ON THE COVER

continued on page 11

12 | APRIL 7 • 2022 

be out of here,” Farber said. “They 
get three months and then they 
have to find their own apartment, 
their own job and they’re on their 
own.” 
As of late March, the govern-
ment was supposed to be giving 
the refugees an extra few thousand 
dollars for living expenses, but 
the resettlement agency had not 
received that money from the gov-
ernment, Farber said.
“The only money they’re get-
ting is $250 a person per month 
for food. That’s not very much,” 
Farber said. “
And then they 
were given $1,000 for good will 
money when they left the camp in 
Indianapolis.
“These people can’t get a job 
until they have a car. They can’t 
get a car until they have a license. 
They can’t get a license until they 
get a permit. You can’t get a permit 
until you have an address. You 
can’t get an address unless you 
have money,” Farber said. 
The very first thing Farber did 
was take Shafi and his family 
shopping next door at a Trader 
Joe’s, filling up their cart on her 
own dime.
“They never saw anything like 
Trader Joe’s. They were in awe,” 
Farber said. “I’m taking them 
through and showing them every-
thing. They didn’t want me to buy 
very much, one package, and I 
said no, one package is not going 
to feed your family.” 
As they were shopping, a 
woman asked Farber asking what 
she was doing. 
That woman, Nazir, told Farber 
that she was a Persian Jew who 
could speak Shafi’s language. She 
spoke with Shafi and gave him 
her number. She wanted to get 
involved and help. Soon, Nazir 
brought food and clothing for 
many of the refugee families at the 
hotel, becoming the first of what 
would become a network of many 
individuals helping the LA-based 
refugees.

HELPING MORE REFUGEES
“Then my grandson Zach sat 
down with Shafi and made a wish 
list of everything he and his family 
needed, which was everything,” 
Farber said. “My daughter, Rachel, 
set up an Amazon wish list. Zach 
sent an email out to all his friends 
at school about it. I spoke to my 
friends at home and many of them 
contributed.”
Pretty soon, the entire wish list 
was bought. When the items were 
bought, they were delivered to 
Rachel and Zach, packaged up and 
brought to the hotel for Shafi and 
his family. 
Other refugee families at the 
hotel heard about the help Shafi 
and his family were getting.
Another family asked Farber if 
she would take them to the gro-
cery store, which she did, buying 
them a basket full of food as well. 
While they were there, another 
two women asked what they were 
doing, which led to more connec-
tions being made. 
“One of them has a nonprofit 
that helps refugees assimilate into 
society,” Farber said. “She’s from 
Vancouver and does it in Canada, 
and her sister has an Afghan 
husband, so they wanted to get 
involved.”
The two women helped with 
refugee transportation and also 
bought Afghan food for the refu-
gees, putting it in the hotel lobby 
so they could come get what they 
needed. 
Farber then continued the 
efforts by calling the Islamic 
Center of Downtown Los Angeles 
to see how else the refugees could 
be helped. The center had no idea 
any refugees were there, but Farber 
worked with them to make things 
happen.
“I got them to come out and 
meet with all the refugees. Now, 
every Friday, they send taxis to 
bring the refugees down to the 
Islamic Center so they can pray in 
the mosque,” Farber said. 

TOP: Karen Farber and Shafi with his new car, a 2012 
Honda Civic. BOTTOM: Shafi at his new job as a 
 
greeter and seater at an upscale LA Italian restaurant.

