(melodramatic music) - In Afghanistan, I didn't want to go outside because I was scared.

- We had security guards around the house.

- I never went to school, not even when I was little.

- I remember one of the women saying something in Dari, and I asked her what did she say.

She said, "Drop by drop, "we make a river."

And she meant the women, together.

(melodramatic music) (bells tingling) - My name is Gul.

I'm from Afghanistan.

I live Pittsburgh.

I come here three years ago.

- We were asked to create a new work for and with the refugee population of Pittsburgh.

It's a commission that four artists received from the Office of Public Art.

In America, we have this special immigrant visa program.

It's intended to bring over all of the folks that work with the US military as translators and contractors.

I chose the Afghan community, in particular the Afghan women, because the men already spoke English very well.

The children would learn so quickly.

And the women would still be completely isolated because of language.

- First, when we came here, we don't have any family.

We don't have any friends.

This culture is new for us.

The language is new.

I was so sad on that time.

- [Molly] I realized that our project had to focus on the women.

I spent the whole first year getting to know them better.

The refugee resettlement agency had just been starting a sewing group that became a sewing group specifically for the Afghan female community.

[Afghan Woman] - It was so fun in the sewing class.

We were about 10 or 11 women that we work together.

- When I come here, and I go for sewing, I feel like I am here!

I live in this world!

(laughs) - There have been really interesting and beautiful friendships that have arisen that were not there before.

(lighthearted music) I got to know the women and their dynamics, who's making everyone laugh, who's making everyone roll their eyes, what is the sisterhood happening in the room, and came to really love these ladies.

(mellow music) We often think of public art as visual art, like a mural.

So receiving this commission as a writer was really interesting.

I had no idea what I was gonna do.

We looked at Etsy stores.

I said you could do a collab model, thinking all the whole time it was gonna be about crafts.

But one of them was like, "We're amazing cooks.

"We have been cooking our whole lives.

"And we wanna start a food business."

(speaks in foreign language) (speaks in foreign language) (speaks in foreign language) - They wanted to cook.

And offer their talents that way.

Theater offered this incredible way to borrow someone's body to tell their stories.

The Afghan women got to choose their own actors.

- We got to know one another.

We did little activities with each other.

And then afterward, they looked at all of our pictures on the table and they decided who they wanted to portray them in the show.

(speaks in foreign language) (speaks in foreign language) - Hello, I am Gul.

How are you?

Welcome to my house.

(mellow music) - [Molly] The food was made by all of the Afghanistan women.

It really felt the way it feels when you go to an Afghan home.

Their children are serving the food and you're all eating together as we're talking.

I would ask them, "What do you want Americans to know about you "and about your culture?"

- My father grows apples at his house.

Apples and cherries.

- Panjshir is in the northeast.

Here.

See?

- Most of them received what's called a night letter, which is a letter from the Taliban saying, "You are a target.

"We're gonna kill you."

- It's not easy to leave your family, your friends, but we are not safe.

- I go and watch my wife, and she's program.

Some people cry, and I cry.

- [Molly] The husbands are all just weeping, just remembering family and the beauty of home.

- Sometime I'm happy and sometime I'm sad for this, my story.

- Sometime I miss my family, my culture.

- But, I am learning English better, I'm going to take more ESL, and cooking.

I want to learn to cook in a business.

- I love to have my own business.

- Cooking business, yes, I love, I love cooking.

- I can go out.

I can have job by myself.

- (speaks in foreign language) (speaks in foreign language) (speaks in foreign language) - We want to show for people, Afghanistan people, not only war.

Afghanistan people make good cook.

Afghanistan people, good talking.

Afghanistan people like peace.

(children laughing) - We are committed to this project as something that's ongoing, as a way for people to get a sense of that cuisine and that culture, and really, hopefully little by little change that perception of all war, all conflict, into seeing the many, many facets of Afghan culture that are really beautiful.

- My dish is very good.

- The food is really delicious.

- Very delicious.

(lighthearted music) - There is no reason why they can't do this, and I think they're ready.

(lighthearted music) - We are at the final celebration for the Office of Public Art residencies.

They're here as caterers.

This is really their first job.

The Office of Public Art decided to hire them as one of the caterers for this event.

To see them today and see how they interact and the warmth and the laughter is really great.

(lighthearted music) - [Afghan woman] (speaks in foreign language) (speaks in foreign language) (lighthearted music) - [Afghan Woman] This is the gift that America gave us.

(lighthearted music)