Announcement
Frishta visits GAIA Empowered Women.
Photo: Alex Laywell/the IRC
When I was 13, my family and I fled Afghanistan. We were forced to run for our lives because of the war and the persecution towards Hazaras, an ethnic minority, which my family and I belong to. Some people think Hazaras don’t belong to Afghanistan, and though minorities have been mistreated for many years, little protection exists.
Where we lived, it was difficult to leave because the Taliban controlled the borders. If they saw people trying to cross in or out, they would stop them, kill the men, and sexually harass the women.
My family eventually fled to Sri Lanka for safety, where we found a country full of beauty and history. However, refugees in Sri Lanka are not allowed to work and we were forced to live on assistance from friends and organizations. I remember feeling so ashamed in front of neighbors when getting help for my family.
After our cases were processed by the United Nations, we were finally resettled to Dallas on May 25th, 2016. The International Rescue Committee helped us start new here: they picked us up from the airport, set up an apartment, and enrolled me and my siblings in school. On my first day of school I couldn’t take my eyes off the students; everyone looked so nice and clean. They had new shoes, clothes, and nice backpacks. I fell in love with my new school from that day.
Frishta at the Bush Institute with Farhat Popal and Shannon Bradford.
Photo: Alex Laywell/the IRC
The next year, in 11th grade, I signed up for the Dallas Mayor’s Internship. As a newer student, I had no idea what I was signing up for until the day of the interview. A few different organizations interviewed me, and later that summer, I came back to the IRC one more time – this time as someone able to help others.
My internship introduced me to people in the field I am interested in studying, business in fashion and design. I had the opportunity to observe how soaps are made and learn about sustainable clothes and bags made from pineapple leaves and bamboo trees. I met the brave refugee author Clemantine Wamariya; toured the George W. Bush Institute with Farhat Popal, manager of the Women’s Initiative Fellowship and the Afghan Women’s Project; and visited GAIA Empowered Women which empowers refugee women through employment, encouragement, and dedication to their successes in the local communities. With the memories of war and the culture for women in Afghanistan, I was very shy and reserved during my first days as an intern, but through meeting new people I was able to open up and raise my voice.
My first chance to share my story was at the IRC’s Information Session. It wasn’t easy; not for me. I had never spoken in front of a group of people who were older and more professional than me. I was so nervous I stayed up thinking about it every night for one week. I thought about my life and experiences and started writing down my presentation word-for-word and practicing it over and over again. As I repeated the words and practiced, my speech finally changed from a cold-hearted robot to a person with a sense of humor.
Frishta meets Clemantine Wamariya, author of "The Girl who Smiled Beads"
Photo: Alex Laywell/the IRC
Even though this was my first internship, it was the best internship, with the best people dedicated to helping those in need. I am really blessed to work with everyone who believed in me and helped push me to believe in myself and achieve what I have. Having been resettled by the IRC, I know how it feels to be away from home and to not be able to go back, leaving everyone and everything behind, and praying to God to keep them safe. That I can be part of the reason why somebody smiles after a time of terror and hardship makes me really love my internship.
My internship at the IRC has brought me one step closer to my future goals, and I learned a lot. But most importantly, I learned that I can be a voice! A voice for the voiceless young girls in spite of the culture which exists against them.
Frishta Nasari and her family were resettled by the IRC in 2016. Frishta spent this past summer as a Dallas Mayor’s Intern Fellow at the IRC in Dallas. She is a senior at Emmett J. Conrad High School and hopes to pursue a career in business related to the fashion industry.