By Lucy Patterson Grindon, 探花精选

Last week, as Mohammad Barikzai spoke about his service with the U.S. military in Afghanistan and his family鈥檚 journey to this country, Fourth of July fireworks interrupted him every few seconds.

Mohammad, his wife Marina and their four young children have been living in the Los Angeles since January 2017. They gained admission to the U.S. through the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program, which allows Afghans and Iraqis who are in danger because they have worked with the U.S. government to come to this country.

Mohammad worked with U.S. forces and NATO coalition forces in Afghanistan for ten years, between 2004 and 2014. For the last seven of those years, he worked directly with U.S. forces at an air base. 鈥淚 was the one who managed a group of four or five, and after that I was promoted to watch manager, so I was the one who would control air traffic and approve takeoff and landing. I worked with the U.S. air force, the navy, the marines, the army, the special forces. I worked with all of them,鈥 Mohammad said. 

Because of the threat of violence from the Taliban in Afghanistan, working with the U.S. was dangerous, but Mohammad and other Afghans like him were willing to risk their safety to try to protect their home. 鈥淲e just wanted them [the coalition and U.S. forces] to bring peace to my country and the entire world,鈥 Mohammad explained. 鈥淭here are thousands of people just like me who put their lives at risk to help the coalition forces to achieve the goal of peace everywhere.鈥

Eventually, the Taliban started hunting Mohammad. 鈥淎t one o鈥檆lock at night, I got a call from my mom saying, 鈥楾hey are looking for you.鈥 They came to my house asking, 鈥業s there anyone here who has been working with the US army forces?鈥欌 Mohammad said. 鈥淔ortunately, I was not at home, I was on duty on the base that night.鈥

After that night, Mohammad noticed that he was being watched. 鈥淪ome people started to follow me around the area where I entered the base and also around the area where I got on the bus. So I started to change my shifts, I would change the way I went to work. I even tried to change my clothes, some days I tried different suits, some days glasses, to protect myself from the danger on the street,鈥 Mohammad said.

In December of 2014, Mohammad鈥檚 family applied to come to the U.S. through the SIV program so they could be safe from the Taliban. They visited the American embassy in Kabul for an interview, and Mohammad provided all the necessary documentation of his work with the U.S. military. Still, they had to wait two years for the U.S. government to conduct a background check and process their application. They finally received their visas at the beginning of 2017.

When Mohammad鈥檚 family arrived in the U.S., they struggled to find housing. The 探花精选 in Los Angeles helped them move past that hurdle. 鈥淭he entire team from the 探花精选 helped me. They helped me find housing, and they provided everything for our new house. They helped me with starting my new life,鈥 Mohammad said. 

Because of Mohammad鈥檚 experience working with the U.S. military, Mohammad had a firm grasp of the English language and a good understanding of American culture when he got here, but his wife Marina and their children had not previously been exposed to American customs.

Immigrants with SIVs from Afghanistan and Iraq often need extra help adjusting to life in the U.S., especially if they live in an area without a substantial Afghan or Iraqi popula-tion. Alex Ray, Mohammad鈥檚 family鈥檚 caseworker, helped them acclimate to American society. 鈥淭hey [immigrants with SIVs] definitely come with their own difficulties and needs, especially since there isn鈥檛 a large population of Afghan SIVs here,鈥 Alex said. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 have as much of a support system.鈥

鈥淚t was kind of hard for my family to adjust to living here at first. I worked with Americans for seven years, so I know the accent, the culture, how you pronounce things, but for my family it was harder,鈥 Mohammad said. 鈥淎lex helped me by explaining the culture to me and my family, explaining the rules and the laws.鈥 

Mohammad鈥檚 first job in Los Angeles was at LAX, but now he works as a clerk for LA County鈥檚 In-Home Supportive Services. In his work in the U.S., he still wants to promote peace and tolerance. During the month of Ramadan, he taught a Christian coworker about Islam after the coworker asked why he was fasting. 鈥淲e shouldn鈥檛 judge people by their religion or where they鈥檙e from. Our first identity is human. We all have a re-sponsibility to take care of each other and look out for each other,鈥 Mohammad said.

Now that Mohammad is working closer to home and making a steady income, his family is doing very well. 鈥淣ow, my family has no problems,鈥 Mohammad said. He and Marina have a daughter, eleven, and three sons, eight, three and one. The children are picking up English at school while their mom takes ESL classes. 

Eleven-year-old Muaska loves school. Her dad has to translate my questions for her, but then she says clearly and cheerfully, 鈥淚 like studying. I love to do art, like painting, drawing, those things.鈥

According to Mohammad, his kids have already found some great friends. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e playing a lot. They鈥檙e not being shy. They like it here,鈥 he said.