Growing up in Afghanistan, Nazia developed a true passion for teaching at a young age. She became an English instructor when she was in 10th grade, and for years, continued teaching for little or no money, eager to gain experience.
“Teaching has been my dream job. In our country, people don’t have a good perspective about teaching – they think it’s a simple job, but it’s the hardest and most important job. A doctor once had a teacher. A president once had a teacher.”
With time, Nazia became successful and well-known in her profession. While completing her university degree in education, she taught English to both children and university students, and then after graduating, accepted a role teaching adult learners online. With hard work and sacrifice, she had built a life for herself doing what she loved.
A dark cloud
Then, the Taliban came and took it all away. It was 2021, and Kabul had fallen in what felt like an instant.
“[Women] lost the right to get an education and have a job. We couldn’t travel alone, we had to have a guardian. It felt like a really big, dark cloud had come over our country and it was not going to move away. It made everything dark. You felt like thunder was going to hit you; the thunder was the Taliban.”
As a woman, it was now illegal for Nazia to teach. It took her a full year to find an opportunity to do so anyway—a decision which came with real peril.
“Taliban were living in our neighborhood, so when I taught, I would close all the windows and doors. I felt afraid they would hear my voice talking in English, and I would cause danger for my family.”
The Taliban did their best to fan the flames of her fear.
“Two separate times, I received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number with a profile picture of the Taliban, asking me ‘Have you started teaching again?’ I deleted the message and blocked the account. It was terrifying, but I didn’t stop because there were a lot of women who needed education, they needed a light in the darkness. My class was not only for teaching English, it was to give students motivation to be brave, to never lose hope.”
Nazia did not give up. In fact, she wanted to do more. She decided to start a social support and education group for fellow women living under the Taliban, which she named “Lifesaver Girls.” It took her many tries to find an education center brave enough to host this illegal gathering, but with perseverance, she was able to convene one meeting. She felt she had to.
“After the Taliban took over, most of the girls got disappointed and depressed. This group motivated them. When they first came to the meeting, you could feel the hopelessness and [see] deep sorrow in their faces. We talked about some successful women who did their best in the hardest situations, and we introduced them to online ways to get an education. At the end of the session, you could see the brightness of hope in their eyes.”
A really hard night
Nazia had been living in Ghazni, a city about two hours from Kabul. In December of 2023, she received a call from the organization that was helping to evacuate her from Afghanistan. They told her to be in Kabul the next morning. Women were not allowed to travel alone, so she set off with her father. They waited 14 days before being evacuated to Pakistan. Then they had to walk an hour in the middle of the night to meet the driver who would take them to Pakistan and then to Qatar.
“It was a really hard night. It was so stressful. At the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, the Taliban checked all of the stuff we had and asked ‘Where are you going? Are you going to a foreign country?’ I told them ‘No, I’m sick.’ My father was pushing me in a wheelchair so they would believe me.”
Nazia told the Taliban that another male relative was waiting for her at the border, so that her father was able to leave her. Then she was alone. She was checked by the Taliban four separate times. When she got to Pakistan, she stayed three nights before being evacuated to a camp in Qatar. It was a difficult period.
“It was like you are in a big jail. You are not allowed to go out of the camp. I was stressed that my case wouldn’t be accepted, and I would think about how I would live in Afghanistan. I would be arrested for leaving the country alone.”
After 28 days, Nazia’s case was approved. She arrived in Boston in January 2024.
Learning how to walk
Nazia with IINE Career Navigator Emma Pond
Within one week of her arrival in Boston, Nazia enrolled in services at the International Institute of New England (IINE). Case Workers quickly helped her get her social security card, enroll in food benefits and health care, and acquire her work permit. IINE’s Education and Employment teams helped her to write a resume, begin searching for jobs, and explore opportunities to pursue a master’s degree. She was also invited to a monthly support group for fellow Afghan women to meet, socialize, share advice, and explore their new city together.
IINE’s Afghan Women’s Group in Boston
Nazia says that the people she meets at IINE are “really kind and helpful. I’m really thankful.” She is adjusting to life in Boston and learning how to navigate new challenges with IINE’s help.
