During the Tabaski celebration every family (who has the means) slaughter a goat and then spend the rest of the day eating it and sharing it with their friends and families. They ask for forgiveness to everyone for any wrongs they may have committed. I wanted to write an email to all of you asking for forgiveness but I thought that might be overdoing it.
Last night I called many of my Muslim friends in the U.S. to wish them a happy Tabaski. During the five months I lived in Ethiopia I lost touch with a lot of people and yesterday it was wonderful to catch up with friends I haven't talked to in a long time. One of my friends had exciting news to report! I met him while teaching English in Brooklyn and we became good friends. He had endured many hardships while waiting for his asylum case to be processed.
He had already been waiting four years and still had not received any updates or communication. This sounded unbelievable to me so I wanted to help see if an American accent could get some answers for him. Together we called USCIS on conference calls many times. Each time, we hung up the phone frustrated by the lack of information provided and the never ending instructions to wait. It seemed so unfair to ask someone to wait four years to see his family and four years to work legally. Yet his attitude was always positive and willing to accept any outcome. He believed that asylum was worth waiting for. Finally, nearly two years since we began calling, he received his green card in the mail last week! So now he is planning his visit home to Senegal and he is looking for a new job. I love happy endings.
Speaking of happiness, here are a few pictures from my fabulous Tabaski celebration:
Aww. Looks like you had a good time. Wonderful news about your friend too!
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