Look what followed me home, Ma!

Admittedly, most guys here send things home like rugs, scarfs, antique guns, wooden chests, etc. Not me. I'm sending an Afghan home.

The US Dept of State has streamlined the visa process for Afghan nationals who are interpretor/translators (IT) working for the US. Many of them have taken advantage of the program, to take a chance for the American dream.

My IT, Fida (pronounced like feta cheese), acquired his visa, saved some money and left Kabul today for the two-day multiple-stop plane trip to Dallas, TX. Much to Julie's consternation, I offered to let him stay at our home temporarily. Trust me, I didn't make the offer lightly--I think very highly of this young man.

He graduated from high school and medical school, and is a certified medical technician. That certification probably won't mean much to US medical facilities, but it's a start. While he worked for me as an IT, he moonlighted at the Afghan National Hospital. His father is a government official in the Ministry of Education and is a genuine believer in the importance of education—so much so that he fled to Pakistan with his family during the Taliban rule so his daughters could continue to go to school. Fida has three sisters, one who is married and two younger ones. He has two brothers, one older who is a doctor but works for MPRI as an interpreter/translator because it pays better.

His goal is to find employment, get his own place, become a US citizen, and save enough money to send for his family. He intends to enlist in the US Air Force, and if that doesn't work out, then he'll find work elsewhere. I have little doubt that he'll succeed somehow.

So if/when you see him around, please make him feel welcome. After all, our forefathers were all immigrants to the US once...

Out.