The refugee experience is an arduous one that does not easily come to an end. Now having experience with getting to know a family of refugees, and having the opportunity to assist them in whatever way possible, my worldview has become more enlarged than I ever thought possible. I have been visiting a family of Iraqi refugees with my partner Zachary “The Bronco” Springer for the past few months. We have bonded with our family and have learned greatly from one another. In particular, we worked with the children of the family of five, consisting of two brothers each around the age of sixteen, a mother, a father, and a grandmother. I see now first hand, just how the kids appreciated my help, making me feel like my work is worthwhile. During my time volunteering, I’ve had the chance to explore a new culture, and exchange ideas with the family. In turn, my exposure to a foreign country has expanded my vision, making me a more well rounded individual as I got to discover more about the family’s refugee journey.
My partner and I have focused mainly on assisting the two kids, Asif and Yasser. They both take similar classes in a Chicago public high school, and both are in ESL (English as a Second Language) classes. Despite the fact that both kids are in ESL, their English is excellent. Granted, there are a few vocabulary words and semantics questions they sometimes ask us about, but they still excel in English. In terms of academia overall, they both seem to do pretty well in school, even though they often ask us for geometry help. They both enjoy soccer very much, however, they are unfortunately Barcelona fans. As a Real Madrid fan, we often exchange playful banter with each other, making fun of each other’s respected teams. We have only briefly met the parents and grandmother, since they always seem to be out. Although we have bonded with the family, there are still aspects of their refugee experience that remains a mystery.
Their journey began in Iraq, where the youngest son, Yasser, was born with a life threatening disease. As to what this disease is, we have yet to find out. Since Iraq has been war stricken, they were forced to move to Egypt, where they were able to have access to the hospitals needed to keep Yasser in good health. They remained in Egypt comfortably for five years, where they went to school and enjoyed the culture and beauty of Egypt. Unfortunately, they fell victim to the Arab Spring while in Egypt, which displaced them and they found their way to Chicago. It was Asif who told me this, and while he was telling me this, his eyes started to tear up, and it reminded me of just how traumatic the refugee experience must be. I didn’t want to ask him any future questions about his journey to America just yet, since it was clear to see that this is a very painful subject for him and his brother to talk about. It seems that it will take more family visits before Asif and Yasser are able to tell us more about their story. Recently, they told us how their dad has a back injury, and that makes it very hard for him to work. Clearly times are tough for the family, since the father seems to have a job, but he is slightly disabled. Not only that, but he was rejected in his attempt to receive disability benefits. The family’s circumstances remind me just how human refugees are.
The bond between my refugee family and myself is one that will hopefully be last a lifetime. It is very difficult for someone to open up about such a traumatic experience that would leave an entire family displaced. The fact that the two children even told us slightly about their journey to America makes me feel like we are gaining the trust, and I want no reason for them to distrust me. My partner and I do what we can to assist the family, however, they seem to have no problems adjusting into American society. The only thing that may be a concern is the English skills of the mother and father, although I am told the mother speaks English very well, but she is just to shy to speak it. The boys both seem to have promising futures, and both seem to want to get into to medicine, where they can go back to Iraq and assist in their home country. Their journey is one that shows that sheer determination and will power, along with the human spirit, can aid a human being in prevailing over any arduous task that they may face, and they do so with a smile in the end.