Afghan refugees find peace in Gloucester
Sep. 14—After escaping the chaos in their home country last year, three Afghan refugees are beginning to find peace with their new lives in Gloucester.
Shamsul Rahman Dawodzai, 38, Ziarat Gul Dawoodzai, 36, and Hadayt Akbari, 21, welcomed the Gloucester Daily Times into their new downtown apartment Thursday morning. The three share the space with two other Afghani men who were not home at the time of the interview.
"Gloucester is amazing," said Shamsul, who is still taking English lessons. "It's a small city but very beautiful. The people (are) nice. Everything is good."
Shamsul has been at the apartment for the longest of the three men — he said he's approaching his seventh month in Gloucester. In 2001, when the war began, he enrolled in the Afghan military and eventually achieved the rank of first lieutenant.
When U.S. forces pulled out of Afghanistan on Aug. 15 last year, Shamsul applied for evacuation four days later.
"An email come in from my mobile," he explained. "'Please, you come in for airport and you leave this country because danger for you and I'm very sorry for your family' — because my family right now is in Afghanistan, all of them."
Shamsul said he hopes to get his green card soon so he can apply to be reunited with his wife and four children, one of which was born this March.
"This process is 50-50 right now," he said. "The American paper work is very slow. It's slowly, slowly going."
Shamsul initially landed in Wisconsin and stayed at the Fort McCoy military base. Six months later, he boarded the plane for Gloucester where he was welcomed by Allies of our Afghan Allies, a local community group working with Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Boston to resettle Afghan refugees. In addition to the five men, the group has settled an Afghan family of four in another Gloucester apartment.
Ziarat, Shamsul's cousin, moved in this past June, right in time for St. Peter's Fiesta which he said he enjoyed. Back in Afghanistan, Ziarat ran his own oil company.
"I have supported U.S. Army," he said. "I supplied fuel for them. I had a contract with the U.S. Embassy."
Like Shamsul, Ziarat has four children of his own. He left Afghanistan on his own and ended up in Texas. After spending some time there, he got in contact with representatives with Fort McCoy who gave him the green light to move north with Shamsul.
"It's very beautiful that we can live together," said Ziarat.
Ziarat is working to get his CATA driver certification. Shamsul was hired as a chef at Feather and Wedge in Rockport four months ago.
Hadayt moved in just three weeks ago from Texas, just like Ziarat. Before being evacuated, he worked at a bank that had contracts with the U.S. Army.
"It was good until they came," he said, referencing the Taliban. "They gave us warning letters. They just arrested me once. They hit me with a knife, but I'm OK now."
Hadayt said he left Texas because there weren't enough resources to apply for a green card.
"Right now we got problems here, too," he explained. "They're not taking your case until a long time and we're losing time every day."
The Afghan refugees brought to the states after the war ended are considered "humanitarian parolees," allowing for them to stay until 2023. Allies of Our Afghan Allies are raising money for the five men and family of four for legal representation while applying for asylum. Any extra money collected will be used for the following family reunification process.
Hadayt said his time in Texas was difficult at first as it was his first time traveling solo, without his family. His new surroundings and roommates have made the transition a bit easier.
"It's a peaceful place — peaceful people," he said.
Allies of our Afghan Allies has set up a GoFundMe page to support the recently resettled Afghan refugees. For more information, visit gofund.me/e247392c. Donors can also send checks made payable to the West Gloucester Trinitarian Congregational Church, attn. Treasurer, 488 Essex Ave., Gloucester, MA 01930. Note "AAA" or "Afghan Resettlement" in the memo line.
Michael Cronin may be contacted at 978-675-2708, or mcronin@gloucestertimes.com.
Michael Cronin may be contacted at 978-675-2708, or mcronin@gloucestertimes.com.
