- [female] Promotional suppot provided by Edible Jersey, a quarterly magazine and online publication celebrating the local food of the Garden State for 15 years.

Learn more at EdibleJersey.com.

- [Interviewer] Afghanistan has been at the center of conflict for longer than many of us have been alive.

And there have been three waves of Afghan immigration to the United States starting on Christmas Eve, 1979, when Russia invaded Afghanistan and occupied the country for nearly a decade.

As a result, starting a small resistance group, known as the Taliban, and Afghan families immigrating to the United States in droves.

Next 9/11.

Everyone knows where they were on that fateful day in American history.

For me, it was Miss Callo's eighth grade homeroom class, when we heard the news that the first plane hit the North Tower.

The U.S. invasion that followed, results in Afghan families coming to New Jersey for a better life.

And just recently, in August of 2021, when the U.S. withdrew its troops, and the Taliban once again gained control and took the capital city of Kabul.

We remember the sight of humans literally clinging to airplanes as American troops vacated.

Since then, more than 76,000 Afghan refugees have been brought to the United States.

Today I'm meeting with Arya, Ed and and their league, first generation Afghan men and members of the Afghan Basketball Association.

And I had the opportunity to sit down during the month of Ramadan and break fast with the Muhammad family who left Afghanistan just months ago.

[upbeat music] My Afghan adventure starts in Paramus, at the Syriac Community Hall, where I meet Ed Farooq, the man behind the Afghan Basketball Association of New Jersey.

- Y'all thought I was gonna show up, without an outfit?

Y'all don't know me.

- So Ed, what are we doing here today?

- Tonight is our season two championship game.

- Season two?

- [Ed] Yes.

- All right.

Are we excited?

- We are, because season one, never got finished due to COVID.

- So now the guys are ready.

- [Ed] They are, they are ready.

- They're like, we didn't get a chance last season.

So now this season, we're gonna kick some, stuff I can't say on NJPBS.

How did we get started with this whole league?

- [Ed] One, I love basketball.

Two, I had a lot of younger members of our community reach out to me, and either their talent level or their age held them from playing in other leagues.

So they asked me.

We have 16 year olds here, we have 45 year olds here - [Interviewer] Playing on the same team?

- Playing on the same team.

- When a 16 year old and a 45 year old go head-to-head, is that fair?

- You gotta remember, if you're 45 and still playing basketball, you have a passion.

- [Interviewer] True.

- You know, and if you have a passion, you're probably good.

- [Interviewer voiceover] But this is no ordinary league.

This league is comprised entirely of Afghan men.

- Is basketball a thing in Afghanistan, or this was just all you?

- [Ed] It might not be a thing in Afghanistan, but the Afghans in America love it.

If it wasn't for this league, I wouldn't see these guys.

You build your community, you build your brotherhood.

You know, you build those bonds.

- You were born here.

- [Ed] I was born in America, yeah.

- What did you learn about the Afghan culture from this league?

- I would say most of us are American born.

Very minimal number of people that have actually gone to Afghanistan.

So, you know, this community, we teach each other.

We celebrate holidays that some people never knew existed.

- [Interviewer voiceover] Just like many first generation Americans, Ed has not had the opportunity to visit Afghanistan.

But his connection to his heritage, in part, is through the food.

- What are some of the things that I wouldn't know that you guys are eating?

Because we all think of the usual stuff on those kebabs, things like that.

But what is it that you eat, that I would be surprised to know.

- We have the dishes called, mantu and aushak.

- [Interviewer] What's that?

- They're dumplings- - Like Chinese dumplings?

- [Ed] Afghan style.

- [Interviewer] Afghan style.

Do you and the boys in the league share meals together?

- Absolutely.

After the games, a bunch of us will go to have an array of Afghan food.

- Oh, Okay.

That's it.

Done, wrap it up.

I'm done.

I shot my shot.

- [Interviewer voiceover] For 40 years, Afghan residents have fled their war torn country.

Residents like Jahed or Uncle Joe, as he's known, whose son Arya is an all-star in this league.

This teenager has it made, between the Tesla, the Air Jordans, and that fresh mid fade, Arya is living the life his father always dreamed, and has worked hard to it make happen.

- There's been like 8 to 10 games in the past year.

My dad's pretty much been to all that.

I love him, very good supporter.

- [Jahed] The Russians came in, and it's coincidence that now they're in Ukraine.

