Stranger Becomes Neighbor

society, culture · EN-US

We saw it on the news. The images still haunt us. Two years ago this month, a desperate sea of humanity rushed the Kabul airport as the American military started mass evacuations in Afghanistan. Many were left behind to face the Taliban, while some escaped to countries like Iran and Pakistan. For over 80,000 refugees, America is now home. Their lives continue, but our news feeds have moved on, blasting stories about today’s crisis-du-jour. Now these evacuees live beside us, trying to make ends meet, find housing, gain acceptance, adapt to a new culture, and become valued members of our communities. In Stranger Becomes Neighbor, we follow them. And we meet the Americans who have chosen to help their new neighbors. Like the stay-at-home mom who convinces a neighbor to rent out their basement to a pregnant Afghan woman, then finds herself helping to deliver the baby. Like a young widow who served in a secret pro-American unit of the Afgha