FEATURE - Adhering To Afghan Traditions, Former Interpreter Builds New Life In US

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th October, 2021) A former Afghan interpreter for US forces shared with Sputnik the challenges he faced when trying to resettle in the United States without giving up traditions from Afghanistan.

Less than a month after Aminullah Warin arrived in the United States, his first close encounter with a police officer left him scared and confused.

Warin was driving on a highway in Alexandria, Virginia when he wanted to make a stop. And he stopped his car on the side of the highway as he always did in Afghanistan.

"Because I was new to the area, I stopped my car on the highway by the roadside. I thought, in Afghanistan, you could park everywhere. But a woman police officer came to me and asked why I parked improperly? And she gave me a ticket on the spot," Warin, 29, told Sputnik.

Since Warin was driving with a temporary driver's license, he was concerned that the traffic violation would hurt his application for a permanent driver's license.

"I became worried too much. I told myself:' Oh, my god. What would happen? Would it impact my driving records? This is America. This is a big headache. How can I handle this?' That's why whenever I saw a police officer, I was really scared," he said.

Warin received two tickets for traffic violations during his first month in the United States. Fortunately, when he attended the court hearing about his tickets, the judge eased his concerns.

"When I went to the court, they told me:' Thank you for your service. This is your first time and you're new to the area. We'll dismiss those tickets.' And I thanked them," he said.

Warin's experiences in building a new life in the United States could offer lessons for thousands of Afghan nationals who were evacuated from Afghanistan after the takeover of the Taliban (banned in Russia) in August.

Like many Afghans who assisted the US forces in the country, Warin worked on a number of US-sponsored projects before becoming a full-time interpreter. His excellent performance as an interpreter gave him a chance to apply for the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV), which gave him a chance to move to the United States.

After serving as an interpreter for one year, Warin's SIV application was approved and he was able to move to the United States in 2018.

When he first arrived in Alexandria, Virginia, he was lucky enough to share an apartment with an Afghan friend who had been living in the United States for a few years. However, finding a new job to support himself became a big challenge.

"I took a short course for six months. It was a private school and I had to pay $500 myself for it. Based on that, I got a job as a software tester," Warin said.

Fortunately, the US government offered other programs that would help newly arrived Afghan immigrants, who assisted US forces, to get on their feet.

Warin was able to take English language courses at a local college and the expenses were fully covered by the US government.

"The US government paid for the tuition and also gave me some extra money for life expenses. For each semester, which was about three months, they gave me $6000. That was enough to cover my expenses. It was very helpful," he said.

After completing two years of courses at the college, Warin applied for a new job at a local hospital and secured a job offer. Warin has been working as a purchasing buyer at the Inova Hospital in Alexandria, Virginia for four months.

In addition to landing a promising job in the new country, it was also time for a young man like Warin to start a new family.

Instead of trying to meet someone in the United States, Warin followed the Afghan tradition to let his family pick a bride for him back home.

"When I came to the United States, I was single and I didn't have a girlfriend at the time. We have a tradition that your family will try to find a girl that fits the same level and standard. You just need to explain to your family:' I want a girl with these specifications.' Then my family would ask a matchmaker," Warin explained.

The young man got engaged while he was still in the United States and traveled to Afghanistan last year for his wedding ceremony.

"We met each other for the first time at our wedding ceremony. We never met each other before the wedding," Warin said.

The newlyweds stayed together in Afghanistan for about three months last year, before Warin had to return to the United States.

Warin started to process his wife's visa application to join him in the United States upon his return. But Warin worried that his wife's visa application would be delayed because of the large numbers of Afghan applicants willing to leave the country following the Taliban's takeover in August.

Nevertheless, despite his initial unpleasant encounters with US police officers, Warin said he felt the warm welcome in his new country and never considered himself an outsider.

"Afghanistan and USA are very different. But we (Afghan immigrants) have the same respect and same rights as other Americans. From the first day until now, I have never felt like:' I'm an immigrant or I'm someone who is not from this country.' People around me always made me feel:' This is your home. This is your own country and you were born here,'" he said.

Warin added that he would be viewed as a stranger when he traveled to a different region in Afghanistan.

"I think the main difference is the United States is a country made of all kinds of immigrants," he said.

Taking advantage of the diverse background of different immigrants in the United States, Warin was able to build a circle of new friends who are also Afghan immigrants.

Thanks to the number of immigrants from India, Pakistan, Iran and Yemen living in his area, Warin could easily find a nice restaurant offering Halal food within a few minutes' drive.