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Austin South Asian | October 2021
Seema Azam - Helping Afghan Refugees With Pushto, Supplies And Super Ladies
By Sumaiya Malik When Seema Azam moved to Texas with her husband in 1995, she had no idea that years later, she would be helping Afghan refugees with language services in Austin.
Many went back but some settled permanently in Pakistan entering mostly from NW Pakistan and settling around Peshawar.
She was fluent in three languages, one of them being Pushto, spoken in northern parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
“I remember noticing Afghan children in my class in 6th grade class,” Azam said.
Pakistan is home to more than 1.4 million registered Afghan refugees, many of whom entered Pakistan after the Soviet invasion in 1979, Al-Jazeera said. At one point in 2001 there were up to 3 million.
I have a lot of stuff in my closet, with clothes and shoes. I started realizing how blessed I am.”
Case managers at RST use interpreters like Seema Azam to help refugees understand how to apply for food stamps, jobs, social security services and to also settle them in homes and start schooling for their children.
She decided to do more than provide interpretation. “I reached out to my friends, and they reached out to theirs to help [gather household items and clothing] the Afghan refugees resettle,” she said.
Out of about a hundred families that Azam has helped over the last three years through the non-profit, only a handful could understand some basic English, she said.
She had also seen Afghans settle around Peshawar, her home city, after the first Afghan War in 1979.
“They were fluent in Pushto, had bought homes and businesses in my city.”
in Texas over the past many years, but now the number has vastly increased.
Now living in Austin, Texas, for the past thirty years, Azam is an independent contractor who provides interpretation services to incoming Afghan refugees hosted by the Refugee Services of Texas, RST. The refugees have been arriving
37,000 Afghan refugees are slated to come to the United States after the U.S. troops pulled out of Afghanistan and Taliban government took over control of the country this August, Axios said on Sept. 16. Out of these, about 4,500 are already in Texas. “I saw that people from Afghanistan left with small backpacks and documents,” she said. “I felt for those people.
Word got out and soon Super Ladies, a WhatsApp group with 85 members from all over Austin invited Azam to join them to help quicken her collection. “Nothing is small and good intentions bring lots of goodness,” Suboohi Humaira, the admin of the group said about the kinds of help they provide to those in need. “The ladies help who ever reaches out to them from funds to pots and pans, and clothing,” Azam said.
“Boxes started arriving on my doorstep,” she said. All these goods will go to RSTX to help the refugee resettle in their new lives. “Wherever I go, people come and ask how they can help,” Azam said. “My garage and shed is full of boxes of home items and clothing.” Azam suggested pledging or donating directly to RST to help the Afghans at rstx.org. “Not only can you pledge anything: furniture, clothing, utensils, you can reach out through email or call,” she said. “They can send someone to pick up the stuff.” She is grateful to the Super Ladies and to all those who reach out to her. “Everybody is doing their part as much as they can,” Azam said.
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Soul Stirring Music By Atif Aslam- Revisited By Sumaiya Malik Pakistani pop singer Atif Aslam whose rocking performance in Austin with Indian star Sonu Nigam in 2016 still rings in our ears is all set for a television debut with a Pakistani HumTV drama serial Sang-e-Mah. The drama is a sequel to Pakistani Pushto drama Sang-e-Marmar from 2016 available for free on YouTube. It is expected to be the second in a trilogy with star-studded cast in addition to Aslam. But Aslam came to fame with his singing career with hits after hits in the music world and song releases in Pakistan, where he hails from. We highlight two of his songs for our readers: Aslam’s Doorie – separation is
hard to endure – shows up on my Spotify list as I drive to run errands in my car. The album released in 2006 is a modern soulful experience where Aslam casts a spell with the depth of his voice to hold the listener in a trance. The modern and traditional mix of instruments unite the then to now and bring what was and what is to co-exist. Although Aslam identifies himself as a pop singer, Doorie clearly establishes him as a soul stirrer as he has done through this song for me. He continues his soulful spell in Tajdar-e-Haram - a song of tribute - that begins with the sitar, a traditional South Asian instrument, and followed by the guitar, a natural modern mix. Aslam uses lyrics to call attention to the presence of a universal
higher being to whom he calls out in prayer for help. The song is far from sad. In fact, it is more like a celebration of life where the caller’s prayers are answered. Aslam released the song in 2015 and was not the first to sing this tribute. Tajdar-e-Haram was first released by the Sabri Brothers in 1996. Their style was more “Qawwali” which according to Oxford dictionary is a traditional style of devotional music particularly tied to Sufis. Atif Aslam’s release brought the song into mainstream pop genre. Aslam’s silver screen debut “Bol” with Mahira Khan became a super hit and showed his caliber as an actor in 2011, but music is his first and foremost passion.