“It has some hardships. I’m getting used to a new environment—living without my family, traveling alone—but it is an interesting experience. Nowadays, I’m like a baby trying to walk, standing and falling down, but still not losing hope. The baby is sure they will learn how to walk even though it is hard. Here in the U.S., I’m learning how to walk. IINE is helping me to learn.”
Finding the light
Even before she came to the U.S., Nazia had dreamed of pursuing a master’s degree and then a PhD at Harvard University. Now this dream feels closer.
“I came to Boston by chance— it’s a really beautiful coincidence. I want to get my master’s and PhD in [Teaching English for Speakers of Other Languages], and one day, become a professor. Everyone says being a Harvard student would be hard; I agree it’s hard, but it is not impossible.”
Nazia is also a writer. She has already had some success—a short story published on the website of a university in Iowa. She’s writing more short stories and hopes to write a romance novel one day. One thing’s for sure: nothing will stop her from striving for her dreams. It’s not easy, but she knows she now has support—and freedom.
“In our country, we couldn’t go out after 5 p.m. Here, I can. I feel safe. There is no Taliban here, no one that will restrict me from following my dreams. When I have a hard time and miss my country, I walk around, and I see beautiful smiles. I feel ‘this might be hard, but I’m in a good environment… ‘I believe that when something is hard, it makes you the real version of you. There might be moments you feel down, like nothing is going to get right, but still in that moment, we can find the light.”
We are proud to have welcomed, resettled, and supported refugees in the New England region for over 100 years. Learn more about ourrefugee resettlement work here.
On Valentine’s Day, people across the world celebrate their love for each other by exchanging cards, candy, flowers, and heart-shaped gifts. While it appears Cupid is particularly busy shooting his love-laced arrows this time of year, we often forget that love doesn’t usually find its way on a Hallmark-sponsored holiday. In fact, many people stumble upon love at a time and place where it’s least expected. Some call this happenstance, others call it fate. The story of Carol and Herbert’s meeting is just that – a story of happenstance that brought two people from different worlds together.
It was March 29, 1962 when Carol arrived at Boston Logan Airport from Scotland. The 21-year-old came to the U.S. for a year-long contract to nanny for a local family after a classmate, who was already working as a nanny in Boston, wrote a letter urging her to come. It wasn’t long after her arrival that her friend introduced Carol to the International Institute of Boston (now International Institute of New England). During their days off, they attended events at the Institute, which was a social hub for the local immigrant and refugee community. It hosted events for locals and immigrants alike such as dances, games nights, and bus trips around the city.
On the rainy evening of June 24, the girls found themselves back at the Institute for dancing after a trip to Thompson Island, one of the Boston Harbor Islands, was rained-out. The young women danced for a short time but decided to leave after receiving unwanted attention from several male guests. Making their way down the stairs from the third floor of the Institute, they found themselves among a group of party-goers on the next landing. Suddenly, a seemingly-confident young man strode over to the girls. “My name is Herbert Schuler,” he said, extending his hand to each, “my friends and I are having a party and would like you to join us.” After a whispered discussion, the girls decided to go with Herbert and his friends even though they were complete strangers. Later they discovered that the 33-year-old had emigrated from Germany six years prior to join his sister in the U.S., and despite his boisterous appearance, was actually quite shy.
After a low-key evening spent with their new German friends, the girls were escorted to the nearest T-station where everyone exchanged phone numbers. The young women agreed that Herbert resembled the young Lieutenant in the musical South Pacific and they both really liked him. A few days later, Carol was surprised to receive a call from Herbert who asked her out on a date. They had such a great time that their first date led to a second, and then a third. The chemistry between the two was undeniable, and when Herbert proposed marriage on their third date, Carol couldn’t refuse. The two became engaged in August of ‘62, and got married the following May.
Fifty-five years later, the couple has three children and four grandchildren whom they see often. Who knows if Cupid was flying around the Institute that night, but Carol told IINE staff that she believes not only are they fortunate to have found each other, but it was the best of luck to have met Herbert at the International Institute of New England all those years ago.
A Congolese family resettled by the International Institute of New England puts tragedy behind them to rebuild their lives in Lowell
Rose Mukundi Muswumba is a not just a fighter, she is a warrior. A widowed mother of ten, Rose struggled to raise and provide for her children on her own after her husband was killed in their native country, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Her husband had been investigating human rights violations, and after his death government officials came for Rose and her children, forcing the family to flee to Uganda in 2004.
