Frishta from Afghanistan

I was scared at night.

I was a girl.

Even though the government shouted for equality between men and women, we all knew it was all just a show.

In America I am safe and I have real rights as a girl. I am determined to become a helpful person. Adjusting to the US is hard. There are many, many things that are different from Afghanistan.

Now that I am here free of discrimination, harassment, and violence, I am going to become a person that contributes to the knowledge of the world.

One way I, and my friends here on stage, want to do this is by telling our stories. We want people to understand who we are and why we came to the United States, and our dreams for the future that we couldn’t ever dream before we came.

We have learned a lot during the Voices workshops, about telling our stories, about ourselves, about each other, and how to use our stories for positive change. We hope you learned a little about us tonight, too.

We want to use our stories for good to help people understand that we are valuable people, too, and can help make this country a good place for everyone, wherever you are from.

Watch Frishta and other students share their story at KIND’s gala.

Frishta’s Story Through Her Artwork: 

“We came to the U.S. because Afghanistan wasn’t safe.”

I feel: “Sad for the my people in my country. Happy because me and my family are safe.  Determined that I won’t waste this safety and peace and try hard. Homesick and miss my friends.”

“I want to become an astronomer when I grow, I think I can be a good citizen and a nice person to the world.”