A lawyer for Children’s TV and an actress in commercials for big companies like Google and Mastercard, Noha is an entity of strength, creativity, and passion for what she loves. However, when she moved to California from Egypt 5 years ago, she faced a brutal realization that her experience and education were not valued in the states and even worse, her identity as a Muslim, Arab woman would cause her to face isolation, discrimination, and consistent obstacles to prevent success. Yet, that has not stopped Noha, a mother of two beautiful, grown girls and a heart full of faith and passion. In five years she has endured so much, but the worst of all was the lack of respect. “I am a lawyer in my homeland,” she explained, “treat me with respect and I will do the same.” Yet she was consistently underestimated for being an Arab Muslim immigrant, as she was told that she can only be a caregiver and that nobody will look at her with anything valuable to offer. “Men are told to work in gas stations and women are told to be caregivers, as if that is the only thing they see when they look at us. We are driven people, educated, with goals. Don’t cast me to the side,” she said with pride.
Yet without community support, it takes many trials and errors to build a new life in a new country. Noha was taken advantage of numerous times when she first arrived, as she discusses how she was scammed by car dealerships and insurance agencies, experienced malpractice and botched surgeries in inadequate hospitals, social workers never spoke to her, and rent prices were consistently raised that lead to same day evictions. With minimal English skills and a limited knowledge of her rights, systemic regulations, and laws in the new country, she became a target for exploitation. “They underestimated me,” she said, “I had to work in gas stations and in motels in the beginning, where I was harassed daily by drunk men and my daughters, in their twenties, were very unsafe.” Noha was robbed 3 times in those first few years in California. Important documents were stolen by the manager of a motel she worked for, highlighting her inability to trust anyone around her. “The most important thing an immigrant or refugee needs when they arrive in the US, is community support,” Noha blatantly stated.
“We need our community to offer support so that we know our rights, the opportunities we have, the options we can take, and the people to avoid. We need to be heard. I came from Egypt with an education, work experience, and drive, yet I was only met with epolitation, underestimation, and disrespect. Over the years, I have learned how to stand up for myself, but it came with a cost. Incompetent doctors created more harm than good, leaving me with an untreated hernia and scars across my stomach. I lost jobs because I spoke out against exploitation and injustices, but I know that I will succeed.”
Noha’s confidence and drive reflected in every word. Her life began to shift when she became a TA at an elementary school to help children with disabilities. She began to notice abuses happening that were continuously swept under the rug and she began to vocalize them. “God placed me in this school for a reason: to be an advocate for these kids,” she explained. Noha understood what it felt like to feel unheard, to have pent up frustrations that couldn’t be articulated due to language barriers, and to have people underestimate her abilities. So when she saw these children treated the same way, she decided that her mission in life was to help these kids and to be the source of support that she didn't have. “They trust me,” she said, “because I respect their needs and I listen to them.” Due to her vocalization of abuse, Noha faced severe backlash at work and transitioned to ABA Therapy instead where she worked with kids majority on the autism spectrum. There, she became known for her “miraculous” work, where she was able to connect and resonate with kids other therapists had disregarded and given up on. She has helped kids learn to walk, to dance, to speak, to stand up straight, and to articulate their feelings and foster independence. However, she humbly stated that her skills were not the reason for her successes, “it was because God was by my side, He helped me succeed, He is the miracle worker,” she said. Noha spent time flipping through photos on her phone, showing me pictures of her and the kids she worked with smiling ear to ear, the joy reflecting off the screen. She told me stories with every photo. About how she met the 6 year old girl when the girl was in a wheelchair and now she's standing up on her own to use the bathroom sink and using a walker at school. Or the boy who brought her flowers and pets her dog gently instead of with aggression like he used to. Or the little boy who is nonverbal when frustrated but she has taught him to speak again by playing hide and seek and teaching him to vocalize where he is. Every photo, every child, had a story and Noha talked about every case, revealing not only her passion and love for these kids, but also the brightness that they provide for her own life. “They bring love and hope into my heart,” she says, “With two kids, two jobs, and being a student, I am often tired, but when I work with these kids, my soul smiles with them.”
Today, with only six months left, Noha is on her way to achieving her Masters Degree in ABA Therapy. She has also started her own business to create animated cartoons for children on the autism spectrum to teach them daily tasks and encourage independence and education. She wants to create two characters, Scet and Belle, a brother and sister who have autism that children can relate to. Hiring a cartoonist in Egypt, her project is in the works and her vision and purpose is clear. “I was placed on this earth to help these kids. Money and power will not follow me to the grave, but creating these cartoons, working with these kids and changing their lives, will leave a legacy that I am proud of,” she explained. Her words remained with me long after our conversation. “When I was fired from a school for vocalizing injustices,” she stated with pride, “ I told them to remember my name, because one day I will be back, I will hold them accountable. I won't be the underestimated woman who people see as a target for scams and exploitation, I am a business woman with a masters degree and the power to make grand change.” Remembering the bright faces of the kids she showed me on her phone, I thought, “She already is.”
