Mahnaz Akbari, the commander of the platoon, additionally doesn’t have asylum. She has used her English language expertise to work for a nonprofit in Washington. She mentioned she tries to maintain morale excessive even when the ladies are exhausted, typically by way of group video calls.
Whereas cooking dinner in her Silver Spring, Md., residence final week, Ms. Akbari propped up her cellphone on the kitchen counter, ready for platoon members on the West Coast to affix.
Throughout these calls, the ladies change images, share Afghan recipes that may be made utilizing American groceries and advise each other on questions on life in the US. What number of bank cards are you speculated to open? Goes to the D.M.V. as unhealthy as individuals say? Ms. Hassani mentioned these calls have turn out to be a lifeline.
Within the weeks after her asylum interview, Ms. Hassani was consumed by anxiousness, questioning why there had been no replace on her case. She stored replaying the interview in her head, questioning if she had in some way made a misstep. Ms. Hassani mentioned Ms. Akbari’s help helped her keep calm.
“Mahnaz takes time to cheer us up,” she mentioned, “so we don’t hand over.”
Luke Broadwater contributed reporting.