The three oldest Jawad sons unload their luggage at Dulles International Airport before their flight out of the U.S. Ahmed (center) was kidnapped and tortured in his native Baghdad, prompting the family to flee the country. AMY FLOWERS UMBLE/THE FREE LANCE-STAR View More Images from this story Visit the Photo Place

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Two disillusioned Iraqi families leave Stafford for Middle East page 2

Iraqi refugees leave Fredericksburg for life in the Middle East

BY AMY FLOWERS UMBLE

Date published: 3/23/2009

By Flowers Umble

"It has happened," said Anastasia Brown, director of refugee programs for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. "But if you compared the numbers with those coming in, I think you would find it is a very small number."

The United States took in 13,000 Iraqi refugees last year, while unemployment rose across the nation.

When Jawad went to court for his eviction, he saw many Americans also facing foreclosures and evictions.

"Americans are struggling themselves," said Arkan Alazzawi, an Iraqi refugee who interpreted at the court procedure for Jawad .

And for the Iraqis, the situation has been even more difficult, complicated by language and cultural barriers.

A construction contractor in Iraq, Jawad hoped to find similar work here.

Most Iraqi refugees struggle with the same issue: They were doctors, engineers and businessmen in Iraq, and don't want to work in fast-food restaurants and warehouses.

But even those jobs are hard to find these days.

Jawad said he applied for a job at a nearby store. He didn't get the job, but it wouldn't have prevented an eviction from his $1,500-a-month townhouse.

The local resettlement office, area churches and the Islamic Center of Fredericksburg all paid his rent for the first five months, but help ran out.

Jawad remained unemployed and didn't pay the rent.

He hopes that, somehow, resettlement agencies and the government will respond to his story and change the resettlement process.

More Iraqi refugees are expected to resettle in the U.S. this year. Some say the government should not take any more until the economy improves.

Refugee advocates counter that resettlement saves lives.

"Refugees are coming here because they're persecuted, not because they're looking for jobs. We need to ensure they are in a safe environment and able to start their lives over again," Catholic refugee programs director Brown said. "We need to retain a robust refugee program."

Riding in the minivan to Dulles International Airport, Jawad said he would miss this country.

"Most Americans are very friendly, very nice," he said as they pulled up to the terminal. "Sometimes, for the disputes of two republics, the residents pay a very high price."

Amy Flowers Umble: 540/735-1973
Email: aumble@freelancestar.com

Two Iraqi families left Stafford last week to return to the Middle East. Both left Iraq nearly two years ago fearing for their lives. Muoafaq Jawad packed up his family two months after his teenage son, Ahmed, was kidnapped walking home from school. Muoafaq himself still bears the scars from being shot. His nephew, two nieces, an uncle and a business partner were killed in Iraq. Bakr Kadhim moved to Stafford with his wife and three daughters last summer. A businessman, Kadhim was kidnapped while working in Baghdad. He was tortured and awaiting execution when American soldiers found him. He saw them as saviors and their country as paradise. But months after arriving, Kadhim wondered whether he'd be better off back in Syria. Thursday, he left to find out. Refugee resettlement agencies, advocates and detractors don't agree on much when it comes to the resettlement process. But they do agree on something: The resettlement process needs reform. America has accepted refugees since the country began, but current resettlement policies came from the Refugee Act of 1980. Since then, advocates say, many changes to the welfare system have impacted refugees' aid when they get to the United States. Others, such as Ann Corcoran of the blog Refugee Resettlement Watch, say the program gives too much power to 10 voluntary agencies contracting with the federal government to resettle refugees. Iraqi refugees flee to Syria and Jordan, two neighboring countries that host about 2 million refugees. There, they often face discrimination, overcrowding and higher taxes. Many petition for resettlement in other countries through the United Nations High Commission on Refugees. To get into America, refugees are screened first by an international agency such as the U.N.'s International Office of Migration. Then their backgrounds are checked again by the Department of Homeland Security. Then they go to the U.S. Department of State, which resettles refugees using 10 national voluntary agencies. Refugees resettled in the Fredericksburg area come through the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, one of those 10 agencies.

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Date published: 3/23/2009

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