BY HELAINA COZZA AND VICTORIA SOMMER
Staff Writers

Many students do not realize the many experiences and struggles some of their classmates have endured.

The refugees in Baldwin-Whitehall School District represent about 20 different countries, mainly from Asia, with some also from Eastern Europe and Africa. Baldwin-Whitehall has the highest percentage of refugee students of the 42 school districts in Allegheny County and the second-highest percentage in the state.

“Assimilation is a difficult process,” English as a Second Language teacher Katherine Musselman said. “Fortunately Baldwin’s students and staff are kind, helpful, and empathetic.”

Four of these students share the stories of what their lives were before, and how they assimilated into American culture as part of their long road to Baldwin.

Emrakh Akhmetov

Akhmetov, a freshman, escaped Vladimir Putin’s strict reign in Russia at the age of 9. After departing from Russia, Akhmetov moved to New York.

“It was very scary at first because everyone else spoke a different language,” Akhmetov said.

Life in Baldwin was a big change compared to life in Russia, mainly because the school systems there were very strict.

“They would whip you as a punishment, but when your parents would come around the teachers would be very nice,” Akhmetov said.

Unlike many people in Russia, Akhmetov’s family had their documents so they were able to leave easily. He made the trip to America with his parents and his brother.They had to leave his grandmother, aunts, and uncles behind.

Although he is thousands of miles away from them he continues to keep in contact with them. He has made one trip back to Russia since his departure. If he had not moved he would have been enlisted in the army.

Hem Pokhrel

Pokhrel, a senior, left his camp in Nepal in 2008 to start a better life in America. Before coming to Baldwin, Pokhrel lived in Boise, Idaho.

Although Pokhrel grew up in a Nepali camp, he is of Bhutanese descent. His family escaped Bhutan due to religious conflict, before he was born.

“The Nepali camp was awfully bad, because there was too much pollution. Everyone lived so close together and there was a lot of violence,” Pokhrel said.

They left Bhutan because the majority of people follow the Buddhist religion, whereas Pokhrel’s family practices Hinduism.

His time in Nepal was much different than the typical life at Baldwin High School. The schools did not have much technology and the students would sit on a mat on a floor. The teachers were very strict.

Before coming to America, students in the Nepali camp are taught English.

“In Baldwin there are so many Nepalese students. It was easier to make friends with people of the same language,” Pokhrel said.

Pokhrel plans to attend the Pittsburgh Technical Institute next year to study programming. He also plans to go back to Nepal with his parents.

“You’ll always kind of miss the place you were born,” he said.

Htayaw Taw

Taw, a senior, is originally from Burma, now known as Myanmar, but when the dictator Than Shwe forced her Burmese ethnic group out, she went to a six month Thai refugee camp, before coming to America.

In Thailand they lived in bamboo houses that were very close together and the food was scarce.

In order to escape the camp, Taw and her mother, father, and three siblings were transported by a solider.

When she was in fourth grade she came to Pittsburgh and the language barrier was a struggle. Fortunately, she was able to make friends quickly.

“Everyone seemed so nice, and they taught me English and I taught them my language,” Taw said.

She plans to attend CCAC in the fall for two years and then transfer to IUP to study accounting. She hopes to go back and visit her country.

Baldwin has made a great impact on Taw’s life, “I feel like I grew up here,” Taw said. She particularly likes the diversity and kindness of the students and teachers.

Abdullahi Abdullahi

Abdullahi, though born in Somalia, grew up in a refugee camp in Kenya. He lived in Somalia for a year, but moved to Kenya due to a war. In the camp, they lived in mud huts, around many people, he said.

Abdullahi moved to Pittsburgh on Oct 26, 2006. He has another sister who is married and still in Kenya, who plans to come to America within a year. He came over with his parents, two brothers, and his sister. He did not know much English, but found it easy to pick up. He can speak Swahili, Somali, and English, but Somali is what he speaks at home.

He moved to America in order to receive better schooling. In Kenya, they had to pay for education, and it was not as good, Abdullahi said. He said the schooling here is more challenging.

Another huge difference was the respect level of the students. If they got into trouble in school in Kenya, they would be beaten with a branch.

Abdullahi said in America there is a lot more freedom.

Abdullahi plans to go to school for nursing, and hopes to get a scholarship for soccer, and possibly become a pro.

News Editor Kelli Rojtas and Staff Writer Sarah McCusker contributed to this report.