Mujeres de la comunidad musulmana que radica en San Diego y Tijuana, anunciaron este día que ya comenzaron con los preparativos para recibir en esta ciudad a las y los refugiados afganos que serán acogidos por México y que decidan trasladarse a esta frontera para radicar aquí. Para ello están construyendo un albergue.
Sonia García, presidenta de la fundación The Latina Muslim, refirió que luego del anuncio del gobierno mexicano de brindar asilo principalmente a mujeres y niñas afganas, se organizaron y mantendrán coordinación con una de las integrantes de la fundación que se encuentra en la Ciudad de México para quienes deseen llegar a Tijuana poder canalizarlas.
The chant, “Yes Means Yes”, was the cry for the students who say universities like SDSU must work harder to stop sexual violence.
Students like Aleena Nawabi who joined the march said she was shaken by the three recent assaults on, or near the campus. She was troubled by the way the university reacted she said.
“Happy in a Hijab: Ask a Muslim” was hosted by the Muslim Student Association and Sigma Lambda Gamma. Muslim Student Association president Fayaz Nawabi said this was the first time a Greek organization reached out to them to co-host an event.
The panel included Hussein and Artan, as well as senior sociology major Aisha Sharif and class of 2015 graduate Aleena Nawabi.
CAIR leaders say these incidents of violence speak to some of the findings of a recent CAIR California survey. A 2018-2019 survey of 1,500 students ages 11 to 18 found 40% of respondents reported being bullied for being Muslim. 72% of Muslim students reported feeling comfortable letting others know they were Muslims, that percentage is down from the 2016 survey when 77% of respondents felt the same. CAIR leaders say San Diego needs to do more to make immigrants and Muslims feel welcome and should consider ways to confront white supremacy.
Another group taking action is the Council on American-Islamic Relations. On Thursday morning, national CAIR reissued a community advisory ahead of the impending raids.
“When you’re stressed the first thing you forget is your rights,” said Aleena Jun Nawabi, who heads outreach for CAIR San Diego.
In the advisory, CAIR officials emphasize rights, including not having to open the front door unless there’s a warrant.
“My general concern is what if someone misuses this information,” said Aleena Jun Nawabi, who attended Tuesday’s meeting at the North University Community Library.
This rally was in response to President Trump’s failure in Federal court to dismantle the DACA program that protects eligible immigrant youth who came to the United States as children, from deportation. DACA gives young undocumented immigrants: 1) protection from deportation, and 2) a work permit.
Local leaders, including Mayor Todd Gloria, joined the discussion.
“Leaders in the community who are on the ground every day addressing hate crimes and hate violence and hate incidents,” Bonta said.
Last year, California experienced a 31% increase in reported hate crimes — that’s the highest reported level in more than a decade.
Crimes motivated by racial bias increased by more than 67%.
“I’m definitely voting no on the recall,” Nawabi said. “I think this is a complete waste of taxpayer money. I think if anything it’s very offensive to actually go through something like this. The recall is on September, and then we have re-election for the same next year, so why are we spending millions of dollars?”
“Acabamos de empezar y con la noticia de que México dará asilo a la gente de Afganistán, creo se están tomando aplicaciones, tenemos una persona en Ciudad de México que está encargada del proceso, estará monitoreando las primeras personas que arribarán, de ahí se comenzará el proceso de quien quiere venir a Tijuana. Los apoyaremos con todo, casa, lugar donde quedarse, asilo, comida y muchos de ellos necesitarán ayuda psicológica”, explicó.
Since the government collapsed in Afghanistan and the Taliban took over, thousands of Americans and Afghan allies are awaiting evacuation. Among them is Aleena Nawabi’s father.
When I first heard President Joe Biden announcing U.S. troops being pulled out of Afghanistan, my heart sank. I was buried under the cloud of uncertainty and abandonment. I immediately experienced 9/11 flashbacks and how horrifying it was for the Afghans to endure another full-blown war with a foreign government. Afghanistan barely had time to adjust to the Taliban regime and then another regime change. It was a difficult adjustment for everyone including Afghans living in the U.S., hearing our relatives crying over the phone and over the piercing airstrikes. All of that for nothing. Exactly 20 years — two decades — and four presidents of nothing. Is this the legacy America will leave in Afghanistan?
We must not allow U.S. tax dollars to be the currency for ethnic cleansing for Israeli apartheid. We urge President Biden to slash the defense budget instead of strangling our human rights.
Aleena Jun Nawabi was born in Afghanistan but was brought to the United States as an injured war victim and spent years in hospitals. Today, she is fighting to help more people leave Afghanistan.
California has four large sanctuary cities like San Diego and Los Angeles that are the top 10 highest populated cities in the U.S. The Asian model minority that Haung seems to champion is misrepresented and leaves out the majority of AAPI refugees, asylum seekers and the communities of disparity who are consistently struggling within the barriers of discrimination.
If we have discovered anything during the era of COVID-19 is how vulnerable the AAPI communities are to discrimination, racism, and violence. This includes the Muslim American community in California, which is made up of a diverse background including Asian and Pacific Islanders. For example, Prop. 209 directly led to 12% to 60% reduction in admission and enrollment of students of color at the University of California depending on location not “merit” as Mr. Huang likes to sport.
Aleena Jun Nawabi
This panel of experts considers the urgency for women’s rights, cultural heritage preservation, and economic relief in Afghanistan. As of 2020, approximately 90% of Afghans lived below the poverty level of $2 per day, according to the US Congressional Research Service. At the same time, minerals generate just $1 billion in Afghanistan per year. Analysts estimate that 30% to 40% of returns are siphoned off by corruption as well as by warlords and the Taliban, which has presided over small mining projects. The World Bank warned that the economy remains “shaped by fragility and aid dependence.” Additionally, this panel explores how climate change has served as a threat multiplier for conflict and regional instability. Despite these obstacles, experts share insights on how to move beyond the current situation to harness potential for female education, women’s economic empowerment, and cultural heritage preservation. Information will be shared on how to assist those impacted directly through ABA and ABA partner institutions.
Like many refugees and immigrants who came to the United States with a dream to build a home and a new life, I felt left behind again. I came to the U.S. in the early 1980s as a burn victim at a very young age. I was the kid who never left the hospital and grew up there. I went to school there, I celebrated my birthdays there, I decorated the annual Christmas trees there, and I opened all the presents the next day there. I didn’t know how I got there. It was a normal life until I noticed how quickly the faces and names changed the next morning.
“I moved here when I was very young as a war victim,” explained Aleena Jun Nawabi.
Now that her homeland’s fallen to the Taliban, she’s anxious to get her father out. She said he has a medical condition and no longer has access to medicine because everything is closed.
“Time and time again I hear about women’s rights and the first people they abandon were the women,” said Jun Nawabi. “ Even though I live in the United States, I get to practice my religion as well as have a job and that freedom. But I feel guilty! Really guilty the people in Afghanistan can’t enjoy the same rights I’m privileged to enjoy.
Organizaciones del sur de California están uniendo esfuerzos para recibir a refugiados afganos que lleguen a Estados Unidos tras la retirada del Ejército de Afganistán. La comunidad afgana asegura que buscará apoyar a sus compatriotas para una nueva vida.
Aleena Jun Nawabi 