A long road to a new start A long road to a new start (November 18, 2005)

Sierra Leone refugees settle into new life at MV High School

By Molly Tanenbaum

Mariama Dolleh wears a flowing pink skirt and a flowered pink shirt and sits at home in the dark on a Saturday evening, her face lit by the screen of a bright-red iMac.

She patiently examines the keyboard, and then a lined sheet of paper where she has neatly written out an essay for school on rutile mining, one of the largest industries in Sierra Leone, the small, West African country where she grew up as a refugee before arriving in Los Altos with her two younger brothers almost three months ago.

The three Dollehs now live with Tracy Weiss -- whom they have begun to call "Mom" -- in Los Altos and attend Mountain View High School.

Forced to flee their civil war-ravaged home in Liberia many years ago after the murder of their father, the family -- Mariama and her brothers, Sidikie and Ansumana, and their mother -- ended up at a refugee camp in Sierra Leone, where they stayed for seven years before coming to the United States.

Their mother, who was ill for years, died this past spring before she could leave the camp with her children. The three were malnourished and had not attended school in three years.

Mariama, who just turned 18, along with Sidikie, 17, and Ansumana, 15, is just learning to use a computer, one of countless new things that she and her brothers had never experienced before arriving to the United States at the end of August. Everything, from escalators and elevators, to having a pet cat, to going to the dentist, to getting enough food to eat, is new to the Dollehs.

Weiss is now their foster mom through Catholic Charities' unaccompanied refugee minor program in San Jose. She read about the program last year in the newspaper and underwent extensive screening to become an approved refugee foster parent. The Dollehs also endured nearly a year-long immigration process, involving frequent nine-hour bumpy rides to Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown.

Sidikie and Ansumana share a crowded bedroom with Weiss' younger son, Taylor, a senior at Archbishop Mitty High School. A framed picture of the Dollehs' mother, taken when she was still healthy, sits on the piano.

Weiss has taken the Dollehs to an African store for familiar music and foods, and has shown them American movies like "Home Alone" and "Being There." Taylor helps them with their homework and the computer.

"They're teaching me things every day," Weiss said. "The things they tell me about the way they see things and how things were in Africa ... I could lap that stuff up every day, forever."

The three were shy at first, but all speak English and have begun to open up to Weiss and their teachers. Due to their mother's illness, and because there was no school in the refugee camp, the Dollehs spent the past three years of their lives without education and must catch up.

"It's a really big challenge and sometimes it looks overwhelming, but they've really buckled down and work hard at their homework and they're doing very well," Weiss said.

So far, the three siblings are thriving at Mountain View High School, according to Patrick Hurley, an English language development instructor who teaches all three siblings.

"The three of them have jumped in, and get along with the students in the class," Hurley said. He added that Sidikie, a sophomore, has even started to pick up a little Spanish to converse with his classmates.

Mariama's physical education teacher, Barbara Kaufman, encouraged her to switch to choir, where, Kaufman says, the junior is beginning to shine.

"Her face lights up when I ask her how singing is going," Kaufman said.

Ansumana, a freshman, has joined the soccer team and played his first game this week.

They all attended Mountain View High's homecoming parade and game, and Ansumana was brave enough to go to the dance, Weiss said.

When asked about the dance, Ansumana brightened and said, "It was very nice, and very fun." He was surprised at how dressed up everyone was, and at having to take off his shoes before entering the gym, a common practice at Mountain View High dances.

"In Africa, you dance with shoes," he said.

All three Dollehs were named students of the month last month and were honored at a district board meeting. Their certificates are now displayed proudly over the fireplace at home.

E-mail Molly Tanenbaum at mtanenbaum@mv-voice.com

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