A Delicate Matter in the Examination Room
Credit Illustration by Melinda Josie Lives
As told to SEHBA SARWAR JUNE 10, 2016
Unlike most refugees, I wasn’t scared when I came to this country from Ethiopia many years ago. I was confused. But early on, I understood that the first thing you need to do is survive. After a couple of months in Buffalo, I moved to Houston. For three years, I worked as a waitress and did odd jobs, and then I began volunteering at a refugee center in Hillcroft, one of the most crowded places in the city, filled with social-service organizations, apartments and grocery stores and restaurants that sell food from around the world.