Personal Essays
Pakistan on the Potomac
“Being a cross-cultural parent in Washington can mean teaching your children the Koran — and then carpooling them to hip-hop…
December 1, 2018Featured Posts and Latest Stories
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Refelections30 days 30 refugee stories
Each Ramadan for the past seven years, I’ve been keeping a blog to share the essence of the month.…
June 23, 2017 -
Personal EssaysNot My Mother’s Ramadan
“This annual spiritual journey is boot camp for my soul.” It’s predawn on the first day of Ramadan, 2009.…
July 1, 2010 -
RefelectionsKindSoup for the Soul
On Saturday, we gathered in our kitchens via zoom for our first ‘KindSoup for the Soul’. The soup of…
November 23, 2020 -
FeaturesThe Art of Papercutting
As a teenager growing up in Pakistan, Tusif Ahmad would take a van from Rawalpindi to Islamabad to visit…
August 24, 2020 -
Personal EssaysKindWorks: Nurturing Community and Volunteerism
KindWorks is an organization that promotes community and service through organizing daily volunteer opportunities based in the Washington, D.C.…
April 17, 2020 -
Refelections“Master of My Own Destiny”
A group of teens from DC area high schools, part of a nonprofit called Project Turquoise (PT), traveled to…
January 5, 2020 -
RefelectionsKindness Wins!
“We believe that each one of us can make a difference, right now. We may not be able to…
June 28, 2019 -
RefelectionsImagine
Zayd tutored English and Math and coached soccer at a camp for refugee students organized by the International Rescue Committee…
June 26, 2019 -
Refelections“She never met a stranger”
This is George, outside his childhood home in Mclean. His mom Evelyn lived here for 65 years, until…
September 27, 2018 -
RefelectionsBlanche
Blanche Porway, a Holocaust survivor, would have been 95 years old next month; she passed away a few weeks…
April 13, 2018 -
30 DaysMohammad’s Wish
It was New Year’s eve, and my daughter Saanya and I were at Skaramangas camp outside Athens, Greece…
June 20, 2017 -
30 DaysMy goal is my mother
Athens, Greece We met Fahim the first evening we arrived in Athens. He is a professional soccer player, and used…
June 1, 2017 -
30 Days“If we don’t care, who will”
Raghad Bushnaq has been helping people in need in informal ways for at least a dozen years, but when…
May 30, 2017 -
30 DaysThe Dressmaker and the Bride
I first met Nader, 42, when KindWorks, a nonprofit I help lead, organized a welcome dinner for recently arrived…
May 28, 2017 -
RefelectionsThe Art of Aadil Abedi: An Invitation for Conversation
At a time in this country when even the sight of Arabic writing can make some people nervous, Aadil…
April 27, 2017 -
RefelectionsHumans of Mother Earth (HOME) – Travel Edition
As many of us are enjoying our summer holidays, some traveling abroad, others staying closer to home, I have…
August 4, 2016 -
RefelectionsEDHI
Abdul Sattar Edhi, arguably the world’s greatest and least known humanitarian, passed away last Friday; he was 88 years…
July 19, 2016
