Afghan refugee making the most of new life, job in Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – One native Afghan refugee is taking advantage of his new alternative in america. A person News4JAX is figuring out solely as Akbary is taken into account a trailblazer at his job in Jacksonville.

“We’re completely satisfied and can modify slowly,” he mentioned. “Every thing will likely be OK.”

Akbary has been working for Patterson Corporations at a achievement middle in Jacksonville.

He’s the primary Afghanistan refugee to be employed there.

“I’ve to do every part for my youngsters, for my 4 daughters,” Akbary mentioned. “I like them a lot. My complete life is for them proper now. My life is already gone. I’ve to make a life for my youngsters.”

Akbary and his household boarded an airplane leaving the airport in Kabul final August to flee Afghanistan after the Taliban took over.

“I used to be simply watching, questioning, ‘How do I get onto the airplane?’” he mentioned. “I used to be mad.”

They made it out with only one bag from house and began a two-month journey. They made stops in Qatar, Washington, D.C., and El Paso, Texas, earlier than ultimately touchdown in Jacksonville 45 days later in October.

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Akbary’s profession was in banking. He additionally did initiatives with america Company for Worldwide Improvement from 2008 to 2010.

Now, he works for a corporation that distributes merchandise for dentists and veterinarians.

Akbary pulls orders as shortly as attainable for patrons, packs them and masses them on a truck. Employees ship about 6,000 packages a day.

“[Akbary] has a optimistic angle,” mentioned Drake Meyer, who’s the Jacksonville Success Middle’s supervisor for Patterson Corporations. “He is able to work on daily basis. No matter we ask him to do, he does it with a smile on his face.”

Meyer employed Akbary in November.

“We actually don’t take into accounts the place he’s from, what’s historical past is,” Meyer mentioned. “If he’s going to come back in and he’s going to work arduous, we’ll work arduous for him, too.”

Catholic Charities helped Akbary safe the job. The group has been serving to refugees and immigrants resettle in America, together with folks from Sudan, Ukraine and Syria.

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Jade Basilius, a job growth specialist with the charity, mentioned Akbary was up for no matter job was supplied.

“It says so much about what he’s keen to do for his household and what he’s keen to do to make life occur right here in america,” she mentioned.

It’s a new life Akbary is eternally grateful to have.

“Because of who helped me from Afghanistan to right here,” he mentioned.

Catholic Charities mentioned it was serving to about one household a month earlier than the Afghanistan evacuation. Now, it helps seven households every week.

It has accepted 200 refugees from Afghanistan in simply the final three months.