Stories to Remember. Jaklin Lofti with no training started painting like a professional at the age of 12. No one could believe what happened when her paint brush met the canvas. Truly a child prodigy. But even with her youth and incredible talent, Jaklin has had a difficult life road so far. Jaklin was born in Iran, but her name is not Persian or Arabic which is not acceptable current government policy for naming children. She and her family, however, think that it is “pretty,” and so it became her name. At 15, she went to Turkey on her own. After she arrived, she decided that she wanted to stay and study math and physics, so she looked for some Iranian people to ask for advice. She also made friends with some young people like herself and within a month she had found a school. Luckily she and her friends found a house to live in nearby. She quickly added Turkish to the other languages that she already spoke, Farsi, Dari, Azari (Azerbaijani, a language related to Turkish) and Kurdish. She also continued painting in Turkey, but people did not believe that the artwork was hers. She became afraid and painted at home in private. It was during this time in Turkey that Jaklin registered with the United Nations for refuge in a third country believing that her life was in danger if she returned to Iran. She also did not believe in the policies of the Iranian government and rules restricting women in many ways, including the shrouding of face and body with a chador. After she finished high school (approximately 6 years), she happily learned that World Relief would assist her in resettling in the U.S. According to an article in the Seattle Times, “Students take refugee roles” by Lornet Turnbull, May 1, 2007, Jaklin was lucky as only about 1% of refugees are resettled in a third country. Jaklin has been in the U.S. only about a year and can already communicate pretty well in spoken English. She is enrolled in ESL classes and has high aspirations for her future. She would like to eventually get a Master’s degree in animation and then move on to enroll in law school. She is grateful for financial aid that helps her to continue studying. She also hopes to find a job again soon.

In the excerpt of the long interview Jaklin has fun describing her work with Fred, a contractor, who hired her to help in his construction business shortly after her arrival in the U.S. She surprised him and his crew with her remarkable ability to paint beautiful art work on walls and ceilings.