Afghan-American

"Enjoy the sun-shiny day my special friend," rings from his cart after every purchase, even if it's raining. Najeeb runs the cart on the north side of 17th and Pennsylvania Ave NW, by the White House. He's from Kandahar, Afghanistan. (I knew that for a while.) Today I was walking by and was surprised to find that my friend Najeeb was not yet a United States citizen. His reading material, "Practice for the U.S. Citizenship and Legalization of Status Test," gave it away. He has lived in the DC area for nearly fourteen years, and has been providing his sidewalk vending service for twelve years. "In this very same spot," he said. He left Kandahar after high school because of the fighting and violence caused by the "Soviet Disruption." Najeeb told me, "I like working here and the people are like family."