Qurban often translates to a victim or a sacrifice, I grew up knowing Qurban to be my father.

June 20th was both Father’s Day and World Refugee day.

My father is the symbol of resilience for our family. My dad lost his father when he was 8 years old, being left alone to support his family. He overcame many obstacles. Stories he would tell me about selling mantu in the streets of Afghanistan. Raising a family in the middle of a war and keeping us safe.

When I was a kid, I would always question my fathers anger and his relentlessness. Over the years I have come to realize many of these tactics are just survival mechanisms he picked up along the way.

This made me think of all the nuclear households of refugees, travelling the world trying to find a home with no external support. My heart goes out to the fathers that carry the burden on their shoulders so their families are better off.

If I manage to be even half as resilient as my father, I can only imagine what I could accomplish with what he has given me. I’ve never been hungry. My father grew up hungry and made a promise to us to keep us away from the burdens he faced.

I’ve fought with my dad in the past, and disagree with him on some fundamental values. Nonetheless, I have come to understand the sacrifices he has made and how they have affected him. Be easy on the fathers of war, they’ve been through enough.