The same thing happened in Afghanistan.

They invaded Afghanistan and we have to leave.

We left Kabul, Afghanistan, the capital, late 1979 after the invasion of Afghanistan.

We landed in a country that you could make something out of yourself if you try.

- [Interviewer voiceover] Building community is more than a game, but that same game is bringing communities together.

- [Interviewer] How is this breaking the stereotype that most people think of when they think of Afghan, especially men?

- [Ed] You have your younger pretty boys.

[Interviewer laughs] - [Ed] You have your older guys that want to play.

We have doctors here.

The captain of that team, he's a podiatrist.

His family also owns a restaurant called Kabab Paradise.

- So you guys are doing your part to change the conversation.

- [Ed] Right.

- Well, unfortunately, there is no Table for All league, Thank you, blessings on me.

The winners are getting treated on us, can't wait to see.

- All right, guys, let's go.

Make it a good game.

- [Team Leader] Now lock on three.

One, two, three.

- [Team Together] Lock.

- [Interviewer voiceover] Here we go.

[bouncy electric music] When the season started, each team had eight players drafted by their captains, to not only build up their rosters, but to build up their camaraderie.

Number one in your program and number one in your hearts, is Arya.

Adds points for the team in green.

The stakes for the championship are low.

The fun and energy, high.

And the bonds built between these men, boundless.

And here you have it, the winners and seasoned champions, the lean, the mean, the green.

And true to our word, championship dinner is on us, at one of the team's favorite spots, Kabab Paradise in Teaneck.

- Hey, how are you?

- How you doing?.

- I'm good.

- Nice to see you.

- Are you ready to order -- - Yeah.

- Some amazing food.

- Well, you came to the right place to get the best kebabs in town.

- [Jahed] You can't get better than paradise.

- I mean, Kabab Paradise, so I guess I'm having the kebabs, right?

- [Cashier] All right, you wanna try the Afghani rice that we make?

- What's in it?

- [Cashier] So the Afghani rice is the special rice we make here in the house wih sweet carrots and raisins.

It's like, it's really good.

- Give me the Afghan rice.

- All right, you got it.

- I'm sure you're not going to regret it.

- I will not regret it.

And I'll come for him anyway, it's fine.

- [Cashier] I'll make it extra delicious for you.

- Alright, thank you so much.

- Oh, what a game, huh?

- Yeah, you won, you're a champ.

- You know, I was talking to Ed a little earlier about this basketball league.

So have you found it, I gues, beneficial towards you and, you know, keeping with the Afghan culture to be with this?

- Of course, yeah.

100 percet - Tell me how so.

It unites us, like we get to see each other multiple times a week, and it's competitive, which is good for community.

- Oh yes, I saw you all out there.

Somebody was a little bit of a ball hog today.

You got to do what you got to do, [speaking in another language] 36 points.

- Now, did you play sports as well?

- Always love to play, but never have the chance to because of the the way we came here.

And it was, I was young and we have to keep our head above the water.

- Tell me how that was getting adjusted to.

- We left Afghanistan right after the Russians came in.

And it was really difficult because back then there was no Afghans here.

We were the very first ones to arrive here.

- [Interviewer voiceover] Fortunately, times have changed.

Nearly 50 Afghan men participated in the league this year, a sample of how the Afghan community in New Jersey has grown since Uncle Joe arrived.

- [Jahed] at the age of 16.

I was doing newspaper out in the morning and then going to school and after that was a stock boy in a grocery store.

The good thing about this country is that if you work hard, you get somewhere as if like Afghanistan, if you're poor, one generation, it's so difficult to escape that cycle.

I think that's the American way.

If you work, you'll get somewhere.

- So how do you identify?

American?

Afghan?

- Me, myself, I identify as Afghan American.

I'm very family oriented.

So we we we get together a lot like our family, like cousins, everyone, multiple times a month.

So that's basically what kees me grounded heritage wise - [Jahed] I don't distinguish between Americans and Afghans, just a decent human being.

I think that's universal.

- since we are the champions, are we not?

- [Team Together] Yes, sir.

- All right, that was weak.

Are we the champions or not?

- [Team Together] [louder] Yes sir!

We are the champions - [Interviewer] Afghan guys.

We don't think basketball.

What is this league meant to you?

- [Team Member] I met a lot of my cousins, from in the community that I never talked to before.

Basketball is definitely a staple of the community.

