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In the country of Liberia, a good day and bad day are extreme
opposites ... a difference of children playing in the street and
going to war.
For locals like Christiana Katta, war zone
experience came at an early age. She was just 2 years old when she
and her family picked up all their belongings and moved every time
war came near. Sometimes they’d walk for days at a time.
After years of living this life, finally in 2005, Katta and her
family decided to leave their country and move to the U.S.
Now in the U.S. Air Force, Airman 1st Class Christiana Katta, 633rd
Inpatient Squadron Labor and Delivery medical technician, reflects
on life experiences, which made her who she is today.
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August 23, 2017 - U.S. Air Force Airman First Class Christiana Katta,
633rd Inpatient Squadron medical technician on duty at Joint Base
Langley-Eustis, VA. In 2005, Katta and her family fled Liberia as
refugees, in hopes of finding safety and opportunity in the U.S.
(U.S. Air Force photo/Airman Alexandra Naranjo)
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“We were scared to live in our own country,” said Katta,
who came to the U.S. with her family as a refugee. “We
always saw on TV, the life of Americans. It was the American
dream; the big house, the two kids and the dog. We said,
‘one day we will achieve that.’”
However, there were
many obstacles for Katta and her family.
“My mom came
as a single mom,” said Katta. “We were foreign people,
uneducated. Our situation was always a struggle. The whole
culture was new for us, our accents were different -- they
were stronger and deeper.”
According to Katta, she
also personally struggled with staying true to herself. She
had difficulty trying to honor her culture while blending in
with the U.S.
“I didn’t want to be African at one
point,” said Katta. “I used to tell people I was Jamaican
because that seemed more acceptable than being from one of
the poorest countries in the world.”
Eventually,
Katta came to accept her herself, using her experience as a
young refugee to become a stronger person. According to
Katta, going through those hardships made everything else
seem easy. Even on her worst days, she remembers making it
through what life threw her family’s way.
Thankful
for the chance for a brighter future and in hopes of giving
back to the country that provided her family the scarce
commodity of safety during war, Katta decided to enlist in
the U.S. Air Force.
“This is the first place I lived
where I didn’t have to run or move,” said Katta. “A part of
me felt like I owed this to the U.S. I also thought I had
adapted well to the culture at this point and wanted my
citizenship. It all went into play; I could get an
education, earn my citizenship and have a stable career.”
As a member of the labor and delivery department, Katta
said the biggest part of adjusting to her new job is the
long work hours, but those hours don’t compare to the honor
of caring for babies. Katta is usually found with a smile on
her face, as she cares for newborns that she knows will have
a brighter start than her own.
“This place can take
its toll on a person, but she’s always excited to do her
job,” said Airman 1st Class Jovanna Garretson, 633rd IPTS
medical technician. “She’s a very strong person to be able
to go through all that and still want to care for others and
speak her mind.”
For Katta, surviving a tough
childhood and enduring a lot of emotional pain has given her
a need to help others. She wants to give back, and is
thankful that she gets to do that every day in a career and
job that she finds meaningful.
“I love being a part
of the Air Force,” said Katta. “I’m really excited to see
where I can go with the tools the Air Force has given me.”
According to Katta, it’s important to share her story so
that people know no matter what background they come from or
struggles they went through, they can still make a
difference in their life. For her, she was able to make that
difference in her life by joining the U.S. Air Force.
“A part of me is scared sometimes to tell my story
because I don’t want anybody to pity me,” said Katta. “I
don’t want to be treated differently or looked at
differently, but in a sense all of this has given me a voice
and a story to tell.”
By U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Alexandra Singer
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2017
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