On today’s episode of The Confluence:
Afghan refugee helps provide grants to newly settled migrants
(0:00 - 8:24)
Last August, U.S. troops pulled out of Afghanistan after nearly 20 years, leading the Taliban to take control of the country. So far, about 700 have made Pittsburgh their home.
Zubair Babakarkhail was a journalist and a translator in Afghanistan. After Kabul fell to the Taliban, he spent the next 10 days traveling to the airport with his wife and kids, having to traverse tear gas and gunshots.
“My kids had heard gunshots, several times,” says Babakarkhail. “Afghans will do shots in the air for celebration. We used to tell my kids, it's a wedding, don't worry.”
After arriving in America, Babakarkhail and his family chose to settle in Pittsburgh while other refugees looked to California and Virginia. He says it was mainly because of the cost of living.
Since arriving, Babakarkhail has created his own nonprofit, Team Zubair, that provides grants to recently arrived migrants to help them settle into their new lives.
Researcher says patterns critical to understanding conditions that potentially influence deaths in county jail
(8:36 - 17:05)
Last week, Allegheny County announced it is contracting with the National Commission on Correctional Health Care Resources to review fatalities at the county jail. There have been five deaths in the county jail so far this year.
The investigation will go beyond the stated cause of death and look into the events preceding the fatalities. Patterns are critical when determining causes of death, that’s according to Robin Mejia, who studies deaths in correctional settings.
“The aggregate data says they died of natural causes. Well, what's a natural cause when somebody is 26?,” says Mejia. “A heart attack is officially a natural cause of death, but if that's happening repeatedly in 30- or 40-year-olds, you need to wonder what's going on.”
Mejia says that five deaths in one year is a lot for the county's jail population of more than 1,500. The county has not yet announced if the report’s data will be made public.
Author David Maraniss recounts the “tragedy” of Jim Thorpe in a new biography
(17:14 - 22:30)
One-hundred and ten years ago, a Native-American college football star named Jim Thorpe won the Olympic decathlon and pentathlon. Controversially, he was later stripped of those gold medals. Acclaimed author David Maraniss tells that story and more in “Path Lit by Lightning,” a new biography of Thorpe who spent years as a student at Pennsylvania's infamous Carlisle Indian Industrial school.
90.5 WESA’s Bill O’Driscoll asks Maraniss how famous Thorpe was in his day.
The Confluence, where the news comes together, is 90.5 WESA’s daily news program. Tune in Monday to Thursday at 9 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. to hear newsmakers and innovators take an in-depth look at stories important to the Pittsburgh region. Find more episodes of The Confluence here or wherever you get your podcasts.
