Guest Column by Dr. Jayendrina Singha Ray
The wind is strong. It carries the colored leaves of fall to our doorsteps — leaves that bear the first creases of winter on the edges. The wind also brings us broken people from lands far away, lands torn by religious fundamentalism and wars.
These are people touched by the icy fingertips of war that cull the life out of its own people. But desires are strange longings that sustain life — the desire for survival, for safety, and the desire to further life.
It is one such desire that led a young Afghan to ride the winds of change. Navid Hamidi, the executive director of Afghan Health Initiative, chose to fly away from the shifting regimes and political uncertainties of Afghanistan to the shores of liberation in 2014. Having worked in different branches of the U.S. military in Afghanistan for seven years, Navid applied for an SIV (Special Immigrant Visa) in 2012. The visa ensured his passage to the United States in 2014…
This article was originally published by the Seattle Weekly on Nov. 5, 2021.
About the Author
Jayendrina Singha Ray has a PhD (ABD) in English, with a research focus on the works of the South African Nobel Laureate John Maxwell Coetzee. She teaches English composition and research writing at Highline College and Bellevue College.
About Highline Voices
Highline Voices brings a range of diverse perspectives to our community, featuring the expertise of Highline College staff and faculty. Read other articles in the Highline Voices series that began in 2016. All Highline employees are welcome to contribute to the series. Email Dr. Tanya Powers or Raechel Dawson for guidelines.