WAUKESHA, Wis. — In an instant, the life that Hamza Jebran once knew living in Afghanistan all changed.
"Everything happened unexpectedly," said Jebran.
In August of 2021, the Taliban took control of the country. Jebran was in Kabul at the time and had no choice but to leave his family and flee for his life.
"It was difficult to leave them," said Jebran.
The 26-year-old became one of the thousands looking for refuge in other countries. In January, Jebran along with 400 other refugees found themselves resettling in Milwaukee.
"They told me that it was very cold. But it's the same as my hometown," said Jebran.
Now as he adjusts to life in Wisconsin, Jebran and 32 other refugees found jobs at the Waukesha-based engineering and manufacturing company Husco. Along with providing job opportunities, Husco helped refugees rebuild their lives in Southeast Wisconsin.
"Anyway that we can help anybody from any background, from any country, it doesn't matter," said Mark Dreikosen, the director of operations at Husco.
The company offers everything from translators to transportation support and multi-faith meditation spaces.
"There are special challenges with reading from right to left rather than left to right. So it was beyond translations, it was reformatting a lot of our work constructions simply to make them functional," said Dreikosen.
And while he still misses his family overseas dearly, Jebran says since living in Milwaukee, it's become his home away from home.
"I never expected to come to the United States. This place, the Husco company I'm working at, it's like my home, like my family," said Jebran.
