The Story of My Life, by Afsa Kimbi

My name is Afsa Kevine Kimbi. Here is the story of my life.

My story before I moved to the USA
I was born in a small city called Bujumbura. It is located in Burundi, East Africa. I lived in a refugee camp called Kavumu with my whole family: my mother, father, my big brother, three sisters, and one little brother who passed away when he was 3 years old. Living in a refugee camp was very horrible because how we had to exchange food just to buy a different food. There is a group of people called UNHCR who help everybody by giving food away like beans, rice, oil, and soybeans. Coming here was very difficult because I had to take a lot of shots and take a lot of medicine and my parents had to sign a lot of papers.  They would send this big bus called OIM-IOM to take refugees from the camp to the city. From there they asked us questions to decide which state to send us to.

My father has one brother and one sister in Congo; and two brothers and one sister in Burundi. And in my mother’s family, there is 1 sister and one brother in Burundi.

Afsa and her siblings with their parents Assani (dad) and Rehema (mother) in a refugee camp in Burundi

My experience in the USA

I was 11 when I moved to the USA with my family.  My father was trained as a painter in Burundi, so he started as a carpenter when he came to Raleigh in 2019. He worked briefly for two months at the Pilgrim Poultry plant but did not like the night shift. He started as a carpenter. He currently makes $18/hour. His starting salary was $15/hour. My mother works at a DHL Store in Raleigh, but she will likely lose her job in July 2024 since that store will likely close then. 

My father's and mother's current income is not enough to pay for rent, groceries, car insurance, and school lunch for all of us. The rent for our apartment is very high. The current rent in the apartment is $1195. The rent in 2019 when we came here was $850. 

There are rats in the apartment. I saw mold in our bathroom, and I called the apartment owner and told them our problem. They sent the person who takes care of the apartments. They only spray painted and added repair charges to the rent. Now people are scared to call the apartment owner because they fear their rent may increase if they ask for a repair. 

 

Afsa and her father, Assani, at their home in Raleigh, NC

                                                          

My goals for the future

Being an immigrant means navigating new cultures and opportunities while holding onto the roots that shaped you.  The fact that my parents don’t speak English well and do not have a green card impacts them. They feel they are not treated like all other human beings because of their different culture, language, and accent. But I want to speak out and let people know that we are all the same, we all have different opinions, and as immigrants, we have the right to do what we want and say how we feel.

 

Afsa speaking during Eid Celebration event at the Fruit of Labor World Cultural Center in Raleigh, North Carolina

          
 

I want all immigrant youth to have a good education. I know it's hard because after high school. you have to decide whether you want to go to college and find out you cannot afford to go to university since it is very expensive. But if you have a good education, you can pay for your children to go to college, and they will take the opportunity to open a business/earn wealth. I recommend that people should take advantage of learning English and not let our immigrant parents down. Most teenagers want to make their parents happy and achieve what their parents could not achieve as immigrants. I understand that school is hard, and you can’t gain success without working hard.