It's keeping us active.

It's keeping us busy.

You know, it's fun.

This is healthy.

Halal, fun.

- [Team Member] The great thing about this organizatio, we are basically playing with people in the community, as I said, like, okay, cousins, friends.

Because of this league, we're actually talking to our community people.

That bond is getting stronger, thanks to Ed and the other organizers.

- I like that it also transfers to your actual lives.

Like I'm here and we've got doctors, we've got lawyers, we've got everybody in this league.

So how does how do you guys help each other outside of the sport?

- Most of us are usually students, young kids coming in.

So we look at them as role models and we say like, Oh, I want to be just like that.

It's just a really good experience to see where they come from then where they're going.

I mean, basketball is just a great way to build our community.

- [Team Member] And the Afghan culture is so diverse, like with the food that you're eating everything, the music, everything, it's just humbling.

And the hospitality, obviously, we're saying because we're Afghan, but I see with my own eyes, whenever a guest comes over, you have this amount of food laid in front of them.

Just because we want to be hospitable so, is very grateful and I'm grateful for being Afghan - [Interviewer] from first generation Afghan-Americans, building communities to Afghn immigrants starting over.

It was a long road to get here for Sabir Khan, his wife, who requested not to be shown and their six beautiful children.

The path to the American drem is just beginning for them.

Five months ago, Sabir and his family undertook the harrowing journey to leave Afghanistan.

They traveled through many Taliban checkpoints and concealed key documentation to avoid searches, all to get to the Kabul airport, to evacuate to the United States.

They eventually made it to Texas to begin the process known as humanitarian parole and now reside here in this small three bedroom apartment in New Jersey.

They say they would certainly have been killed had they stayed.

And they are very grateful to be here, and for all the help they have received.

Through Church World Services and their scaffolded support, we've been invited to an Iftar meal.

I arrived with Jill, one of the family's sponsors, facilitating their transition.

I can't even imagine going to Disney world with six kids is a feat in itself.

Not to mention escaping from Afghanistan with six kids.

Yeah, it's unbelievable.

- Yeah it's crazy - So tell me, just really how hard is it to come to this country if you're from a country like Afghanistan?

- The small things and the intangibles, the things that are really dramatically different from where they've come from.

- Small things like what?

- You know, things like figuring out the kids school uniforms.

Here in Jersey City, the children all wear different uniforms for every grade so.. - Which I had no idea that Jersey City had uniforms for public schools.

Iftar is the meal eaten by Muslims after sunset during the month of Ramadan.

You would think this is a patriarchal society, one where women take up the household duties.

But Sabir Khan is doing most of the cooking.

I'm speaking with Sabir through our translator, Farhad, who escaped Afghanistan and resettled in the United States in 2015.

Learning the language is just one of the colossal tasks that new immigrants in our country must face.

Sabir, can you tell me what we are making?

- [Speaking another language] - [Farhad] Yes.

He says he's making chicken curry and then tomato with chilies to be cooked for another maybe 30 minutes - [Interviewer] in Afghanistan, are we eating mainly meat?

Are we eating mainly grains and vegetables?

What are we eating?

- [speaking another language] He says, in Afghanistan, like, we are foodies.

We love food in Afghanistan.

So usually we're like when we have guests in Afghanistan, we cook while other food and different type of foods.

So that way we can have our satisfaction and we cook a lot of food in Afghanistan.

Usually in Afghanistan, people love meat and rice, all this stuff.

So beside of that also, you know, they like vegetables.

But people in Afghanistan, we do not have vegetarian only vegetarian people.

They eat meat and besides of that, also vegetables.

- Now back to this chicken, that smelling very good.

Um, I have never heard of chicken frying for over an hour.

Is this a special chicken?

Special chicken that I need to know about [Speaking another language] - [Farhad] He said usually it doesn't take one hour because I was busy with you guys and I turned off the gas.

I turned off the gas.

- It's all my fault.

Okay.

It's the Bucky Stout chicken.

Got it.

Now, forgive me for sounding ignorant.

Do most households in Afghanistan have refrigerators?

- [Sabir] [speaking another language] - Due to a lack of like of power in Afghanistan.

So due to a lack of power in Afghanistan, so many people, they don't have a refrigerator.

So usually they go outside, buy their groceries, and right away they cook.

So when they have no place to leave it there.

- So it's definitely, it's cooking every single.

