KANSAS CITY, Mo. — With their minds on cooler weather ahead, Sadiq Sharifi and his family gathered items for refugees who recently resettled in Kansas City.
Sharifi moved his family from Afghanistan to KC three years ago. After working for the Army Corps of Engineers for years, they sought safety in the States.
“The biggest thing was the weather,” he said. “The weather changes here maybe every day, every hour.”
This differs from the climate he and other refugees were used to. While the Sharifi family prepared for their departure in 2019, refugees who settled here within the last year did not have the luxury to save up money and pack an array of clothes.
“We know what they need right now,” Sharifi said. “We know the culture. We know the language.”
About a month ago, a suicide attack in Kabul killed more than a dozen people. Among the dead were girls going to school, many of them Hazara like Sadiq.
“It’s very painful for me when I saw in my country what’s going on,” Sharifi said.
As a leader in Kansas City's Afghan community, Sadiq hosted a gathering to stop attacks on the Hazara people.
Kansas City protest #StopHazaraGenocide pic.twitter.com/irTgsATH7u
— Sadiq Sharifi (@Sadiq_Sharifi) October 9, 2022
He wants to set an example for his daughter, who started school just this year.
“I don’t have anything to do, [the] only thing is we are going to raise our voice and we stand for the people,” he said.
The Sharifi family says they need smaller winter items for young children and small adults.
If you’d like to donate, email sadiq.sharifi.af@gmail.com.
