From Gaza to Wisconsin

Angela Fitzgerald:When war broke out back home, all Jwana Rostom could do is watch.

Jwana Rostom:I called them, and I was like, “Hey, is everything okay? Where is my family right now?” And, like, if I don’t hear from them, like, I just panic. Like, are they alive still? I was like, “What should I do? Like, I’m in class right now. I can’t do anything.” And I just felt so powerless. I can just sit and watch. And that was like a nightmare for me.

Angela Fitzgerald:For Jwana, growing up in Gaza meant surviving war. Coming to Wisconsin meant finding a new home.

Jwana Rostom:I’m a Palestinian, one who was born in Gaza. It was my home, my people, my friends are like, everything there just makes me happy. I was born in 2008. I was literally born in the middle of a war. And I experienced seven wars until now.

Angela Fitzgerald:A State Department scholarship program called YES, Youth Exchange and Study, opened a door.

Jwana Rostom:My best friend, Nastia, she was a YES student. She got placed here, and, like, she had a great experience. She was like, “Jwana, you should do this.”

Angela Fitzgerald:With her parents’ blessing and plenty of nerves, Jwana boarded a plane to Wisconsin. Her new home looked different than anything she had known before.

Jwana Rostom:I heard about the cheese, the snow. I was so excited. People here are just so lovely. You don’t know them, and in the streets, like, “Why are you smiling at me?”

Angela Fitzgerald:In Monona, she moved in with the Atkins, her new host family.

Liz Atkins:We actually didn’t wanna host a student, but Jwana’s counselor at school had shared her GoFundMe. I had, you know, read her story, and as soon as that email was sent, I forwarded it to Caleb. And I was like, “Hey, I think we should do this.”

Caleb Atkins:Get her! [Liz laughs]

Jwana Rostom:Liz and Caleb are young, so, like, I never– I kind of never saw them as a parent, but I also do. Liz is like one of my sisters. Caleb is like a brother. Riley is the bigger one. She’s full of hope. Then Evie is so goofy and funny. They welcomed me a lot when I came here. And I owe them so much.

Angela Fitzgerald:For Jwana and the Atkins, connection often came on a plate.

Caleb Atkins:I do pretty much all the cooking at home, and so I wanted to make sure that we incorporated Palestinian food into our repertoire.

Jwana Rostom:And when I ate that bite, I was like, “Oh, my God, like, my mom used to make it exactly like this.” So, I couldn’t handle it, and I cried.

Caleb Atkins:When she took a bite and she started to cry, ’cause it was like a taste of home. Food is powerful in that way.

Angela Fitzgerald:But even here, thousands of miles away, the suffering was never far.

Jwana Rostom:I came here, and I didn’t even enjoy, like, two months full until the war happened. I lost my cat. I lost four friends. One of my friends died under the rubbles. They cannot find, like, parts of her body to bury. And like, that’s not something, like, rare. And then now, they’re just totally gone and all that I have of them is just pictures and memories.

Angela Fitzgerald:She carries grief for family, friends, and the home she left behind.

Jwana Rostom:It’s super weird to losing a soul, cry so much about it, and then start losing more. And then you just feel, like, numb. So, you see those pictures and images and you always, always imagine your family being in that position. And you just don’t know what to do.

Angela Fitzgerald:She’s going through all of this normal teenage stuff on top of surviving multiple wars.

Caleb Atkins:Our big message to Jwana was that, like, whatever you’re feeling, like, we’ll take it as it comes. You know, joys, sorrows, everything in between.

Angela Fitzgerald:Her journey isn’t over, but from Gaza to Wisconsin, from grief to belonging, Jwana carries her story and her hope with her.

Jwana Rostom:I just hope to see my country a little bit free, more than now. And have a little bit more peace than now.

Liz Atkins:I mean, it’s just grown. Like, our family and our extended family and our kids forever.

Angela Fitzgerald:For Jwana, home is no longer just a place. It’s the people who make sure she’s not alone.

Caleb Atkins:Draw the circle of your family bigger. Like, be willing to draw a larger circle because your family is so much more than just the people that are blood related to you.

Jwana Rostom:I hope that peace be upon you and everybody else, in their hearts and in their minds. I really wish that peace can be upon everybody.