The Advocate

(Image from JRS USA ) After fleeing Afghanistan, the Qureshi family came here to San Leandro for a better life. Unfortunately, the parents have fallen ill, and the family cannot afford rent, bills, or even basic needs like food. Their teenage daughters are students at the local high school. They're trying to stay in school and take care of their family, but currently they have no income or support. Here's their plea in their own words: "My name is Sapna, and I’m sharing this with deep sadness. My twin sister Hosna and I are students at San Leandro High School. Both of our parents are very sick and unable to work. Because of their health, our home has no income right now. We cannot afford rent, bills, or even basic needs like food. Every day is a struggle. We try to stay strong for our parents, but it’s hard. Watching them suffer while we feel helpless is the most painful part. My sister and I are doing our best we want to stay in school and take care of our family, but we’...

(Zdzislaw Beksinski, 1973, Untitled) There were so many times in my life that I should've died. So many times when I should've been lost. So many times when I shouldn't have made it. Maybe it's the fact that I'm nearly 40 when I never thought I would've lived to see 30. Maybe it's just the precarious state of the world and I'm feeling like I've never stopped fighting against all the terrible things destroying it. Maybe it's nothing but cobwebs in my ear and something even more ephemeral in my chest. But here I am at my desk typing away past 2 AM. Memories coursing through me like haunting ghosts and flashbacks faster than bolts of lightning surging across tormented skies. *** I was 1 year old in 1987, laying at the foot of the stairs I'd been knocked down, arm and leg broken, crying for help, but none came until my parents found me hours later almost unconscious while the babysitter was watching Saved By The Bell. I was 2 years old and my mot...