Afghanistan

Ahmed

Ahmed was shot twice by police as he crossed borders with his children.

Ahmed Story Update
Ahmed Portrait

July 2016

Ahmed was an Afghani antique trader and left it all - his business, home and fatherland - to protect his family from violence.  He was shot twice in the feet by police as he struggled with his seven children to cross the borders.  Ahmed left for Germany from Afghanistan during the winter, making it nearly the whole way on foot.

Click here to read more of Ahmed’s story in a featured article written by Melissa for BYU Magazine.

Melissa 1 Article
©2017 MELISSA DALTON-BRADFORD / TSOS

Melissa and the Khan family first connected in a tent refugee camp with over 500 residents an hour away from her home. (Melissa, in the bottom right-hand corner, took this selfie.) The camp has since been closed and the Khans and other residents have been housed in various types of living quarters in communities throughout the state of Hessen in Germany.



JANUARY 2017 UPDATE

BYU Magazine readers rated TSOS founding member Melissa Dalton-Bradford’s article titled “Strangers No More” their most popular article in 2016. In her article, Melissa documented the story of the Khan family and their long, terrifying flight from Afghanistan to Germany where she connected with them in a refugee camp:  
https://magazine.byu.edu/article/top-10-byu-magazine-stories-of-2016/

About the success of her article, Melissa says, “If this type of article resonated with readers, I believe it should be accredited to the Khan family and to the readers. The Khans, with their resilience and cohesion in spite of horror and deprivation, speak to us because we share a human heart. I’m grateful I was able to transmit this story to others and I hope to write many more such stories.“

Melissa began working in refugee camps in the Frankfurt, Germany area in the fall of 2015. She continues to be personally involved in assisting displaced individuals in the asylum and integration process. Watch for more of Melissa’s articles in 2017 as she continues to share insights and stories of other migrants seeking a safe place to live.

Informed Consent

Our team members obtain informed consent from each individual before an interview takes place. Individuals dictate where their stories may be shared and what personal information they wish to keep private. In situations where the individual is at risk and/or wishes to remain anonymous, alias names are used and other identifying information is removed from interviews immediately after they are received by TSOS. We have also committed not to use refugee images or stories for fundraising purposes without explicit permission. Our top priority is to protect and honor the wishes of our interview subjects.

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