On Sunday afternoon, the Siddiqi family waited in their driveway to welcome Congressman Joe Neguse and his family to their new Broomfield home. Ahmad Siddiqi remarked on the view of the Rocky Mountains from his new home’s front yard.
“The mountains are small, but they remind me of home,” he joked.
Neguse, D-Lafayette, paid the family a visit for lunch, hoping to better understand the needs of the Afghan community in Broomfield and to learn more about the country from which they were forced to flee. The Siddiqis greeted their guests with kahwa, a traditional Afghan green tea, and invited everyone in their home to sit and chat before lunch was served.
The family arrived on Oct. 5 to Denver, having travelled almost 7,300 miles from Kabul, Afghanistan. After about a month and a half in Colorado, the family of six — including four children, all under the age of 10 — are beginning to settle down.
Three of the Siddiqi’s older children have been enrolled in Broomfield-area schools, near the two-bedroom carriage house a Broomfield police officer is renting to the family at a discounted rate. The family found a grocery store in Aurora that carries food that they used to buy in Afghanistan, which also feels a little bit like home.
“You see that many people in the grocery store who are visiting are also Middle Eastern!” Ahmad Siddiqi said while smiling.
He and his wife were even able to go out on a date in Denver, visiting a Lebanese steakhouse.
“The move has been very good. Everyone has been very welcoming,” he said.
Still, the move has been an adjustment for the Siddiqis. In Afghanistan, the family had drivers, a housekeeper, and guards. Now, the Siddiqis rely on the generosity of Broomfield Community Foundation volunteers to get around, while Ahmad Siddiqi practices driving to earn his driver’s license.
The Siddiqis decided to leave Afghanistan after the Taliban took control of the country in August, making it more and more unsafe for people like Ahmad Siddiqi, who previously worked for the U.S. forces as an interpreter.
Broomfield City Council member Heidi Henkel and her husband Scott, who had worked with Ahmad Siddiqi in Afghanistan, were able to assist the family in leaving the country earlier last month.
Neguse worked alongside the Henkels in the extrication process. He was able to secure Ahmad Siddiqi a special immigrant visa, as well as expedite a work permit, both of which were instrumental in helping the family relocate. The husband and father is in the process of interviewing as a project manager at a Denver-based company.
Heidi Henkel said Colorado is likely to receive around 1,000 Afghan refugee families like the Siddiqis, with another family scheduled to arrive in Broomfield this week.
Henkel says that though the community has been very supportive and welcoming to these families, there is still a great need for funding and donations during the re-settlement process.
In response to the anticipated influx of families seeking asylum in Broomfield, Henkel and a team have put together a special Afghan resettlement fund under the Broomfield Community Foundation. The fund will assist families in paying for relocation costs like housing, medical bills, eyeglasses, job or school application fees, and transportation. The foundation is also looking for volunteers to assist with driving and interpretation, as well as cultural mentoring. Those interested in donating should visit bit.ly/3E5WprW while those interested in volunteering should visit bit.ly/BroomfieldAfghanVolunteers.
