Written by Melissa Dalton-Bradford
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 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.