This page contains interviews with Guests and/or Hosts. Additional interviews and testimonials will be added over time.
We have changed the names of the guests in some cases to protect their identity/location.
Banizer’s Story
Question # 1: Why did you leave Afghanistan:
In 2021 we lost everything in Afghanistan when the country was captured by the Taliban terrorist group. I joined thousands of other leaders against the Taliban, in meetings, protests, demonstrations, sending in writings to the national and international media. I was an educator who was teaching young girls in Afghanistan, which is completely against the belief of the Taliban, and I was working for democracy, freedom of expression and (free) elections.
The Taliban opposed everything and after they came to the country in August, 2021 and captured everything, I needed to go into hiding up to November of 2022. There was no way to stay there because many times I received threatening letters, they were calling me, they were sending me messages through facebook and many different platforms threatening me.
If they arrested me they would kill me. I know this because they told me and that’s why I left my country.
Question #2: What was it like coming into a new home and environment?
For one year I was in Pakistan, then, in October 2023, I came to the United States. My lawyer introduced me to Welcoming Homes and I found this house (with Darragh and Jan) and its really great.
Question #3: How did Welcoming Homes help you?
I believe that the hardest part of life is being an immigrant. Life has ups and downs but the hardest part is when you are coming from a country like Afghanistan to a country like America where there is a big difference, an unbelievable difference.
Being an immigrant in this country is really hard but still in these hard situations we can find some really great people, I met some unforgettable people and moments and one of those unforgettable moments is with Mindy and Sid and Welcoming Homes and their (families) really nice people and really helpful people (with Darragh and Jan) who helped me and they didn’t just give me a house, they gave me everything, they give me a family, a new identity, a new culture, a new life, new hopes and now i know how to deal with America and how to deal with the American life.
They helped me to find a job so I can work here. Basically refugees leave home to make a home and now I can make a home for myself and the credit of everything goes to them, Jan and Darragh and Welcoming Homes. They really helped me and it is really, really adorable.
Question #4: What are your future dreams?
As I mentioned, in my home country I was an educator and was leading private schools and at the same time I had thousands of students and thousands of employees. We were working for a bright future. In countries like Afghanistan we are facing the lack of education so we are trying very hard to bring that bright future to our country for the next generation through education.
While in the United States, my dream is to continue to my work and can do something for my people Afghanistan. Millions of people are still there captured by the terrorist group and they need education, especially the women whose education and everything is still closed for them and they have no rights, Taliban behave them like things to use and that’s it, so my dream is to work again for education.
Question #5: Would you ever consider housing a refugee yourself?
Yah! I told you I believe it is not good to hide from the past, for me right now the hard part of life is being an immigrant so better than anyone I can understand what it is like to be an immigrant. In the future if I be able to help people I’m ready and interested in that.
If we want to have a complete life, if we want to have a safe environment, if we want to have good relationships and build a nice community, we must help each other and I’m ready and interested to help others.
Question #6: Do you miss anything from your home country?
You should change the question to what don’t I miss hahaha!
I miss everything, my family, my friends my colleagues, my students, my country, even the stones, even the trees even the weather! I grew up there and I can’t cut my relationship with my country.
Just a few days ago we had Ramadan and after Ramadan we had Eid It is a special time for Muslim people especially in Afghanistan because we have a special culture and in these days we have special programs, when we are celebrating these days in special methods and special ways based on our culture, but I didn’t do anything here because I don’t have my people here– we don’t have those cultures, we don’t have those facilities so I miss everything but the mostly I miss my siblings who are living in Pakistan and waiting to come to the U.S.
Question #7: What was it like getting to America / how did you get here?
Yah, I came to the US recently, there are many different ways to get to the US, for Afghans they have special programs. Those who worked for the American government got special status.
Mo’s Story
Question #1 Why did you leave China?
My dad took my passport and then he did illegal things and then he told me to prepare to go away but he didn’t tell me why. A person came and took me to the airport and took me to Mexico (and then thee United States.)
Question #2 What was it like coming to a new home?
