((PKG)) AFGHAN REFUGEE SAN DIEGO
((TRT: 03:39))
((Topic Banner: Starting Over))
((Reporter/Camera: Genia Dulot))
((Map: San Diego, California))
((Main character: 1 male))
((NATS: Prayer of the Muslim community in San Diego))
((NATS: Shakib Nawabi, Imam, Darululoom Mosque))
Our men and our women, who should practice the din of Allah, show the people the lifestyle.
((Abu Baker Samoon
Afghan Refugee))
I never planned to go out of Afghanistan. I decided that I will be staying in Afghanistan for as long as I can and work as hard as I can to make a difference in the country.
((NATS))
((Abu Baker Samoon
Afghan Refugee))
Just a couple of months before the US withdrawal or the Kabul’s fall to Taliban, I was still working in Afghanistan and I still had hopes, everybody had hopes that things were going to get better. There’s going to be peace treaty and the current government and the Taliban leadership are going to agree on peace deals and things are going to get better and better.
When the government fell and when the US troops left, that’s when we decided that it might be a good time for us to reconsider our home.
Due to the work background that I had with my previous employer, I probably would have been in danger. Regardless of that, due to the uncertainty and everything that was going on, it just wasn’t worth the risk of staying any more.
I have two older daughters and my son was only six months old when we came.
((NATS))
((Abu Baker Samoon
Afghan Refugee))
Because I was an SIV applicant [Special Immigrant Visas for Iraqi and Afghan Translators], I ended up in the one of evacuation flights for a month and a half in a refugee camp. And after that, when we came to San Diego, I stayed with my cousin for some time, looking for permanent housing.
I already had a job when I came. I was continuing to work with the company that I used to work for and I still work with them and I have pride in that.
((NATS))
((Abu Baker Samoon
Afghan Refugee))
Some foreign clients that are based in other countries, let’s say in the US and Canada and the UK, and they have operations in Afghanistan, they need staffing services. They need accounting service. They need procurement and vetting services and so on. We basically provide that for them in country in Afghanistan.
((Abu Baker Samoon
Afghan Refugee))
I am always an ambitious person. I always believe that there is room for improvement. I worked on my education equivalents and had to get the US equivalency for my international qualifications that I had. Now, I’ve registered with the US CPA [licensing certification for accounting professionals in the US].
((NATS))
((Abu Baker Samoon
Afghan Refugee))
I plan to establish my own accounting firm down the line someday, plus any business ventures that I can come across, I am going to grab those opportunities.
((NATS: Abu Baker Samoon))
Now’s a good time.
((Abu Baker Samoon
Afghan Refugee))
I definitely started to feel like this is the new home. We are starting to get acquainted to it but I do want to keep in mind that Afghanistan is also my home.
((Genia Dulot
Reporter))
How about your kids? I mean, they are going to grow up Americans.
((Abu Baker Samoon
Afghan Refugee))
Oh, yeah. That is going to be a challenge. I do plan to keep them, you know, into the community, have them go to the Islamic center so that they are aware of the Islamic values, the cultures. I do want them to become Americans but I also do want them to be, at the same time, Afghans. I want them to have not just one language but three languages, which is both of my national languages, Pashto and Dari, as well as English. I want all of that to go parallel and I’ll definitely work hard on making sure that I do achieve that goal.
((NATS))