- Yeah, every single day in Afghanistan - There's no no place for leftovers.

Yes.

Okay.

While Sabir prepares the last of the meal I put on my uncle hat, and we take the kids for some fresh air and a little shopping at the local market.

Filled with every kids, no matter where they come from, favorite things; toys, games and candy.

But life in America is still a struggle as it is for all of us.

Even for Farhad, our translator, whose wife and baby are still in Afghanistan, trying to find a way out.

- [Interviewer] How hard is it to be away from your family like this?

- [Farhad] It's very, very difficult.

It's very tough.

You know, like my wife, she's stressing a lot over there because she was in a medical university and the Taliban has stopped them to go to university.

So she's just staying home, you know, without any program, without any education.

- What do you miss most about your family?

- When Iftar, when I was in Afghanistan.

When Iftar and Ramadan, when we break our fast So usually all the family gather together.

We cook many Afghanistan food, you know.

So the family we eat with each other.

So it's all the important things I miss a lot about my family.

- So when you're with Sabir's family and you're, you know, you're breaking fast - Today, to be honest, I thought I'm in Afghanistan, you know.

You know, they cook Afghan food all the all the things one of Afghanistan is.

So I feel the smell.

You know, I feel like home.

- And like with all my nieces and nephews, I've bought way too much.

We return by sunset when the Ramadan fast is broken and Iftar begins.

Can you tell me what is on this magnificent spread?

- This is our Afghan bread.

And it's, you know, like in Afghanistan, when the woman wake up in the morning, the first thing, you know, they make a dough and they cook this bread.

Yeah.

In Afghanistan.

So, yeah, let's say I think.

- [Interviewer] And it's delicious.

- [Farhad] Yeah, it's very, very delicious.

- [Interviewer voiceover] In a traditional meal of fried chicken, beef curry, fried tomato and okra, chicken curry yogurt sauce, a salad and pulao.

- [Farhad] So this is we call kabuli pulao, kabuli pulao.

You know, like we can see it's made.

It's from chicken, rice, raisins and currants.

So this is our main food in Afghanistan.

If your, if you are invited some in Afghanistan, if they don't cook this food for you, it means they didn't they haven't done anything for you.

- Oh, means it means your trash.

- [Farhad] So this is the special Afghan traditional food.

- [Interviewer] Pulao, also known as pilaf, is a staple around the world from Asia to the Middle East and Africa, and inevitably made its way west.

Every country and region has their own variation, and this kabuli pulao is a triumph Is this food how he plans to pass on his Afghan tradition to his kids - [Farhad] He says the kids, you know, they grew up with this food and they love this food - [Interviewer] so they'll be passing this on.

- [Farhad] Yeah, forever.

- [Interviewer] All of this food sounds wonderful and traditional, but there's a special significance to the sodas - In Afghanistan that Pepsi, it's cost ten Afghani in Afghanistan and the Red Bull cost around like 200 to 250 Afghani, which is really expensive in Afghanistan.

If somebody offering you a Red Bull or gave you a Red Bull, that means they respect you.

They love you, and want to keep you happy.

So that's why they gave you a Red Bull on the plane available for you and the napkins.

- Yeah.

So it's like when we in America we whip out the really expensive bottles of wine.

- [Farhad] Yeah, something like that.

- Okay, well, I feel respected and love from this - Tell me about the process because to travel with six children and a wife trying to escape the Taliban is not an easy feat.

- [Farhad] Yeah, that's true.

Yeah.

- Yeah.

So can you explain kind of like what it took and what it what he, what everyone went through to literally make it here safe?

[speaking another language] - He says it was very challenging day in Afghanistan.

There was a team, American soldiers team and they call him from across the province where they live in Afghanistn to take them from there, from close to Kabul by a helicopter.

And then he call his family with U.S. military.

He was secured in a gate, so they help the family out to get inside the airport.

And then from there they went to Germany and from Germany they made to America here - [Interviewer] and seeing all his amazing children, even though it was not on the best of circumstances.

Does he think being here in America is the best move, especially for his daughters?

- [Farhad] Yeah.

He says he see a good future for his children, especially for our daughters.

It's in Afghanistan, it was hard for women to go to schol and and to continue with your education.

So in here, they kind of have a better chance and they can go to college university until they have a good future.

- Where would Afghanistan be without the Taliban?

What would Afghanistan look like without them?

- [Farhad] I can barely say like America or like Europe, Turkey.

