Category: IWD2022

Ever since she was 12 years old, growing up in rural Afghanistan, Setara knew she wanted to be a military pilot. “In my family, girls didn’t go to higher education. But when I was 16 years old, I told my father I wanted to go to university and join the military.”

Her family didn’t have much money so she had to find scholarships. “Not a problem,” thought Setara. “I’d always been top in my class.”

After high school she went to Kabul where she had acquaintances in the military college. “I told them I wanted to join but they discouraged me—because I was a girl. I said, ‘Never-mind, just tell me where to go.’”

Setara walked an hour across town to seek out the military college admissions office. “They also discouraged me. But I was determined.” Finally, they agreed to let her take the written entrance exam. She passed. Then came the physical test. “I heard nothing for three months. Then finally, the phone range.

“I had passed! My father cried he was so happy.”

She spent four years at the military college, first, studying computer science before joining the Air Force to learn to fly. She spent six months in the classroom and in simulators, often with U.S. instructors. During the pandemic, most classes went online, but it was these personal connections that would end up saving her life.

In August 2021, the Taliban swept into Kabul and began looking for Afghans who worked for the government and the Ministry of Defense. Setara hid at home for a week.

 “I gave my neighbors money to buy and bring me food.” Then one day one of her American English teachers, Antonio Aranda, contacted her. He helped provide her with the papers needed to come to the U.S.

She quickly gathered a few things and went to the Kabul International Airport. She later learned that the Taliban searched her home the day after she left. That wasn’t the only close call. For three days she waited in the heat and chaos outside the airport before she could show her papers to the guard.

“An hour after I was let in, there was an explosion.” Outside the gate, a suicide bomber killed 13 American soldiers and 170 Afghans.

Before finally arriving in Seattle, Setara and her family spent three months in at camp in Texas. There she volunteered with Save the Children who were distributing clothes and shoes to newly arriving Afghan families. It wasn’t the first time she used her position to help others. While in Kabul she also helped distribute books donated by some friends to local schools.

Today she is taking English classes at Highline College and is interested in returning to a career in aviation. Setara is nothing if not persistent.

Zahra’s quiet, soft-spoken demeanor belies a woman who is not afraid to take risks to help others. Zahra came from a small family, north of Kabul. After completing her education, she spent seven years with the UNICEF team working to eradicate polio in Afghanistan. “For seven years, I went door to door, talking to parents and giving the polio vaccine.”

The polio vaccine was considered a miracle when it was developed in 1952. For generations, parents around the world dreaded a polio outbreak that could paralyze otherwise healthy children—often permanently—in a matter of hours. In Afghanistan and Pakistan in the early 2000s, the spread of conspiracy theories related to the polio vaccination caused vaccination rates to dip and the disease resurfaced. This crucial public health outreach work became even more dangerous. Since 2012, some 100 polio vaccine workers have been killed in neighboring Pakistan.

Zahra returned to college to study business and found a job in the Afghan government. “Many women want to work for the police or in the army. It meant having a stable job and income.” She was able to help her family financially. But this all came to an end last August.

She remembers the day clearly: “On August 25, I was waiting outside the airport, with papers in hand. But there was no way to get through the crowd. It was so hot and crowded.”

Zahra became dehydrated and fainted. She later learned that three American soldiers saw her collapse. They made their way through the crowd, picked her up and passed her over the razor-wire wall of airport so she could get medical attention.

“Inside, the doctor helped me. This is when I was able to say, ‘I have papers!’” Zahra was also able to make one more call: to let her mother know she was alright.

“I didn’t tell her everything that happened. Just that I was safe and inside the airport. It was very emotional.”

When she finally made it to the U.S., she spent one month in Holloman Air Base in New Mexico. “It is a lot like Afghanistan—a mountainous desert and sun.” There she made connections with American friends.

But Zahra is still anxious about her family. “Due to the security situation in Afghanistan, I am very worried about my family and I hope that they will join me.”

Zahra said she is thankfull to all the American troops and their colleagues, especially Natalie Trogus and Kate Severance, who worked hard on her evacuation process.

She is glad to have a community of support here in Seattle, including temporary housing from ReWA. She also recently started English classes at ReWA and hopes to continue her education and train as a registered nurse.

Rahila is an expert at interviewing: as a journalist for five years, she got paid to ask questions. Also, she has a master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Bucharest in Romania.

As the host of a radio program for NATO in Afghanistan, she would often interview experts about health issues—mainly how to keep safe from disease—but she also interviewed women about their role in developing the country.

“I would interview Afghan soldiers—women—who worked in the Ministries of Defense and Interior. They had a key role in fighting the Taliban.” She explained that in the provinces, female soldiers were able to enter homes off limits to male soldiers. The female soldiers could more easily make connections within the community and gather intelligence about local Taliban activity. Despite these efforts to gain support, she said, there was some mistrust of the NATO. Some people believed NATO Radio worked against Muslims.

 “Once I went to a market to get ‘vox-pop’ ” (This is digital recording of people’s opinions on a topic for playback on the radio.) I asked one man if he supported the Taliban.  ‘Of course! Don’t you?’ I knew my safety was in danger so I left.”

