Afnan’s Story
Afnan Salem and members of her family were resettled in Columbus in 2010 when she was just 11 years old. Afnan now holds a degree in International Relations and Diplomacy from The Ohio State University and she now serves as the Program Coordinator for the Global Scholars Diploma program of the Columbus Council on World Affairs. At CRIS’ 10th Annual 5K + Advocacy Fair on October 22, 2023, Afnan shared the following:
“My name is Afnan Salem and I am here to share my story with you. On June 22nd, 2010, my mother, siblings, and I were resettled to Columbus. I vaguely remember a staff member from CRIS picking us up from the airport and welcoming us to our new home with open arms. At the time, I was just 11 years old and didn’t understand much of what was happening, but one thing I knew for sure was that my mother had sacrificed many things in order for us to get here and by the will of God we were given this opportunity.
Another thing I was anxiously excited about was to be reunited with my father who was living in Saudi Arabia at that time. We were told we could file an application to get him here, but none of my family members understood how complicated that process would be. A few years passed and it seemed like the process was getting more difficult, but we always had our hopes up that we will be reunited with him soon. Seven years went by. In 2017, he finally got a chance to be interviewed by the U.S. embassy. After his interview, he was told he completed all of his paperwork and would have qualified for the visa, but he would not be able to enter the U.S. due to the travel ban put in place by President Trump. We had waited seven years just to get a rejection. My family and thousands of other families across the U.S. were experiencing the same hardship. My family was not taking no for an answer, and we knew we had a fight to fight.
We had a great support system and Angie was like a backbone in this fight. She worked tirelessly day and night. And I mean it when I say night. Sometimes, I would get a text or email from her at 10: 00 PM. When we felt hopeless and thought that there was nothing else we could do to be reunited with our father, Angie always had a new door to knock on. Through this process, Angie became part of our family. Finally, in April 2021, my father was approved for travel to the U.S. The day of his arrival, Angie was at the airport two hours before his flight was scheduled to land. She got there before we even arrived at the airport to welcome our father. That day, my father saw some of his grandchildren for the first time.
I share my family’s story for two main reasons. One, I want to help people understand the effects that policies put in place by elected officials have on people’s lives. Many heard about the travel ban on the news but never quite understood the pain and suffering it caused many families. Secondly, it is to tell a story of how essential the work of CRIS is to our community, whether it’s welcoming new Americans to their new homes or helping reunite families that have been separated for far too long. Angie inspired me to start thinking about attending law school and hopefully, one day becoming a support system for families that are fighting to be reunited with their loved ones. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my story and I just wanted to give a huge thank you to the entire staff of CRIS. The work you do does not go unnoticed.
One last thing I want to leave you with is to spread kindness and love. There’s a lot going on in the world, and I challenge all of you to educate yourselves, stand for what’s right, and to be a voice for the voiceless.”