Refugees try to make new start in Chicago as COVID-19 upends daily life: 'Once we get back to the normal life, we want to walk freely'
by Elvia Malagón And Nausheen Husain, Chicago Tribune
Apr 29, 2020
4 minutes
CHICAGO - Like many practicing social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic, Farhan Ali has turned to Netflix.
But Ali, 21, isn't just watching for entertainment. He's improving his English. About a month ago, his family arrived in the United States from Pakistan as refugees. Though they're from Afghanistan, they'd fled to Pakistan out of fear of persecution by the Taliban. They spent their first week here living with his oldest sister in suburban Aurora.
"We went to Millennium Park," Ali said by phone, recalling his first week in Chicago. "We've never been that much happy and free."
But within two weeks
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