Later she described events of last summer when the Taliban took over.

“It was disgraceful on August 15th when we saw the Taliban regain Afghanistan and enter Kabul. It was Sunday and I remember, the city become quiet in the afternoon and all shops, restaurants, schools, universities and gyms were closed. All were in fear and some escaped while some others returned home and covered themselves. My family and I were shocked and unable to decide where to go and how.”

“During the night, sounds of gun fire took the calmness of everyone and it continued until very late in the night. Banks were closed and all the money we saved for some years remained in our accounts. We didn’t know what to do. […] On the 27th of August, after three tries, I succeeded to reach the airport. I came together with my husband, my father and mother, two of my brothers, and my little sister.”

In the end, only Rahila and her husband were allowed to leave. Rahila’s family remains behind and she fears for their safety. While she worries for those left behind, she is also grateful to be among those who made it to freedom. “Thanks to the US government and its people for their generous support and warm hospitality. Also, I would like to thank the NATO alliances, US embassy-Madrid  and the Spanish government who supported us until we arrive in the USA.”

Today, Rahila is resting in the peace of her South Seattle apartment and working with her ReWA case manager to start English classes. She hopes to be reunited with her family some day.

When Ayse (pronounced, Ah-eesha) was 17 she had a beautiful life in Turkey.

A typical teenage girl, she loved playing volleyball and hanging out with her friends. But then her father won the Diversity Visa Lottery (aka, Green Card lottery) to come to the U.S.

“To be honest, I wasn’t happy about leaving Turkey.” But her father jumped at the chance to offer his daughters a different life with more educational opportunities.

Soon, Ayse found herself enrolled at Kent Meridian High School. “I didn’t speak any English at first, but I caught up fast.” She also made a new circle of friends and this helped her adjust. “Some of them were from Iraq and Turkey, and we would practice English together.” Her English improved enough for her to join Running Start and she graduated high school in three years.

One of her friends introduced her to ReWA’s Post-Secondary Success Program (PSSP) where youth can learn about potential career paths and get help applying for scholarships.

“I chose to study nursing because I was always interested in science, specifically, biology and anatomy.”

Her ReWA career coach, Reza, gave her a list of pre-requisites to complete before she could enroll in nursing school. “I kept that list in my files and when I finished a class, I crossed it off my list.”

At the same time, Ayse started working as a receptionist in ReWA’s SeaTac office. “It was a good way for me to practice English and get work experience. I like to help support the case managers working with ReWA clients. Being able to help others makes me happy.”

Gradually, Ayse worked her way down the list of nursing prerequisites, completing courses at in History, English, Psychology, Math, Biology and Chemistry and earning her Associates degree in Pre-Nursing from Renton Technical College. She even joined a Pre-nursing Club of other students who are working towards the same goal. She hopes that within a couple years she’ll be Registered Nurse and be able to apply all she has learned in a successful career.

Looking back, she sees the risk of leaving Turkey was worth it: she and her sister are both studying for careers in health care.

She smiled, “I guess I’m glad of my father’s decision after all.”

Years before Ramina Dehkhoda-Steele served on ReWA’s board— before she attended University of Washington at age 14, before she finished law school at 20—she was a refugee child who spoke no English.

Ramina’s parents were political refugees from the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran. They went from Turkey to Germany to Los Angeles, before moving in with her aunt in Seattle.

She is quick to point out that such local family support means her family’s resettlement experience was smoother than most. Her parents were able to fairly quickly re-establish professional careers and become economically independent.

Ramina picked up English quickly and it was soon apparent to her teachers that at 14, Ramina was ready for college. Her mom would drive her to the University of Washington where she studied microbiology and political science.

“I even worked at Fred Hutchison Cancer Research for a time, but I decided the lab, the white walls and classical music wasn’t for me.” After graduation, she decided to go to law school and accepted a scholarship to attend Oklahoma City University School of Law.

“That was an eye-opening experience for me. Some professors were openly hostile—to women, to non-whites.” But a politically active person, Ramina said she relished the challenge and honed her debate skills in the classroom.

“It wasn’t until I returned to Seattle that I started to process how unsettling that experience really was.”

Back in Seattle, Ramina settled into a legal career and eventually learned about ReWA from Shahzad Qadri, a colleague who also serves on the ReWA board.

“I served on ReWA’s board for about five years, from 2013-2018, and during that time I helped to professionalize the board and its processes.”

What she remembers most about her time at ReWA is the long-term impact of the work.

“It is so fulfilling to meet a woman who first came to ReWA with bruises, and then years later, she is helping others as a community advocate. For immigrants and refugees who may lack English, daily activities can feel insurmountable. But ReWA helps them learn how to adjust and then in turn, they can help others.”

Today, Ramina is a partner in the Wong-Fleming law firm, specializing in commercial law, but she still finds time to consult with ReWA when needed. You can also find her spending time with her family—including her two teens, both athletes, and her husband who teaches 8^th grade science. She also loves to scuba dive. “I love adventure.”