her in her new life. She’s dedicated herself to learning English, and has earned her certification as a translator for her primary languages of Dari and Pashto. She volunteers her services with other Afghan refugees and their host families in the area, eager to give back and pay forward the support she’s been shown.

Now, it is time for T to take another big step in her journey. She’s ready to grow her independence, and once again, needs the support of her Greensboro community. T has been working for several months, and now hopes to move into a space of her own, possibly buy a car, and further her education so she can continue to support herself and other refugees. To do this, T needs our help.

Our community can once again come together and help T get out of survival mode for good. Please make a gift today, or share this story with your friends and family, and make a difference in the life of this inspirational young woman. Thank you.