Haseeb

Jan taught two years in the school district we live in.  It was, by far, the most difficult two years of her teaching career.  It was a perfect storm of circumstances all the way around which left her feeling like she jumped out of the fire and into the frying pan. 

Those two years she moved around into different buildings and had different coworkers and many different students.  But there was one student that somehow had his schedule line up with Jan’s for both years.  In fact, the second year their schedules aligned so that Haseeb was in Jan’s room all but 2 hours of the day on the pandemic-altered school day.

All of this time with one student sure creates opportunities to get to know them.  And this could easily be torture if the student is adept at pushing buttons and generally dislikes school, the teacher, or the subject.  But Haseeb was driven to learn and gave Spanish a good try.  It’s not like he actually needed to learn Spanish as he already spoke multiple languages!

On the last day of school of 2021 Haseeb returned his laptop to Jan and mentioned he and his mother were going to return to Afghanistan to visit his siblings and family.  He was extremely excited and Jan was for him, although it wasn’t without a mothering instinct of telling him to be safe and that she looked forward to seeing him in the fall.

The summer flew by and Jan remained in school mode, trying to wrap her head around virtual learning and new requirements. It was hard to take a break from “school Jan”, but that soon changed with information about Haseeb.

During his visit with his family Haseeb was robbed at gunpoint and his visa and passport were taken.  He wasn’t physically harmed but now he was in Afganistan with his mom and no quick way to get back. 

At the time the United States had an embassy and he tried several times to push the correct paperwork through in order for he and his mom to get back.  His father, who was still back in the U.S. had friends that could speak English well and could work on this new problem back home.

And then Afghanistan erupted into chaos and the Taliban took over.  It was a whole new ballgame for Haseeb.  He had to grow up fast…at age 15 he was responsible for moving himself and his mother around the country safely.  Eventually the goal was to find a way to another country that did have a US embassy and then get a plane to a third country that had a more friendly and/or commercial airline path to the US.  It wasn’t easy or safe but eventually he found his way into Pakistan for their next step.

Watching Afghanistan’s government change on television made Jan’s stomach turn.  She called the school to see if Haseeb had made it back.   They informed Jan that he did not but they would “keep him on the roles”.  That wasn’t exactly the news she wanted to hear but it’s also rare for a teacher to have one student for the amount of time that Jan did over two years.  Haseeb was an Afghan son to her!

Out of the blue in September Jan received a notification from an app that the school started to use during the pandemic.  There, on her screen, was a message from Haseeb.  With social media on a major crackdown there remained one lonely option that no one cared about called Schoology! 

So that’s how we followed and encouraged Haseeb as he and his mom moved around the country.  Eventually we moved into more “standard” modes of communicating through WhatsApp and Facebook messenger, but the one new part of virtual learning that Jan loathed was what connected us back to Haseeb.  Jan even changed districts that she taught in but we always, always kept tabs on Haseeb.

Over the next 2 and a half years (!) Haseeb tried his best to get on a plane back to the US.  We tried reaching to senators and representatives.  I know His father was doing everything he could as well.  But more than anything there were a lot of prayers in this time!  I know of several local churches where a whole squad of little old ladies were praying for a teenage Muslim boy that worked hard in school and was guiding his mother around a forgotten and hopeless (Haseeb’s words, not mine!) land.  We would get some messages going and then things would go radio silence until Haseeb had a way to get online. 

Just a few weeks ago I was mowing grass in a graveyard.  This was fascinating because I know now that Haseeb referred to Afganistan as a graveyard as well.  But as I was pushing a mower a message popped up on my phone and said was “We are home”.  Like home, home!  Like Haseeb and his mom were reunited with his dad in little old Carlisle, Pennsylvania.  It was a miracle.

Last Friday Jan, the boys, and I went over to celebrate with Haseeb and his parents.  There was so much to celebrate and catch up on!  It was like worlds colliding of two different families with different backgrounds and faiths but all we could do was smile.  And eat.  We ate a lot, because no matter what nationality or background a mother is from, they know that cooking great food and lots of it is one way to celebrate!  Haseeb said that when there is good food and a common table that people from all different backgrounds become friends.  He is absolutely right.

The odds of returning home were so stacked against Haseeb when Afghanistan fell to the Taliban.  The odds of Jan surviving those two years of teaching mentally and emotionally were pretty slim but Haseeb was a bright spot that kept her going. 

Do you know God breaks your heart for what breaks His?  Jan almost lost her mind for those two years teaching but her heart broke for a student that gave his best effort to learn a 5th (!) language in her class and was stranded in his home country.  It wasn’t enough to just wait and see.  I’d have to ask Haseeb but even at age 14 I bet he felt bad for Jan in the classroom.  He was one of the only ones that actually turned his screen on for virtual classes.  In my mind I can still hear Haseeb and Jan talking on Zoom in virtual Spanish class.  His involvement gave Jan purpose in a time that nothing seemed to matter.

I’d love to tell more of Haseeb’s story but that will come.  He’s a fascinating young man and is so eager to become part of American culture…he is an entrepreneur, student, and will probably make a name for himself with his ideas and personality.  But Jan and I will always know him as the kid that got Jan through a tough time…and hopefully he will remember us the same way.