Rose could not fathom a life free from fear and despair, but she was determined to give a safer life with better opportunities to her children. She endured numerous obstacles to get to the United States; she engineered her escape from the Congo by convincing a man to let her and her children hide among animals in the back of his truck as he drove across the border.
In Uganda, Rose and her children shared a small two-room apartment, but moved from place to place because militia from the Congo continued to pursue them. Her son Rodrigue recalls how there were days when the family had little to eat if they could afford a meal, they saved half the food because they did not know where the next meal would come from.
After many years of a hardscrabble existence, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees referred Rose and her family for resettlement in the United States.
After a lengthy process, the United States government approved their admission, and they arrived in Lowell, Massachusetts in August of 2016.
“I remember being at the airport when the family arrived,” recalled Jennifer Chesnulovitch, an employment specialist with IINE-Lowell. “Although everyone was exhausted from the long trip from Uganda, I watched Rose smile as her children pulled their luggage off the carousel. Like many of our beneficiaries, the smile signaled a combination of relief and hope.”
Shortly after her arrival in Lowell, Rose began attending IINE’s English classes while her children secured work – a role reversal for the natural caregiver. Within months, however, Rose shared that she also wanted to enter the workforce and fulfill her dream of becoming a nurse. Chesnulovitch recognized her strength as a nurturer and in January 2017 helped enroll her in a Home Health Aid training at Middlesex Community College. Rose used her advanced English skills to speak at the training’s graduation, highlighting how her dream was becoming true.
Upon completion of the training, Rose worked part-time as a home health aide and enrolled in an advanced Certified Nursing Aide (CNA) training program. Soon she will complete the program and be eligible to work as a Certified Nurse.
“My life is much better in the United States,” Rose said. “I have many more opportunities – I can work, save money, attend trainings, and my children have education. I am free. I am happy again.”
Imagine being faced with a terrible choice – risk persecution, imprisonment, and torture, or leave behind everything you’ve ever known for a slim chance at safety? What would youdo, if your survival was at stake?
Every day across the world, people like you and me are forced to flee their homelands because of violence and persecution. This is the reality of an unprecedented 21.3 million refugees worldwide, including the 623 refugee women, men, and children from 20 countries that the International Institute of New England (IINE) resettled in the past year in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. These clients had the courage to fight for new lives, and with our help are now reclaiming the future that was stolen from them.
Recently, I met Hanna Petros Solomon, a refugee from Eritrea who risked her life twice to come to the United States. Orphaned at a young age, Hanna and her siblings had little chance of surviving one of the most repressive regimes in the world. Together, they made the decision to escape – and were caught. For three years, Hanna was transferred from prison to prison, places known to be rife with torture and other human rights abuses.
Eventually, Hanna convinced a prison guard to let her go. This time, she successfully escaped from Eritrea with her siblings and fled to Ethiopia, before resettling to the U.S. as a refugee in 2012 and reuniting with her grandmother and sister in Boston. Yet the safety of family and a new life could not erase the trauma she experienced in her homeland. To acclimate to her new surroundings and transition to American life, Hanna needed the diligent assistance of IINE staff.
Hanna’s caseworker placed her in our English and Cultural Orientation classes at our Boston site, where she learned how to navigate her new city and its cultural expectations. Hanna then enrolled in and graduated from our Hospitality Training Program, and with the help of her training specialist found work as a server at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf Hotel.
Today, Hanna is looking ahead to her next graduation ceremony. As a junior at Tufts University studying clinical psychology, she is determined to help others like her heal from mental and emotional trauma. One day, Hanna would like to return to Eritrea and be a part of fixing its broken mental healthcare system. But first, we are pleased to welcome her as an intern at IINE in Boston this summer.
“I chose to intern at IINE,” explains Hanna, “because I want to show clients and my refugee peers that they can make it in life. They have the chance to change their lives.”
In 2016, the Institute served 1,737 new Americans like Hanna. As our nation wrestles with questions about how open our borders and society should be, IINE continues to provide education, job training, and other critical programming to people seeking safety and the chance of prosperity. Our services are needed now more than ever, and we are grateful for the support and dedication of our community. Thank you for your generous support, and for helping us give newcomers like Hanna a chance to change their lives.
