HANOVER, N.H. (WCAX) – Courage and the rule of law were celebrated Thursday at Hanover High School during a ceremony that honored two refugees from Afghanistan. When Afghanistan fell to the Taliban in 2021 there was a surge of refugees fleeing the country. That included two women judges who now call Vermont and New Hampshire home.
As the national anthem rang out in a packed auditorium, Hanover High School students had the opportunity to reflect on the basic freedoms they have living in America.
“I get to go to school and get to play sports and do all my extracurricular activities. I’m not discriminated against on a daily basis,” said Anna Healey, an HHS senior.
Those are freedoms that Anisa Rasooli and Geeti Roeen also knew in their home country. The two were judges in Afghanistan. But when the Taliban took control in 2021 after the U.S. military pulled out, they were forced to flee out of fear for their lives. With help from the International Association of Women Judges, the two were able to make it to the U.S.
“All the women are now staying at home and they are not given their basic rights anymore,” Rasooli said.
The two women were honored by the Chief Justices in Vermont and New Hampshire, as well as members of both state’s congressional delegations, in front of about 400 students.
“I hope they get some contrast between things we take for granted and the struggles that are happening in other places,” said N.H. Supreme Court Justice Anna Barbara Hantz Marconi.
“I want them to dream big. To dream big and know that it’s not just about their own personal achievement but there will be other people standing with them,” said Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vermont.
A message that resonated with students. “It just makes us reflect and more grateful,” Healey said.
Gratitude that was shared by the two women starting a new chapter of their lives in this country. “I’m very appreciative of everything they have done for us and I want them to listen to our story and I want them to know what we have gone through,” Roeen said.
Both women will continue telling their stories at educational institutions across the region, including the Dickey Center for International Understanding at Dartmouth College.