Newburyport High School students offer support to new Afghan friends

Aug. 15—NEWBURYPORT — Two local high school students have done their part to build the relationship between the United States and Afghanistan by showing a friendly face to some new residents.

More than 50,000 Afghans who assisted the United States, or were in a vulnerable position under Taliban rule, were admitted to the country following the fall of Kabul in August 2021.

Since then, the city has welcomed five Afghan refugee families and 26 Afghan children began attending class at Newburyport's four public schools about the first week of February.

Newburyport High School Principal Andy Wulf said nine Afghan teenagers began attending his school.

"Just like with any student coming into the building, we are going to try our best to make sure there is a welcoming environment for them and our students were just awesome about making sure to connect with our new students," he said.

Rising high school seniors Will Aquaviva and Jasmine Al Khatib previously served as student ambassadors, so they had plenty of experience showing eighth-graders and freshmen around the building. But they both said introducing a group of former Afghan citizens to Newburyport High was a bit different.

"I was wondering, who am I to help out some kid whose culture I am still so blind to?" Aquaviva said. "It was a very intimidating kind of thing because I really didn't know anything about them. But I figured I'd give it a try."

Although she only knows three words in Arabic, Al Khatib said her father is a native of Jordan and she was not as concerned about working with the Afghan refugees.

"I wasn't worried about them not speaking English because I have extended family that doesn't speak a word of it," she said.

Everything went relatively well on the Afghans' first day at the high school.

But Al Khatib took the new students to the gymnasium to play basketball, then she headed back to class and let Aquaviva know where to find them when it was time for lunch.

Unbeknownst to Aquaviva, a group of other students decided to welcome the strangers — whose origin they knew nothing about — by organizing a game of pickup basketball.

It went so well that the local students invited their new friends to lunch in the cafeteria, leaving Aquaviva scratching his head when he came looking for them after class.

The rest of the school year played out a lot smoother for the newcomers and the student ambassadors, who would eventually host an ice skating event for their new Afghan friends at Henry Graf Jr. Memorial Skating Rink.

"A lot of them had never skated before but a lot of them walked out laughing and having a good time," Al Khatib said.

The American students also had a chance to teach their Afghan friends the art of "bottle flipping," where points are awarded for getting a bottle to stand up with one flip.

"I guess you could say that we're all just young and dumb, and it didn't take too long for everybody to be throwing waters at each other," Aquaviva said.

Not to be outdone, Al Khatib said some of the Afghan students have been teaching their American friends the art of ear pinching.

"One of them will come behind you and pinch your ear," she said. "It doesn't hurt but it's just silly and annoys you."

"That also became a whole war," Aquaviva added.

The American high schoolers hosted a picnic for their new friends at Cashman Park in the spring. As it turned out, the beach on Plum Island became a popular spot for the Afghan students.

"They love it there," Al Khatib said.

Although the Dari-speaking students arrived with a language and cultural barrier, most of the differences began to disappear over time, according to Aquaviva. Three of the boys are named Mohammed, including two who are brothers.

"It's been interesting to think of ways to connect with them and has been a really eye-opening experience," Aquaviva said. "At the end of the day, we are all people."

Al Khatib said the Afghan students were fitting in more and more activities each day before the school year ended. She looks forward to hosting a few more social events during the upcoming school year.

"They've all got phones and they all have Snapchat," she said.

The newcomers are improving their English, Aquaviva said.

"I can't wait 'til we get to that point when we can just talk to each other," he said. "I know their personalities but there is this other side of them that you can't get to know without language."

Wulf said the communitywide effort to welcome the Afghan refugees brought out the best in the city and his new students have become, simply, a "part of the culture of the school."

"They also got involved in some of the different activities in sports, which was awesome," he said.

Al Khatib was joined by fellow Newburyport High students Campbell Pearce, Olivia D'Ambrosio and Charlie Grossman as well as Immaculate Conception School students Owen Schneider, Sophia Davis and Isabella Kaminski in being honored by the city's Human Rights Commission for their dedication to peace and inclusion through acts of kindness as a part of its Peace Prize program this spring.

The commission also honored Molin Upper Elementary School students Ady Lord, Emerson Anderegg, Sarah Lyman, Harper Kulowiec, Nika Trefalt-Liu, Molly Mosquera, Helen Ober and Vivian Hebeisen.

Staff writer Jim Sullivan covers Newburyport for The Daily News. He can be reached via email at jsullivan@newburyportnews.com or by phone at 978-961-3145. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully.

Staff writer Jim Sullivan covers Newburyport for The Daily News. He can be reached via email at jsullivan@newburyportnews.com or by phone at 978-961-3145. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully.