|
One morning in 2004, Joseph Osman stared at the tedious spreadsheet on his computer in his office at Chevron. His eyes glazed over, he put his head down on his keyboard and began to breathe. Then he did something most young people in his position would never do. He stood up, walked into his supervisor’s office, and told him that he quit. Paycheck, apartment and car aside, Joseph wasn’t happy: He wasn’t living his values, and his father’s voice echoed in his head, reminding him to look back and remember where he had come from: Afghanistan.
Joseph’s middle class parents fled because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan before he was born. He grew up in Louisville, KY, the first in his family to be born in the U.S. Though there was a mosque in Louisville, Kentuckians weren’t used to seeing Muslims, and Joseph grew up as default ambassador for his faith. He spent much of his adolescence trying to fit in, to the detriment of his grades and — in the eyes of his parents — his family’s reputation.
Soon after Joseph started high school, his father told him he had to make a choice about who he wanted to be. His father still adhered strongly to Afghani culture, where the actions of the sons represent the character of the entire family. Not only would Joseph’s behavior reflect poorly on his family, his father warned, but if he continued down this path he would have trouble supporting himself.
His father’s words put Joseph back on the straight and narrow. He graduated high school at the top of his class, and his work ethic earned him a bachelor’s degree, a master’s in business, and a job at the oil company. But these things weren’t enough. So, after turning in his keys and computer password to his stunned supervisor, Joseph began hunting furiously for a way to go back — and give back — to his country of origin. Speaking perfect Pashto, he was snapped up by Central Asia Development Group, a relief agency giving aid on the ground in Afghanistan. When he arrived in Tarin Kowt, a small town of mud huts with no electricity or running water but inhabited by some of the kindest people he had ever met, he wondered why it had taken him so long to get there.
Now back on American soil, Joseph is still a patient ambassador for his faith and Afghanis. When he’s faced with prejudice or ignorance, his game plan is to keep calm.
“Don’t let things get you riled up,” he recommends to his fellow Muslims. “Arguments get you nowhere.”
Joseph admits that his Muslim friends in Kentucky often feel like giving up because they doubt they’re making much of a difference dispelling stereotypes. But Joseph was inspired by the values and determination passed to him by his father, and he believes the mission he’s on is worth it because he’s making a difference in the minds that want to be opened, one person at a time.
Joseph is currently a student at the University of Wisconsin Law School.
Posted December 2007
|