To be honest, in Afghanistan, the Taliban want you, You know, when you want to live in Afghanistan, they just want you to be your slave.

You know, like you don't have the freedom of speech in Afghanistan right now.

You do not.

You do you do not have the freedom to choose whatever clothing you want to wear.

So the life in Afghanistan now is like slavery.

Yeah, so nobody want to be slave in these days.

You know, in this technology world, everybody knows that through the media, through the YouTube and all the social media, what's going on in the world.

So everybody know about the other ones, what's going on there.

And nobody, nobody want to be over there.

- [Interviewer voiceover] Soe that come to America do so because this is the land of opportunity.

Others are fleeing because of despicable activities in their homelands.

We are humbled to meet Sabir, Farhad, Jahed, Arya and all these lovely people as they carry on their traditions and develop new ones here.

Yet for many of us in New Jersey, Afghanistan is a place of deployment.

The location of a 20 plus year long conflict that changed lives across the world, including the lives of our neighbors.

I met with three veterans who served in Afghanistan.

Sergeant Major Andrew Ropel, Sergeant Corey Mitchell and Corporal Melvin Peralta, to hear about their experience of the food, the culture and the people they met while they were on active duty.

And nearly everyone had the same sentiments about the Afghans they met while serving.

- So you were embedded with lives with them?

- We lived with them.

We ate with them.

You know, everything went out on missions with them.

We fought with them, cried with them.

- Cultures are very different.

The Western culture, with all the freedoms and our way of life.

In Afghanistan, you don't have that.

Makes you realize that you don't need that much to to be happy.

- You know, they're tough.

They're tough, resilient people in a tough situation.

You can tell they've survived for a long time.

They're happy, the kids are running around.

They want to share food.

- I just had a thrill going through my through my body.

This country is so beautiful.

Mountains are beautiful.

And the people, there were smiles all over the place.

A very, very happy people.

- [Sgt.

Mitchell] This deployment completely changed my mind about Afghan culture.

I learned a lot that, you know, I need to be more open minded.

I need to take the blinders off.

- [Cpl.

Peralta] We had an interpreter.

He said to call him Anthony.

I try to understand the people over there through hi.

- Do you think you and Anthony formed a bond because you guys were so?

- Oh, definitely.

- I became real close with a lot of them.

And they really opened my eyes to not only their personal life, but, you know, their religion and their culture and, you know, the food.

- Well, tell me about that food.

- We used to trade, I would give them MRE's and they would give us, invite us to eat - What are MRE's?

- meals ready to eat, they're the package meals we had.

- Was it a fair trade?

The MRE's, compared to this?

- Oh, definitely.

We were trying to do it every time because, you know, we're tired of MRE's.

I remember the food they were giving us.

It was like wraps, And we would dip in and grab like shredded meat type and had a lot of spice into it, like curry.

It was good.

It was good food.

- We're invited for chai, which was a tea.

We're invited for wonderful feasts with food and naan, which is the Afghan bread.

That's how we build relationships, through the stomach, I guess.

- A lot of goat, a lot of rice.

And we had a lot of fresh vegetables, a lot of naan, really good food.

I don't remember the name of the oil that they used to cook their goat in.

And if I could ever figure that out, don't think for a second that I wouldn't be... - I, I know people, Sergeant.

I can find that out for you, - Could you?

- I can find that out.

- That would be great.

And even how I can get it.

- I could make a phone call - I would love to know how - I've learned that there's different spices, man.

You can make food taste way different.

You can make you can make 100 types of chicken with spices.

Chicken doesn't have to taste the same, and neither does anything else.

- I would love to go back and visit beautiful, beautiful country.

- The country itself, it's beautiful.

Has a lot to offer.

- Sometimes people come up to us on the side of the road and try to give us food and they give it to us.

Once you get to know them, they're normal people.

They are just living their lives and they're just in a place where war is going on.

- [Interviewer voiceover] If the ABA and the Muhammad family didn't prove it already, Afghanistan is not a monolit.

Many of these people are just like us, working hard to better their lives and the lives of their families.

For many of us in New Jersey, our relationship to Afghanistan is the war.

There's so much more; culture, faith, family, hope and resilience.

[upbeat music] - [female] Promotional suppot provided by Edible Jersey, a quarterly magazine and online publication celebrating the local food of the Garden State for 15 years.

Learn more at EdibleJersey.com.