‘Welcome Home’ tells story of Afghan refugees and volunteers who help
WORCESTER — When Cambridge photojournalist Jodi Hilton volunteered to document the resettlement of two Afghan refugee families in the small Central Massachusetts town of Harvard, she soon discovered it was a great story.
And a daughter of one of the families, Behishta Kabir, was more that happy to help tell it.
The story is told in innovative ways in “Welcome Home” by Behishta Kabir and Hilton, an interactive photography and video exhibition that will have a free public reception from 4 to 9 p.m. on Nov. 12 at Ascentria Care Alliance, Suite 410, 18 Chestnut St. The Kabir family has been a client of Ascentria, a human services agency. The reception is free, but registration is required.
‘An eager volunteer’
Behishta Kabir and her family fled Afghanistan in 2021 after the takeover of the country by the Taliban also meant the likely targeting of her father, Taher, who had been a manager of food services for the US Army. The Niazy family faced a similar peril.
Volunteers with the Harvard Neighborhood Support Team led by Terry Symula of Harvard rallied to help the Kabir and Niazy families in numerous ways including by housing them on a town property, finding jobs for the fathers, enrolling them in schools, and helping with issues such as language.
Hilton, who has spent a good part of her career covering migration stories and spent years in Turkey and Bulgaria before returning to Cambridge in 2020, had an eager volunteer in Behishta, who wants to be a journalist.
“She (Behishta ) was very enthusiastic and spoke great English,” Hilton recalled. Hilton had an idea that she has seen used in Bulgaria. “Instead of me telling the story of the volunteers and the Afghan families, maybe there’s a way they can speak for themselves,” Hilton said.
In “Welcome Home” with photography and videography by Behishta Kabir and Hilton, about 17 photographs can be scanned after visitors download the app Artivive to view them in augmented reality, where the subjects tell their stories. There are viewing cubicles for some of the images. “It appears as if the person is speaking to the viewer directly,” Hilton said. Behishta helped facilitate many of the interviews.
The exhibition explores displacement, belonging, home and community connection. There are portraits both of the Afghan families who are rebuilding their lives and the local volunteers who welcomed them, including members of the Harvard Neighborhood Support Team.
“Welcome Home” has also been shown at Harvard Public Library, the Senate Chambers at the State House in Boston, and in pop ups at Harvard General Store, Harvard Elementary School and Chelmsford community hall.
A rewarding experience
The nine-member Kabir family and 11 member Niazy family have lived in Bromfield House in Harvard since being resettled by Harvard’s Neighborhood Support Team in 2022.
The team in Harvard had a about a dozen volunteers, but along with that “There were dozens of others,” Hilton said.
The Harvard Lions Club helped renovate Bromfield House to make it suitable for two large families.
“For a lot of volunteers, the experience of helping was very rewarding for them and enriched the life of the town,” Hilton said.
Behishta recalled her father being told suddenly the family had to leave Afghanistan. The family of nine with six sisters and a brother spent time in Quatar, Germany and Texas before coming to Central Massachusetts.
After meeting Hilton and the two starting the photograph/video project Behishta said it was difficult to get her parents to agree to speak at first. But by the end of the project, she was afraid of offending anybody she might have left out.
“It was very exciting and I had a great experience,” she said. Behishta is now a student at Middlesex Community College where she is studying journalism.
One of the people photographed is Matiullah Kabir, Behishta’s brother, a recent high school graduate and athlete who competes in mixed martial arts. A photo of the Niazy family includes Nasim, his wife Nafissa, and their son Ismail, now 7, one of their nine children. In Afghanistan, Nasim worked with a U.S. government contractor.
The world has seen massive refugee migration in recent times dating back to the Syrian war, Hilton said.
And the story is ongoing, with developments both in the United States and abroad over the last couple of years.
Migrants who are here legally have been detained without an opportunity to show their documentation, Hilton noted.
‘A timely exhibition’
Asked if she worries about things happening here Behishta said, “Honestly, I do. I go to school. There’s always talk about it.” One of her friends called her to say “there are ICE agents in Lowell (on the Middlesex Community College campus there) …Make sure to be safe. Just be careful.”
The volunteer team in Harvard has reassured the families, “You guys are here legally,” but there’s always that concern. You never know what’s going to happen next,” Behishta said.
Hilton said that the United States and Afghanistan do not have formal relations between the two governments and Afghans deported from the U.S. could be sent to countries in Africa. If they then get sent to Afghanistan the punishments because of their previous relationships with the U.S. could be very severe. “It’s terrifying, “Hilton said.
That gives an additional context to “Welcome Home.”
“I do see it as a timely exhibition,” Hilton said.
Looked at dispassionately, the whole system of the U.S, would collapse without immigration, she said.
“I think overall we can really see that immigration is a net positive … It’s not really just like a nice thing to do. It’s an actual need,” she said.
With “Welcome Home” she hopes the experience of seeing people coming together will help them “learn from one another.”
“People are telling me they’re going to show up (to the reception),” said Behishta.”I’m really thankful.”
Looking ahead
“Welcome Home” will be the first exhibit in the new CLA Welcome Center and Gallery at Ascentria Care Alliance. After the Nov. 12 public event, the exhibition and gallery space will be part of the regular office for Ascentria Care Alliance for a few months.
Jillian Decker St. Pierre, director of development, said Ascentria was formerly known as Lutheran Social Services and is one of the largest human service nonprofits in New England with programs for children and families, refugees and immigrants, older adults, people with disabilities, individuals seeking mental health support, and neighbors working toward greater stability and opportunity.
The public reception Nov. 12 will also include a piano performance by Afghan composer Arson Fahim, who fled Afghanistan in 2021. There will be an opportunity to meet the artists.
Fahim is also composer in residence for the Hudson-based Symphony Pro Musica.The orchestra opens its 44th season with “Happy Birthday, America!,” conducted by Mark Churchill. The two performances take place on November 14 , 7:30 p.m., at Hudson High School, and November 15 , 3 p.m., at Mechanic’s Hall, and will include the world premiere of Fahim’s “An Afghan in Boston” for cello and orchestra, with Churchill as cello soloist.
Each concert will be preceded by a pre-concert talk led by Fahim beginning 45minutes before concert time. All U.S. military veterans, students, members of the local Afghan community will be admitted without charge. For more information about the concerts and to purchase tickets, visit symphonypromusica.org.
