Category | Arts & Living

Iraqi refugee family start new life

Published on November 17, 2009 by Lauren Miller

A large, multi-family home in Iraq may seem somewhat empty ever since five of its residents departed to the U.S.-as refugees.

Hamdi Alkhshali left his home, his extended family and his job as the senior security adviser for CNN’s Baghdad bureau, all for the sake of his wife and three children.

While in Baghdad, his then 7-year-old son saw a pickup truck loaded with bloody carcasses. An explosion shattered the windows of his home and injured his oldest daughter. His kids’ education was barely existent and on top of everything else, Alkhshali himself was in danger.

In the months before Alkhshali left Iraq, an anonymous person posted his name and contact information on an Islamic Web site, claiming that he was “helping the American,” because of his work with the Western media. The post implied that Alkhshali should be “gotten rid of.” These events led to his breaking point.

“That’s enough. I can’t live, I can’t see my children suffering that much,” Alkhshali said. “I don’t want them to suffer more.”

Now four months after moving to Clarkston, Ga., Alkhshali and his family are still adjusting to a brand new life. They are among the 17,000 Iraqis who entered the U.S. as refugees in 2009.

Alkhshali says he believes he made the right choice for his family, but the choice did not come without setbacks. One of those setbacks is living in a refugee community.

“Put it this way: The main reason I left my country was to find security for my family. I didn’t want to go from a place to a place that is not that safe,” Alkhshali said. “I saw some people carrying guns and I am hearing there is a lot of troubles in that area. If I can move, I will move away and locate in a different place.”

An organization called World Relief handles the family’s case and provides their apartment in the refugee community. World Relief is one of several agencies that work with the federal government to resettle refugees when they enter into the U.S. with refugee status.

“I think the Iraqis especially had high expectations of what the U.S. government was going to give them,” said Susan Chovanec, refugee program coordinator for World Relief in Atlanta. “They probably don’t really realize that their life is not going to be what they have seen in the movies when they first get here.”

Chovanec says that some of the Iraqis who come to the U.S. as refugees have a difficult time adjusting to their new life because their socioeconomic status may drop significantly. The ones who can’t adapt are extremely unhappy.

“Their life in the U.S. is like a ladder. They start at the bottom, they start at a pretty low point and you know, I still think from the different refugees I see, you can climb a long way from that ladder,” Chovanec said. “For the most part, the refugee story, in the long run has a very good ending.”

The next big step on the ladder for Alkhshali’s family is grasping the English language. Alkhshali learned English during his studies in Iraq, but his wife and children have not yet mastered the tongue. Their English has improved since arriving in the U.S. and his son has even picked up an American accent.

Another adjustment for Alkhshali is his work. He recently got a job as a security guard at Turner Broadcasting, which he is grateful to have, but his previous job in Baghdad certainly offered more excitement.

While he was the senior security advisor for CNN’s Baghdad bureau, Alkhshali worked with intelligence to keep CNN crews safe as they traveled the country to report their stories. He tested their food and water, accompanied them on their dangerous travels and helped them “blend in to their surroundings” in order to optimize mobility.

Alkhshali may miss his old job, but he misses his extended family more. The family Alkhshali left behind was close-knit and lived in close quarters. Their 12-bedroom, three-bathroom, three-kitchen home was appropriately called the “family house.”

When it came time for Alkhshali and his immediate family to leave Iraq, the rest of the family would not let them go.

“Imagine you live there for 12 years. You will get used to it. Family, all living in one house. The main reason we live together as well is to protect each other.”

With part of the family gone, so went part of the security for those left behind in Baghdad.

Despite hardships and obstacles in their new life, Alkhshali says his family is in a better place, both literally and mentally.

So far, he is enjoying the climate and challenges those who complain about the “hot” Georgia summer of 90 - 95 degrees to visit Baghdad, where temperatures often reach 125.

Most importantly, Alkhshali knows that now his children have been given the chance for a brighter future.

“From the beginning, I moved here to the states for a better future for my kids. I just want them to grow in a clean environment. I don’t want them to live in a place where they can hear everyday sounds of bombs, clashings, blood,” Alkhshali said. “There is nowhere in the world 100 percent safe, I know that, but at the end, it’s better than Iraq, 100 percent.”