From right, brothers Alyas, Momtaz and Edrees Nazari. (Craig Hudson/The Washington Post)
They had just a few days to leave. Home was no longer safe.
Alyas, Edrees and Momtaz Nazari were born and raised in Afghanistan. In 2021, they were forced to flee their homeland with their parents and siblings when the United States pulled the last of its troops from the country and the Taliban seized power in much of the region. Within three days of hearing the news, the Nazaris gathered their belongings, said goodbye to their home and boarded a plane.
Their father had worked with the U.S. Army, qualifying the family for asylum. They ultimately settled in Maryland, where the three brothers have found a place with the North County lacrosse team. The sport, foreign in so many ways, provided an avenue for settling into their new life. It helped them find community and offered some respite from thoughts of a war-torn home.
“It keeps you away from all the bad memories,” Edrees said.
But it took time for the brothers to grasp the sport. They spent their first weeks with the team isolated by their inexperience. While other players ran through offensive and defensive sets, the Nazaris were away from the action, learning the fundamentals.
Connor Albanese, North County’s junior varsity coach, used Google Translate to communicate with the Persian-speaking brothers. They learned how to throw and catch, relying on their coach’s phone for instruction, distanced from the rest of the squad. They were on the team but not yet truly part of it. That would require patience.
Alyas, 19, Edrees, 17, and Momtaz, 16, are the eldest of five children. Growing up in Afghanistan, they often spent their free time playing cricket or soccer. But life changed suddenly and dramatically in the summer of 2021, when the Nazaris were forced to start anew in the United States. They made a brief stop in Germany before traveling to New Mexico, where they stayed in a refugee camp from October to December 2021.
With several relatives still living in Afghanistan, the family juggled the responsibilities of starting a new life with the anxieties of leaving their old one.
“When we got here first, I was thinking about my country,” Edrees said. “I was thinking about them always.”
The United States accepted more than 76,000 Afghan refugees in 2021. A small percentage settled in Maryland as the Nazaris did. A refugee assistance agency provided them with housing in Baltimore after three months in New Mexico.
That’s when Hilary Smalley heard about the family. The Glen Burnie, Md., native runs an organization with a few friends from her church that helps refugees settle into their new homes. Together, they raised enough money to move the Nazari family out of Baltimore and into an Anne Arundel County apartment in March 2022. The group also helped the Nazaris buy a car and find jobs.
“I’ve seen families come over that don’t have a team of people helping them acclimate,” Smalley said. “It’s a huge difference in how successful they are.”
Smalley also provided the connection to lacrosse. She often runs with the wife of North County’s varsity lacrosse coach, Dennis Sullivan. One morning, Smalley told her running partner about three boys looking for a sense of belonging.
Soon after, Sullivan found the brothers at school and convinced them to give lacrosse a try.
“Having kids who feel like outsiders, then all of a sudden they’re a part of something a little bit bigger than them, even if it’s just a lacrosse team - it makes them feel connected,” Sullivan said.
The Nazaris’ introduction to the game came at a time when everything about North County felt unfamiliar. By 2023, Alyas, Edrees and Momtaz hadn’t attended school for nearly three years. In Afghanistan, schools had been closed by the coronavirus pandemic and political turmoil. Determining where to put them proved difficult. They lacked the proper paperwork and transcripts to place them in classes accurately.
Alyas and Edrees are juniors at North County. Momtaz is a sophomore. They’re slightly behind most students their age, an issue that was initially exacerbated by a language barrier.
But in time, their English improved. All three brothers are now fluent, no longer requiring translation to interact with coaches and teammates. With that last roadblock removed, they began to blossom on the field.
Alyas scored his first goal in just his 10th game last season. He was offered a spot on the varsity squad this spring but still chooses to spend most of his time with the JV to play a larger role on the field and spend more time with his brothers.
Every day last season, North County’s junior varsity squad nominated a player to cap off practice by telling a joke in front of the team. Most opted for “corny dad jokes,” Albanese said. Toward the end of the season, it was Momtaz’s turn. His quip drew laughs from the group and a few playful jabs that he had butchered the delivery.
“It was awful,” Albanese said. “But everybody loved it.”
Albanese doesn’t remember the setup or the punchline. But he thinks of it as the moment it became clear the brothers were comfortable. Playing a strange sport thousands of miles from home, they belonged.
“We are a part of this team,” Alyas said. “It makes you feel happier. Our friends are happy to have us. It’s a good thing.”