IINE-Lowell and local community groups unite residents and newcomers at shared dinners.
On Jan. 24, 2017, Lowell community members and three newly- arrived Congolese families gathered for a meal at IINE-Lowell’s site office. The potluck meal was hosted by the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Khalil Abdo’s smile disguises the difficult journey that brought his family from Syria to Lowell, Massachusetts. In 2013, war and violence forced them to leave their homeland, and in 2016 they became some of the few Syrians granted resettlement in the U.S. When the family of seven arrived, Khalil knew little English and relied on interpreters to navigate his new surroundings. In Lowell he faced challenges as he adjusted to a new community, addressed urgent medical issues, and searched for employment. The first months for any refugee in the United States are challenging, yet can be eased by a warm welcome from new neighbors. Last summer, IINE-Lowell staff worked with community and faith groups to organize a series of welcome dinners for newly arrived refugees. Since the launch, 12 refugee families have participated in a welcome dinner, including the Abdo family who attended one hosted by IINE supporters in Andover, Mass.
Held in a local hall, the space was brightly decorated and an array of ethnic and traditional American foods was available for all to enjoy. The dynamic at each welcome dinner is slightly different. When a group of professors hosted Congolese families recently, the hosts and their guests spontaneously broke out in African dancing. At another dinner, the group discussed shared interests and cultural traditions. In Andover, Khalil and his wife and children practiced English and Arabic words with their new friends over chocolate cake.
Welcome dinners are easy to organize, and their impact is enduring. Through the relationships formed, refugees secure play dates for their children, learn about job opportunities, and get insights on the American healthcare system and culture. At the same time, families such as Khalil’s share the experience of their journey with their hosts. This gives American families an intimate perspective on the global refugee crisis. At the end of dinner in Andover, Khalil surprised the organizers by sharing that the evening was his sixth-month anniversary in the U.S. Smiling, he told the group, “This is the first night in the country where I only feel joy, only joy. Thank you.”
Many of these welcome dinners are hosted by Resettle Together volunteers, a growing network of community partners who help refugee families rebuild their lives in New England. They also provide immediate and long-term support to refugees and immigrants on the road to self-sufficiency.
IINE Manchester partners with Crotched Mountain to help refugees and immigrants begin healthcare careers
The biggest challenge for Khem Basnet when he arrived in the U.S. was studying for his driver’s license exam and buying a car, which was vital to getting a job in New Hampshire. In 2008, the International Institute of New England resettled Khem and his family from Nepal to Manchester, an area with vast expanses of highways and country roads. In order to help support his family, he needed a car.
Khem quickly achieved his goal of passing a driver’s test and buying a used car. He was able to get a job at a fast food restaurant, and for three months Khem worked 80 hours a week to make ends meet. His life in America bore little resemblance to life in his homeland where he was an accomplished teacher. When he applied for a position as a residential counselor at the Crotched Mountain Foundation, a rehabilitation center in Greenfield, NH that serves students and adults with severe disabilities, he assumed this was just another job. It was on the Mountain, however, that he found something more than a job—he discovered a career.
“I was able to use my expertise and experience doing something that had meaning and purpose and this is what I share with other foreign staff. At Crotched Mountain, you have the opportunity to do incredibly important work and climb the professional ladder.”
Khem began his career at Crotched Mountain as a Community Residence Manager and worked his way up to manage three residences. He was eventually promoted to his current role as the Human Resources Diversity Recruiter.
Over the past two years, Khem recruited and hired more than 20 IINE Manchester clients as Crotched Mountain staff members. In addition, he holds weekly meetings with the Institute’s staff in Manchester to pre-qualify and prepare new recruits for the demands of being residential counselors and paraprofessionals. “The International Institute is incredibly supportive of us,” he says. “They are one of our strongest partners.”
Today, as he stands in his office at Crotched Mountain overlooking the sprawling horizon of the Monadnock Valley, he has found contentment in a simple truth: New Hampshire is home and is a place where he has found personal and professional success.
eager to gain experience. 
Nazia did not give up. In fact, she wanted to do more. She decided to start a social support and education group for fellow women living under the Taliban, which she named “Lifesaver Girls.” It took her many tries to find an education center brave enough to host this illegal gathering, but with perseverance, she was able to convene one meeting. She felt she had to.
