Now Roz in the San Francisco Bay Area By Yama Atta April-June 1998 Lemar-Aftaab It was roughly about fifteen years ago when the first wave of Afghan immigrants came to the San Francisco Bay Area. Since then, the Afghan community has grown enormously. According to some analysts there are probably more than 40,000 Afghans living in the SF Bay Area. The Bay Area which is comprised of the cities surrounding the San Francisco Bay, include such cities as Fremont, Newark, Union City, Hayward, San Leandro, Alameda, San Jose, San Mateo, and Oakland. Afghans have chosen the Bay Area for various reasons but mainly because of its moderate climate, economical stability, and the sense of shared Afghan community. The community has grown to the extend that it is very common to drive to any of those cities and encounter one or two Afghans in any traffic light. It seems Afghans here take great pride in their heritage. Even though we do hear about a few verbal confrontation that arise from political discussions here and there, but when it comes to celebrating such special days as Eid or Now Roz, all Afghans regardless of their political stance get together and have a good time. More and more Afghans are participating in celebration of Now Roz every year, which is on 21st of March. The idea of celebrating Now Roz was first put forth by a few active women of our community including Mrs. Farida Anwary who is one of the prominent members of the Afghan community. Despite her busy schedule running a radio show, she along some other women and men made sure the spirit of Now Roz was revived. According to Mrs. Anwary, "the major reason to celebrate this day is to inform our children about our heritage and the importance of Now Roz which has been celebrated for thousands of years by our ancestors". It was for this reason that a few years ago the first Bay Area Now Roz was celebrated in one of the local parks where an estimated 3500 to 4000 Afghans from all over the Bay took part. The organizers of the event made sure to make the event reminiscent to the way Afghans celebrated Now Roz in Afghanistan. Having this notion in mind they included such activities as concerts by various Afghan musicians, local poets reading poems, rope racing, display of art and crafts, and playing volleyball and soccer. "It was an all-day event and most people wore traditional Afghan clothes" said a participant who seemed very content with the outcome of the organizers effort. This year it is predicted that more people will show up and there will be more activities. While the main reasons of celebrating this special day seems to be to leave the legacy of Now Roz to our youth and unite all Afghans for a common cause, organizers hope more people become active participants of the day and add more color to Now Roz of 1377. Copyright © 1998 Aftaabzad Publications. All Rights Reserved. May not be duplicated or distributed in any form without permission.