My dad found someone to bring me here even though i have my aunts and uncles here (in America) they don’t welcome me like other families. I lived with them for 4 years but they didn’t like me staying there also my family doesn’t want me to college. I was working over the summer trying to save some money for college but I have to focus on my education but I also have to focus on paying my rent and food and everything, I did it by myself but at the same time it was very hard. I didn’t have any status I can’t work legally so the only thing I could do when I had a break from school was to find a job so it was very hard for me , but my lawyer found (Welcoming Homes) so I can kinda focus on my education and have some place to live which is very helpful for me and then i can pursue my dreams.
Question #3 What what are your dreams?
When I was in high school I wanted to be a graphic designer and then half a year later my welcoming Homes Hosts told me I could major in art therapy because I really like psychology because of my case and I feel a lot about depression and loneliness and i have a little bit of mental health problems so I really understand that feeling and I want to help people like that and also I am doing one program its called youth survivor advisory board it’s kind of like a womens trafficking group and they talk about their experience and they are against trafficking things so we share our experiences and how about we feel about the sad and thats why its my dream to help people who have experienced either sexual or labor trafficking
Question #4 Did welcoming homes help you and if so how?
That is so great, like I said it is so hard to focus on my education when I have to deal with rent and food it might be easy for people who have a high status they can work and they can also apply to FAFSA (federal student loans) I can do neither of these so its really hard for me but when I stay here I can be relaxed and dont have to worry about money and I can focus on my education. Before, I had to drop my education because its hard for me to be worried about myself and money and here mindy and Sid have supported my education they help me alot and also care about me which is really good because I live with my relatives for years but I dont feel any like care from them and Im also the second year I Was living there I became depressed so its really kind of hard to touch about some family but in here I feel like
Question #5 Would you ever consider housing a refugee like yourself when your older
Yeah my experience is just like traveling around Philly and I want to do the same like them and help someone because I experienced this and I want to help people that experienced this and I know how much of a struggle this and if there is someone to help them just like how mindy and sid helped me and made me feel like everything is whole (okay)
Question #6 Do you miss anything from China and if so what do you miss the most?
I must say I miss my grandparents and my mom the most because I stayed most of the time with my grandparents and my mom and not a lot of time with my dad because my grandparents are older like almost 70 years old so I worry about missing them and I care about their health
Question #7 What was it like actually getting to America ?
Its kind of detailed but like I said my dad found someone to bring me here without telling me anything so the person who brought me here he brought me to a house and the house is full of people, all Chinese doing the same thing; constant work. I stayed there almost 2 weeks and then the person bring me to another house and the people there were trying to fix their car and then they put me in it in between the two front seats in the part thats like used to control the car and then they put in the middle of that and was laying there for like a couple hours and then they brought me across the border but I dont know where because I didn’t know anything about the US at that time and the woman who picked me up took me to an apartment and I was living there for almost a week and then the leader of the group contacted my uncle and he booked a flight to come meet them in new york and then he came and picked me up and after that I stayed with my uncle for like 2 months in a restaurant and then my aunts took me to their house and I stayed there for 4 years so when I was staying with my uncle I was working in the restaurant for him and at that time I was almost 16 and it was not a good experience there
Question #8 What do you think people dont understand about being a refugee?
They dont experience and they don’t know how hard it is to be a refugee like some refugees they come from places where they experience something bad and then they have to flee to another country to be safe so some people dont understand how difficult it is to go through (not all refugees go through the same process) like if I talk to the normal person since Im the refugee the person might think that im like sad because I experienced that but I dont people to think im sad because im the stronger person, I dont want people to feel sorry for me because for me its a little weird like its not the thing i want to think about
Other Thoughts
I was crying when I was alone because I didn’t know why everything be bad was happening to me and I didn’t know what was happening I can’t look back I have to look forward I don’t want to spend my life feeling depressed and crying and sadness I need to look forward Welcoming Homes helped me to be able to go to school and be happy.
I go to community college, I am studying art and psychology, following my dream im so happy i’m so happy that I got to study