Somewhere New, Somewhere Different…
Guidance has reached Ahmed's journey.
His life journey.
His exploration into another chapter of his life.
Every day has been a blur of activity, complications, and doubts, all presented to him in the food he never understood until he arrived on Seoul's doorstep: the airport.
He came as a refugee, fleeing reprisal from the collapsing Soviet apparatus, and sought mercy among unknowns, people who rarely smiled, similar to Russians, people who spoke a very unfamiliar language, like Russian at first, and people who judged him by his appearance, like the Russians did and do.
Ahmed, fortunate enough to work in a kitchen after his paperwork went through, lives with other refugees, people who have fled the disintegrated Soviet Union. He could've lived alone and had his privacy, but after many years, being around other people, especially people from Central Asia, has him in higher spirits than he realized. He can speak multiple languages to these fellow refugees, now kitchen staff or construction workers.
They each have a story to share, an idea of restarting their lives, and dreams that are still real to them wherever they go.
Ahmed has done so much in his life; somehow, he wants so little, maybe starting his restaurant, attaching a mosque to it, and finding time to reflect on what he gave up for a better life. He knows the community will be the great net to catch the wayward and forlorn, those like him, those who came from what he came from, a sense of impending dread and despair. They feel safer now than if they stayed and weathered the ominous political storms. They feel free.
He works until close, his age beating him up at the tendons and joints, yet he establishes his connections and contacts here, and most importantly, talks to people. He doesn't know if it comes from an accelerated Afghan upbringing, not afraid to look at the many as a neighbor, or his personality exudes a sense of calm warmth and amicability. He feels what they feel some days; they understand what he understands. Of course, bad eggs exist, but so do good eggs.
Guidance has reached Ahmed's journey. His life journey. His exploration into another chapter of his life.
He’s not alone anymore, not anymore.
