Tukwila's student poets reassure new refugees: ‘You aren't alone’

Lost friendships; bewildering new schools; family pressure to succeed — those are some of the hallmarks of the teenage refugee experience that sisters Nila and Ada Safi can now describe in heartbreaking and hilarious detail.

They came to Tukwila from Afghanistan in 2019. And they found a poetry workshop that helped them delve into their own journeys. Now they have words of encouragement for other newcomers.

June 20 marks World Refugee Day. According to the United Nations, at the end of last year there were more than 100 million people forcibly displaced around the world. This day is meant to honor "the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country."

Nila Safi just graduated from Foster High School in Tukwila, and her sister Ada Safi just completed junior year. Nila wears flowing clothes in soft colors, while Ada has on a bright pink baseball cap, plaid shirt, and hoodie.

They are two of seven siblings.