Jim McMahon
A year ago, Ahmad Faisal Azizi was living in Kabul with his family and planning to follow in his father’s footsteps one day and join the Afghan National Army. Then the Taliban took over his country, and he was forced to flee.
Now, the 18-year-old finds himself living on the other side of the globe, in Raleigh, North Carolina, trying to build a new life. He’s learning a new language, how to cook, and how to navigate a huge American high school.
“I can’t even compare it to my school in Afghanistan,” Azizi says of his new school, Athens Drive Magnet High School. “It is very advanced—the place, the space, the way they teach. It is a lot better than what I had been doing in Afghanistan. I cannot compare it. It is good here.”
A year ago, Ahmad Faisal Azizi was living in Kabul with his family. He planned to follow in his father’s footsteps one day and join the Afghan National Army. Then the Taliban took over his country. He was forced to flee.
Today, the 18-year-old is living on the other side of the globe, in Raleigh, North Carolina. His focus is now on trying to build a new life. He’s learning a new language, how to cook, and how to navigate a huge American high school.
“I can’t even compare it to my school in Afghanistan,” Azizi says of his new school, Athens Drive Magnet High School. “It is very advanced—the place, the space, the way they teach. It is a lot better than what I had been doing in Afghanistan. I cannot compare it. It is good here.”