May 17, 1998
760 Southern Arizona high school seniors triumph
Teens plan careers in medicine, music, media
Service benefits AIDS patients, the environment, accident victims
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May 17, 1998 |
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OVERCOMING OBSTACLES 760 Southern Arizona high school seniors triumph |
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GOAL-ORIENTED Teens plan careers in medicine, music, media |
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HELPING HANDS Service benefits AIDS patients, the environment, accident victims |
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| Express Yourself | ||
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Ben Kirkby,
The Arizona Daily Star
Shaban Barzanjy, who quickly improved her English proficiency, knows education is important.
By Monica O. Armenta
Special to The Arizona Daily Star
A year ago, Shaban Barzanjy's family was forced to leave their homeland of Kurdistan because of Saddam Hussein's death threats.
The Barzanjy family boarded a bus and left northern Iraq in the pre-dawn hours of April 9, seeking protection from a government that they once respected.
``It felt so strange, I was really sad because I knew I was leaving my country. We just kept getting further and further away and I was sadder and sadder,'' said Barzanjy, 18, a Catalina High Magnet School senior.
Moving across the globe has not erased the pain of leaving friends, relatives and her war-torn homeland, Barzanjy said.
``I especially miss my cousin (Awin Kamil) and my best friend (Venos Ophman). The three of us were very close, like family,'' she said sadly.
She said she still struggles with memories of her family being among 6,000 Kurdish refugees who were moved by the U.S. government to the States in 1997.
Barzanjy said her father, Arshad, 53, an agricultural engineer, worked for the U.S. government in the Kurdish Relief Organization.
The agency helped Kurds with employment and food, but it was forced to close when the Iraqi government threatened to kill anyone working for the United States, Barzanjy said.
Since moving to Tucson, her family has become closer, said Barzanjy, a part-time supermarket bagger.
Her father, mother, Tala, 40, and brother, Nasyar, 19, work in a garment factory. Their wages help support the family, which includes Sahan, 13, and Zanyar, 10, Barzanjy said. The six live in a two-bedroom apartment.
Barzanjy said she knows education is important and can lead to a better job. Hoping for a better life, Barzanjy delved into her studies - improving her English proficiency with incredible speed, said Anne Bedford, one of Barzanjy's teachers.
``She is an excellent student who has a thirst for knowledge and desires to go to the University of Arizona (majoring in biology),'' Bedford said.
In Kurdistan, Barzanjy, who had studied English, was one of the top students in an all-girl school. She was a few months away from graduation before moving to Tucson.
``The schools are much easier here, and homework is not really hard,'' Barzanjy said.
Making friends was difficult, though. ``In my old school, it was like everybody was best friends. We were all very close,'' she said.
Barzanjy said she was lonely until she met Darya Nachinkina, a foreign exchange student from Moscow.
Barzanjy added that she and Nachinkina became best friends because they were both united by the emotions and experiences of suddenly living in a foreign country.
The two spend time at parks and the Reid Park Zoo, and plan on experiencing malls and movie theaters together.
Barzanjy said she has much to learn about the United States - her new country - before returning to Kurdistan to visit relatives and friends.
``I don't know if I want to return permanently. But I know I want to see the people I left behind.''
Monica O. Armenta is a senior at Pueblo High Magnet School.