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Serving coffee in America, under fear of death from the Taliban in Afghanistan
At a coffee shop in northern Virginia, you'll find a taste of the Middle East.
But President Trump's travel ban has turned the stomachs of the owner and her staff. Layla Atik is from Yemen, her employees are from Afghanistan and Eritrea, three of the 12 countries on the restricted list.
"I see firsthand the struggles that my own colleagues go through, and they're very hard-working people," Layla told me. "So, coming here, they're adding value to this economy.
They're not coming here and causing trouble or anything," she added. Atefeh Aslami, who works in the cafe, fled from Afghanistan but now fears she won't be granted asylum in America.
"If I go back to Afghanistan, the Taliban will kill us," she said. "My children don't want to go back to Afghanistan, especially my girl, who will not be allowed to go to school.
"It's a matter of life for me, for my husband, for my children, for all of us." Pouring from a cezve, a Turkish coffee pot, her Afghan colleague Zahir Moradi said: "If someone is trying to come here… it's because they need help, because they want to live a better life, that's it." A wall, emblazoned in gold with the words "life begins.
Amir Nisi
Creative and experienced content writer with 6+ years of experience lazy to create unique content strategy for News5 to turn website visitors into customers.
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