When we arrived to visit our first family, it was clear we had woken them up. The father explained that their young son had finally fallen asleep at about 4:00 am and since his son didn't want to sleep in the playpen, dad was left to sleep on the floor. This young couple, with a 1 1/2 year old son, is originally from Baghdad, Iraq. The father had worked with some contractors from the US when his family was threatened. They fled Iraq and went to Egypt but were not allowed to work there. While they were in Egypt the mother became pregnant. Since her family was in Syria, the mother left Egypt for Syria to be with them until the baby was born. She then flew back to Egypt. They arrived in Phoenix on November 23, 2009. The father has a job at Safeway as a cashier and is due to start very soon.

At our next family visit, we were greeted by our interpreter who was a 13 year old niece. Since it was Spring Break at school, she was there to help interpret and to have some fun with her cousins. This family is from Bhutan and has a mom and dad and two children, a 12 year old son and 5 year old girl. The mom and 12 year old son were at the hospital. The 12 year old was there because he had undergone two surgeries. The father was 15 years old when he fled Bhutan for Nepal. His family members had been beaten in Bhutan and told to leave. He spent the next 18 years of his life in a refugee camp. It was there he met his wife and had two children. He has not found a job, yet. The family arrived on November 2, 2009.

The last family we visited is also from Bhutan. This family is a mother, father and two children, a 5 year old girl and 10 year old boy. The father was 16 when they left Bhutan and the mother was 12. The next 18 years were spent in the refugee camp. They arrived here on November 23, 2009. The son is going to school and is in the 4th grade. The father has a temporary cleaning job at the airport and hopes to pass a "badge test" in order to have a permanent job. The mother is glad to be here, but is very worried about her parents. They are in their 80's and still living in the refugee camp in Nepal. Her father was so upset that they could not go with their family to the US, that he left the camp and has not been seen since.

The first family we visited is a young couple from Iran.  They arrived here in January.  Their story is one of escape from abuse and threats on their lives.  She was married to a body guard of the leader of the country, and was the second wife.  When intelligence discovered she had an uncle in Germany who had become a Christian she was in danger.   There were many other problems until she eventually escaped to Turkey where she lived for 2 years.  She is now married to another Iranian who escaped under similar circumstances.  They both have high school educations.  She speaks English well and he speaks some English and is studying English now.  He worked in the textile and clothing industry.  She taught English to children.  They are happy to be living away from fear.

 

The second family is a very sweet mother, father and 12 year old daughter.  They arrived here in February.  The father has a degree in journalism and was a top journalist in Sri Lanka.  He was abducted and tortured.  Many journalists have met the same fate and some have been murdered.  The mother has a degree in economics.  They are very happy to be here and free.  The father speaks English well but with a heavy accent.  The mother and daughter speak some English.  The daughter loves to read and seems to be doing well with her language skills and school.   They would appreciate books, newspapers, magazines and other publications and forms of communication such as a computer with Internet and telephone.

The father has quite a nice resume including working for a large newspaper as a journalist and editor.  He is well educated with several diplomas in journalism, communications, electronic media, media ethics, conflict reporting and investigation journalism. He has been in leadership positions of national and international professional organizations.  He has received several prestigious  awards including the National Integrity award by Transparency International.  He has been very active in promoting freedom of the press and thus had to flee his country.    The American Embassy helped him escape with his family.  They spent 2 months in Nepal and arrived in the US in February.

 

The third young woman we met is from Iran.  Her husband was killed, her mother and father are dead and her brother lives in London.  She was a hairdresser for 17 years.  Her family suffered and had to leave due to their Baha’i faith.  She was a hairdresser in Turkey for 2 years before being able to come here.  She arrived here in November and is studying English.  We did not meet her roommate, who is a young woman from Iraq.

Our first family arrived in the US on February 11th, from Jordan and are originally from Iraq. In this family is a grandfather, grandmother, and two grandsons, who are not brothers. In 2003 the older grandson left Iraq with his mother and two siblings for Jordan. The mother was divorced at the time and remarried while in Jordan. In 2005 the grandparents also fled Iraq and headed to Jordan. Because family members were helping the US Military, extremists in Iraq stole from them, destroyed their things, and threatened them. The grandmother is very overwhelmed because she is taking care of her 72 year old ailing husband and raising two grandsons, as well as dealing with her own medical problems.


Our second family arrived January 26th from Tanzania and are originally from the Congo. This family is a mother and father with their seven children and the father’s brother. The father left the Congo in 1975 with his parents when the rebels were recruiting people to fight. In 1996 he met his wife in a refugee camp. In the camp there were many problems with sanitation and food. The government of Tanzania tried closing the schools in the refugee camps to force the people back to the Congo. All the children are now going to school here except the two youngest who are 4 and 3 years old. The 4 year old boy misses his brothers and sister terribly when they go to school and he cried the entire time.


Our third family is from Burma. They arrived February 9th from Malaysia. They are a young couple with their 2 year old daughter, and the brother and sister of the father. In 2005, the government of Burma said that the family was part of a group called CNN and told them they had to leave the country. They fled to Malaysia where the father worked in the furniture industry.

The first two families we visited were actually one large family, split
between 2 apartments.  The family left Bhutan in 1992 as a family  (parents
and six children) and spent the next 18 years living in a camp in Nepal.
While living in Nepal, the family's father died in hospital (eight years
ago) and three brothers were married (two have children - a boy, 1, and a
girl, 2).  The family of 12 eventually learned of the process to immigrate
and were approved to do so this fall.  5 arrived in October and the rest
followed in December.  The family has seen the WTAP truck before and one
brother has helped translate for another family that has been helped by WTAP
- needless to say they were very happy to have a visit from WTAP.

The final family we visited was a single mother and her 12 year old son and
11 year old daughter.  The son was about to celebrate his 13th birthday a
few days after we visited.   The mother was raised in Congo by her uncle
with her cousins after her parents died.  When her uncle was killed, she
took on the responsibility of looking after her cousins.  Eventually, they
fled to Zambia due to armed conflict in Congo.  At this time, her son was
just a year old and her daughter was born on the way.  The family eventually
went their separate ways, leaving the mother and kids.  Mom managed to find
work as a hair stylist at a 5 star hotel, enabling her to provide for her
children, though this was not easy in a country that is tough on
foreigners.  She wanted to move forward with her life and better provide for
her children.  The family arrived in Phoenix on Dec.1.