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This brief is adapted from notes taken by Documenter Bréone Dupree, who covered the Meet Your Neighbor: Afghanistan conversation.
What Happened
The Meet Your Neighbor series gives neighbors a chance to learn from local leaders about refugees and immigrants moving to Indianapolis. The series highlights Afghan, Haitian, Congolese populations.
Documenter Bréone Dupree attended “Meet Your Neighbor: Afghanistan” last week at the Southport library branch. The series, presented by Exodus Refugee, focused on stories from Afghanistan.
Najia Sherzad Hoshmand, CEO and president of the Afghan American Community Center shared facts about Afghanistan. She said the country has a 37.5 million population but is shrinking due to evacuation.
[To read the full brief, click here.]
Hoshmand shared facts about Afghanistan’s culture. There are 14 ethnic groups, over 50 languages spoken, and seven recognized religions. She said the country’s classical music form is called, “klasik.”
“Klasik is influenced by the classical music traditions of India, Persia, and Pakistan,” Hoshmand said. “The music has close historical ties with India and Pakistan.”
Conversation takeaways
Hoshmand said Afghanistan has been a warzone for many years. She described the country’s civil war in the 80s, 90s and early 2000s. There was a period of stabilization and growth until 2021 when the Taliban took control of the government and her family, along with others, fled Afghanistan.
On August 15, Hoshmand said she was informed that the Taliban entered Kabul. That day with her husband at work and children at school, she scrambled to find her family.
Her children’s school informed Hoshmand that they weren’t responsible for them anymore and since it was an International school, the Taliban could enter at any time.
“Every moment, I’m just dying. I couldn’t breathe anymore,” she said. “There was no support system for people like us.”
Hoshmand said she had five minutes to gather her family’s things.
“Can you imagine in five minutes, what would you take with yourself? What would you feel and think at that moment?” she asked. “What about my home? What about my life here?”
The Hoshmands immigrated to the U.S. as a part of an evacuation program sponsored by the U.S. Her parents were unable to make it to the airport. Hoshmand’s father died of a heart attack in 2023.
After waiting in lines for days with no food or water, suffering three broken ribs and enduring extreme heat while spending 20 days at a military camp in Qatar, they arrived at Camp Atterbury and eventually Indiana.
“We left everything behind,” she said. “This is the end of my dream that I had for myself and my country.”
Summary
In 2022, she founded the Afghan Community Center, a nonprofit organization to support the Afghan community. Their Facebook page lists events and programming.
“We need your friendship. We need your support,” she said. “We need your kindness. This is what we all need from you. Please extend your support and help towards the community.”
What’s Next?
Ariana Beedie is Mirror Indy’s community journalism director. Follow her on Instagram at @ari.beedie. Want to join Documenters? Learn more here.
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