December 2018 Student Spotlight: Murtaza Ehsani
Murtaza Ehsani is an ESOL student from Afghanistan. Murtaza lived in a refugee camp in Indonesia for four years before being selected for resettlement in the United States. After arriving in Rochester, Murtaza first improved his English at OACES, and he was then accepted at MCC. In this story, Murtaza writes about a very special day in the refugee camp.
Journey to the United States
Beep! Beep! Beep! It is 6:00am and I am waking up for another day; the day will be the same as yesterday and the day before that and the day before that. I am here with no purpose beyond meeting my friends to play volleyball or soccer. Each morning I tell myself to be optimistic and hopeful—that today may be the day I will be told that I am leaving this place. But, if I am being honest with myself, there is a seed of despair taking root in my mind.
“How are you?” “Where?” “When?” When I first arrived in Indonesia, I could speak only a few words of English. It was so challenging and difficult for me to communicate with the Indonesian people because I didn’t speak Indonesian or English and nobody spoke Dari. On the first day in Jakarta, I needed a place to stay, and wasn’t able to even ask anyone how I could find a place. Ahhhh! I was almost crying. I was just about 17 years old without any travel experience and on my own. Fortunately, I saw some other refugees who could understand my language, and they had been there before for a while. With their help I could find a place to stay. Thank God!
Most kids at age 17 would be jealous of this carefree life, but I see this as a form of imprisonment. I left my country “Afghanistan” because there has been war for longer than I can remember, and it has disrupted many families’ and individuals’ lives.
I am here in Indonesia illegally, so I will never be allowed to work or use any public services. But, I want to work. Sure, I need money so that can stop relying on my sister to send money from Australia. More than that, I am thinking about this wasted time when I am not gaining any knowledge or skills for my future. I long for the freedom to be in control of my future. For that to happen, I need to leave Indonesia, but there are only two ways out—one dangerous and one just luck.
Bump, Set, Spike! The highlight of my day is over at 8:00am. As I’m walking back home to shower, my friend Ali catches up to me and says, “Hey, another boat is leaving soon. Let's go together. $5000.” Many of my friends who had been in Indonesia for more than a year, and were tired of waiting and living with uncertainty, decided to cross the ocean with smugglers to get to Australia. I remind him, “It is not safe. You remember Zaker, don't you? He tried a month ago and couldn't make it. The boat sank and 60 out of 73 of them died.” He was one of the ones who did not survive.
Ali replies, “What other choice do we have?”
I respond, “Let's wait. We are registered with UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioners for Refugees). Maybe we will be accepted to resettle in another country soon.”
Ali laughs, “It’s crazy staying here. The UNHCR process of accepting people is so slow! Do you want to be here for another 6 years? Good luck to you. I’m going on the boat.”
I walk away from him wondering which one of us made the better decision.
After lunch, I head to my classroom, which is inside of the refugee camp, to help other refugees with their English. I’m teaching them about subject pronouns today. I say the words and ask them to repeat after me. “I……You……He……She……” As I pause to listen to my students respond, I am suddenly aware of a lot of talking in the hallway. I think someone is calling my name. I leave the classroom to see who was calling me. I see a man who has a special uniform with UNHCR written on it. He’s a communication officer. I ask him, “Were you calling my name? Murtaza Ehsani?”
“Yes,” he says. “Congratulations, you are being accepted by the USA and soon you will go.”
Looking back, I was in shock. I felt over the moon! It was a thrilling moment that I will always remember. All the students came out of the classroom. Everyone there in the hallway was hugging me and telling me “Congratulations!”
I woke up that morning not feeling optimistic but I went to bed that night knowing that I would wake up at 6:00am a week from then and each day would not be the same as every other day of the last four years. That day would be the beginning of a new life.
ESOL Voices is a collection of stories written by ESOL students at Monroe Community College. This publication highlights our MCC students who come from all over the world. Look for a new story each month. We hope you enjoy our students’ stories as much as we do.
— Katie Leite & Pamela Fornieri, ESOL Program, December 2018