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| Afghanistan |
| Afghan exchange students defected from US to Canada |
| 2013-04-18 |
| TRAVERSE CITY, MI -- Bringing teens from Afghanistan to live here for a year is tricky. So much so that the U.S. State Department banned Afghan students from an international exchange program in 2011 because too many defected to Canada, including two who attended school in Leland. Many teens feared violent retribution for living in the U.S., while others wanted more opportunity. The two Afghan teens were part of a robust foreign exchange program at tiny Leland High School. "It was great for them and great for our kids," said Principal Charlie Gann. "They got to hear what these two boys had to say. That we are not at war with Afghanistan and we're not at war (with them). They were firsthand sources and they got to ask them questions." The first Afghan student arrived in the 2009-10 school year. He was from a tiny village and feared the Taliban would harm either him or family members if he returned. His host parents, who hold the teen in fond regard, did not want their names published for the same reason. The teen escaped to Canada and now attends school. The teen's host family later learned that many Afghan exchange students choose to defect. In 2011, only 12 of 34 exchange students returned to Afghanistan. Prior to that year, only about half, on average, returned home,Toomey said. "It was very stressful for this family," said Pam Woolcott, the exchange program's local coordinator. "And afterward, I began to learn more about it and saw there was a networking system to Canada. He apologized later for not telling me he was going. And I wrote him back ... 'I accept where you are, and I wish you all the best.'" Vive La Casa, a nonprofit that shelters international refugees in Buffalo near the U.S.-Canadian border, helped the teen,Toomey said. In the next school year, Fierberg's host son -- Sayed "Mahmood" Langari -- planned to return to Kabul because he wanted his younger brother to follow in his footsteps. But he opted for Canada when the State Department ended the exchange program for Afghanis, Fierberg said. Langari's father adamantly agreed that Afghanistan held no future for his son and urged him to go to Canada. So the Fierbergs put Langari on the plane to Buffalo. "It broke our contract, but I wanted to be true to my morals," Fierberg said. For those who don't know, Leelanau County is in a cultural/political bubble like those of Berkeley CA or Cambridge MA. People there, or at least the local chattering class, think they live in a different world from the rest of us. One of the reasons Leland High School is 'tiny' is that people who want to raise children usually can't afford to live in the school district. I wonder what will become of "Mahmood". |
| Posted by:Anguper Hupomosing9418 |