KUNAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – It took 48 years and an unusual set of coincidences, but a U.S. linguist born here found her sister-in-law during an animal care training seminar for Afghan women in the Chowkay District Jan. 31.
U.S. linguist Shafiqa Ansary, 54, of Union City, Calif., attended the training in her capacity as an English-Pashto interpreter. She normally works for the Kunar Provincial Reconstruction Team, but was detailed that day to assist the Iowa National Guard’s 734th Agribusiness Development Team, which conducted the animal care training.
According to Ansary, she did not know the training would take place in Chowkay until she arrived at the training site. During introductions at the beginning of the class, Ansary mentioned her brother-in-law was from Chowkay, and that she had spent a considerable amount of time in Chowkay herself until the age of 6. Ansary then began recalling the names of family members she had spent time with in Chowkay, including her sister’s husband’s sister, Qadrie.
A woman attending the class told Ansary, “Qadrie still lives here! I’ll go get her.”
Less than a half-hour later, Qadrie arrived, and the training briefly stopped amid a flurry of hugs, kisses and tearful remembrances. Qadrie quietly attended the remainder of the training, and afterward, she and Ansary reminisced.
“When I was just a little girl, I would sit by Qadrie’s [oven] for hours, and she would bake me the most delicious corn bread,” Ansary said. “I never dreamed that I would see her again.
“My family moved to Kabul when I was 6,” Ansary continued. “I married when I was 18, and my husband and I lived in the U.S. for several years in the ‘70s while he finished his doctorate. We left Afghanistan for good when I was 23, after the revolution,” she added. “When I decided to become a linguist, I had no idea I would come back to this place and find dear Qadrie.”
Qadrie expressed equal astonishment at becoming reacquainted with Ansary, and she reflected on the reunion’s larger personal implications.
“So many of my family were killed or became refugees during the revolution and civil war,” Qadrie said. “When I look at Shafiqa, I see my entire family.”
Qadrie also described the reunion with Ansary as a symbol of the positive nature of the U.S. presence in Afghanistan.
“If the U.S. had not come here, I would never have seen Shafiqa again,” Qadrie said. “We are poor people, and we need so many things that only the Americans are helping us with.”
| Date Taken: |
01.31.2011 |
| Date Posted: |
02.08.2011 14:35 |
| Story ID: |
65027 |
| Location: |
KUNAR PROVINCE, AF |
| Web Views: |
34 |
| Downloads: |
0 |
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This work, Relatives reunite in Chowkay after 48 years, by CPT Peter Shinn, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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