Goodbye, Baghdad; hello, America
Posted: Monday, June 02, 2008 2:50 PM
Filed Under:
Baghdad, Iraq
By Karl Bostic, NBC News Producer
BAGHDAD – Almost exactly a year ago, I filed a blog about Mohammed Abdul-Latif al-Kharki, one of my Iraqi colleagues, who after four years of dedicated service as a local producer, was leaving Iraq for good.
After being sought repeatedly by Shiite militias, both the Mahdi Army and the Badr Brigade in his neighborhood, he knew it was only a matter of time before they found him. They knew he worked with Americans. And the dangers were becoming a reality – his wife's father had already been kidnapped and held until ransom was paid.
With great sadness he handed in his resignation and left to join his wife and children, who were already living in exile Syria, along with the nearly 1 million other Iraqi refugees who had fled the sectarian violence in Iraq.
Hello, America
After more than a year of ups and downs, I spoke on the phone to Mohammed in Damascus last week and he finally had good news. He and his wife, Ala'a, and their three children, Mais, 15, Reem, 10, and Ibrahim, 9, had been accepted for an asylum resettlement program run by the Department of Homeland Security. On Monday, they were bound for New York.
"Only 10 days ago, Marc called to say we had the OK to come to the U.S.," he said an excited voice last week. "I will be able to work, and in one year can apply for a green card. And after five years I can apply for citizenship!"
Mohammed was referring to Marc Kusnetz, a consultant with Human Rights First. The agency was a key piece in the jigsaw puzzle of non-governmental organizations, the U.N. and ultimately the U.S. government that were involved in his asylum case.
"I am thrilled," said Kusnetz. "I assumed nothing every step of the way. We had heard so many stories of what works and what doesn’t work. There would be a burst of forward movement, and then nothing for a long time. But then the dam burst."
Human Rights First, an international human rights organization that provides legal services for refugees seeking asylum in the United States, began an initiative three years ago to assist Iraqis seeking asylum who had been threatened because they worked with Americans.
When Kusnetz, who is also a former NBC News senior producer who had worked with Mohammed, learned that he was under threat and had to leave Iraq, Human Rights First submitted his case to the United Nations Refugee Agency in April 2007.
"At first I was full of hope. I had two interviews in July with the UNHCR, the first on July the fourth," Mohammed recalled. "And after that, everything stopped."
The interview with the U.N. agency is only the first of many hurdles for all refugees seeking asylum. After that, Mohammed had to wait for interviews with the International Organization for Migration, which, if satisfied with his testimony, would then forward the case to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for a final round of interviews.
Desperation set in
While his appeal for asylum in the U.S. hit a standstill, life in Damascus for Mohammed and his family was a fragile routine that descended into despair and humiliation. While his children could attend school, Mohammed could not find suitable work. As an Iraqi, despite his education and experience, under Syrian law, he was only permitted to do manual labor.
"When I went to the offices with my [resume] they were always very impressed," Mohammed said, but he kept coming up against a wall because of his nationality. "And my children, especially Mais, could read my face and tell what happened whenever I came back. Mais would look at my face and say, ‘They refused?’ I would say, ‘Yes.’ ‘Because you’re an Iraqi?’ he would ask. ‘Yes.’ I stopped going for interviews," said Mohammed.
He explained how the doomed job search took its toll on him and his family. "I became like a housewife, always in the house, always on the Internet. Things were very tense with my wife and children," said Mohammed. "I was running out of money to pay the rent and to buy food. I sold the furniture, equipment and TV that was in my house in Baghdad. I had to ask my parents in Baghdad for money."
In December, I returned to work in Baghdad and was surprised to hear from Mohammed. He wanted to know if there was any work he could do back in Baghdad. He was willing to leave his family and risk his life again for work. I spoke with him and explained that at the moment there were few job options available. He said he didn’t care and would come anyway. I held my breath. He never showed up.
When I spoke with him last week and reminded him of that, he said, "That's right. My bags were packed, and I had my exit visa to leave Baghdad. My wife was desperate, too. She didn’t know what to tell me. She said she would give me her gold to sell to keep me there. But if I had to go, she wouldn’t stop me, because she knew I was desperate."
Kusnetz, meanwhile, was also doing his best to raise Mohammed’s spirits and encourage him not to give up. For six months things were at a standstill and Mohammed had no interviews. Finally things picked up again and Mohammed was able to have the requisite interviews with Homeland Security in Damascus.
Fourteen months and six interviews later, Mohammed and his family were bound for New York on Monday.
They are the lucky ones. Hopefully it will turn out to be a happy ending for Mohammed, but there are an estimated 50,000 Iraqis who either worked for the U.S. government or American organizations who are still seeking asylum for themselves and their families.
The United States has admitted only a fraction of the Iraqis seeking asylum, and the backlog of applicants is only increasing. As of May 1, the United States has resettled 3,601 Iraqis so far this year, with a goal of resettling 12,000 by the end of the 2008 fiscal year.
For Mohammed, his resettlement in the United States is bittersweet. Despite knowing he has a rare opportunity most would envy, he also knows that he may never return to Baghdad and that he is leaving his aging parents behind, including his mother, who is gravely ill with cancer.
"My mother said, ‘Never come back to Baghdad. I'm praying for you, I love you and I remember how you’ve never hurt me in your life.’ "
For all the joy in his heart for a new life in America, Mohammed knows that he may never his parents or his homeland again.
Related links about agencies working with Iraqi refugees:
Human Rights First
UN Refugee Agency
International Organization for Migration
International Rescue Committee
