Anthrow Circus

When the Fallout of Political Winds Affects Real Lives: Afghan Edition

BY KAMI L. RICE

It’s been a wearying couple weeks for volunteers working with Afghans pursuing pathways to safety in the United States. In addition to being the editor of this fine publication, I count among those volunteers, assisting Afghans resettling in the U.S. and Europe as part of the NGO Allied Shepherd. This work began “accidentally” three and a half years ago when Kabul fell to the Taliban and journalists needed help to reach safety.

The day after President Trump’s inauguration, I woke up to messages from devastated Afghan friends as word of the president’s executive orders spread across the globe. Two of these orders in particular affect America’s wartime Afghan allies. The new president’s right to review policies and expenditures isn’t disputed, but advocates for Afghans are disheartened by the slash and burn governance method that is endangering people who, in the case of Afghans, literally protected American lives and supported America’s values.

A Beautician’s Journey from Lost Identity to Rebirth

STORY BY BILAL AHMADZAI

In the heart of war-torn Afghanistan, Zakia, a talented beautician, found herself at the mercy of the Taliban’s oppressive regime. Since retaking the country in August 2021, the Taliban has instituted increasingly draconian edicts that have clawed back freedoms. In July 2023, beauty salons were banned.

The closure of beauty salons, once vibrant hubs of empowerment for women, cast a shadow over Zakia’s once bright future. As she shared her story with Anthrow Circus, the depth of despair in her eyes mirrored the struggles of countless Afghan women whose identities have been systematically erased by the regime. The Taliban’s actions have not only affected the physical spaces but also the self-esteem of Afghan women.

Where the Ukrainian Family Stays

WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY JC JOHNSON

I’m a city person. I love the pace, the noise, the endless barrage of things to look at. I love to study the skyline, the museums, the lights at night, the people. Typically, I’m not too fond of the countryside. But there’s something about Scotland, especially the Scottish Highlands..

Young Afghan Dreams: Three Sisters Share Their Artwork—and Future Hopes

DOCUMENTARY & PHOTO BY W.H.
INTRODUCTORY TEXT BY HEATHER M. SURLS

“The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all.” This quote from Disney’s animated film “Mulan” aptly describes Maryam, Khadija, and Fatima Kawsary, teenage Afghan sisters living outside of their home country and still cultivating their passion for art.

Exploring Palestinian Identity in Jordan’s Baqa’a Refugee Camp

STORY BY HEATHER M. SURLS

ARTWORK BY HAIFA ABU KHDAIR

In Jordan’s Baqa’a camp for Palestinian refugees, I sat with several women and piles of their cross-stitch embroidery. A fan blew the late May heat through a simple but neat room, where we sat on brown couches drinking small goblets of juice, followed by Turkish coffee and tea. Zahieh Ahmad Saeed Abu Rases and her relatives showed me embellished pillowcases, a mirror framed in a kaleidoscope of colors and patterns, clocks stitched on white Aida cloth, and sections of unfinished thobes, traditional Palestinian dresses.

Mauritania and Its Real People

STORY AND PHOTOS BY DAN GLEASON

Northwest Africa’s Mauritania often struck me as a true fly-over state, when I flew over it on my way home from greener parts of the continent. Despite my interest in people and places, from the cockpit of the private aviation planes I pilot, nothing I could see down below in Mauritania attracted me. Rather, looking below, I was all the more glad for sufficient fuel on board to continue to Western Sahara or Morocco or maybe even the Canary Islands. Every time I crossed it, the country tidily became an uncompelling memory as soon as I exited Mauritanian airspace.

But that all changed after it became one of my destinations.

Losing Naïveté While Advocating for Afghans on Capitol Hill

STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAMI L. RICE

I spent a May afternoon rushing through the wide halls of the U.S. Senate office buildings. It wasn’t the first time I was on Capitol Hill this past spring, but this time I chanced being late for an important flight because the clock was ticking on this issue that kept me coming back to the Hill. The next morning, I learned that day’s meetings had seemingly been for naught.

Yalda: An Afghan Winter Story

MIXED-MEDIA VIDEO BY “TILL WE HAVE FACES
INTRODUCTORY TEXT BY HEATHER M. SURLS

Setara, a 17-year-old from Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, remembers falling asleep at her grandmother’s house as a girl. Grandma Gul, or Grandma Flower, would sit beside her with a cup of chai and rock-sugar candies and tell her stories. One of these was the story of Yalda, a traditional Afghan tale about a village girl who meets a feared “witch” on the longest night of the year.

A Widow and a Child: Sexual Violence Is Not About Sex

A BOOK EXCERPT BY SARAH DAWN PETRIN

An excerpt from “Me Too: A Global Crisis,” chapter 6 of Sarah Dawn Petrin’s book BRING RAIN: Helping Humanity in Crisis

As an international relief worker whose career spans 20 years and 20 countries, I’ve worked to address many problems caused by war, disaster, and disease. But the one that has confounded me the most is sexual violence, which affects one in three women globally.
In order to end the cycle of violence against women, it’s important to understand why sexual violence is taking place.

My Neighbors From Myanmar Taught Me to Receive

STORY BY HEATHER M. SURLS

PHOTOS BY HAWA IMAGES, USED BY PERMISSION OF WORLD RELIEF CHICAGOLAND

Years ago, a neighbor gave me a glossy 4×6-inch picture of Myanmar politician Aung San Suu Kyi backed by the red and yellow of the National League for Democracy’s flag. I no longer remember the giver’s identity—at that time my Burmese neighbors numbered in the hundreds—but since the country’s late-January military coup that imprisoned Suu Kyi and others, Myanmar (formerly Burma) has been on my mind.

When I reflect now, those three years among the Burmese were like bootcamp for me, a foundational, immersive course in relating to people different from me. At that time, I didn’t realize this would be a preparatory phase for longer-term work among refugees. I moved in with the idea that I would help them—I did not know how much my neighbors would shape me.