Iraqi Refugees Find Adjusting Hard In The U.S.

Of the refugee population being resettled here in the United States, right now about 30% are from Iraq. Most of those being granted refugee status were Iraqis that had helped the U.S. armed forces as translators, engineers, doctors, etc. Their fellow countrymen felt that these people betrayed their country by helping the U.S. and so they face harsh persecution and sometimes even death.

On the one hand, I am grateful that our government is granting asylum and refugee status to these individuals that are now targeted for attack because they helped us out. But on the other hand, when these refugees arrive in the U.S. they are coming to terms with a much more difficult life than they imagined. Most of their higher education and skills do not transfer, they are living off ridiculously small government aide (for 4 months, and then they're on their own), and they are living in the most poor conditions America has to offer... on top of which they are isolated by language barriers and prejudices. True, their lives ARE safer here, but their quality of life is certainly disappointing.

Today, the New York Times ran an article about this situation that was really good. It gives an insiders look at their transition and the emotional and physical difficulties they must endure. Here is the first 3 paragraphs:

"Not long after the Iraq war began in 2003, Uday Hattem al-Ghanimi was accosted by several men outside the American military base where he managed a convenience store. They accused him of abetting the Americans, and one fired a pistol at his head.

Now, after 24 operations, Mr. Ghanimi has a reconstructed face as well as political asylum in the United States. On July 4, his wife and three youngest children joined him in New York after a three-year separation.

But the euphoria of their reunion quickly dissipated as the family began to reckon with the colder realities of their new life. Mr. Ghanimi, 50, who has not been able to work because of lingering pain, is supporting his family on a monthly disability check of $761, food stamps and handouts from friends. They are crammed into one room they rent in a two-bedroom apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, in a city whose small Iraqi population is scattered. And Mr. Ghanimi’s wife and children do not speak English, deepening their sense of isolation."

(click here to keep reading)

The article continues with several other people's stories and some very interesting journalistic facts about the situation. I highly recommend you read it.