Baltimore Syrian Refugees Appreciative of Help, Worry About Safety
In reaction to the terrorist attacks in Lebanon, Nigeria, Iraq and France, 27 US governors are saying no to Syrian refugees even those as young as 5. Governor Larry Hogan of Maryland is among them. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would restrict the resettlement of Syrians and Iraqis.
Politicians are using the refugees issue to fundraise, score political points and spread fear. Presidential candidate Ben Carson referred to them as rabid dogs. Calling someone a dog is considered a severe insult in Arabic not quite the welcome a traumatized family needs.
The vetting process for refugees is tedious- it requires multiple biometrics, criminal records, medical examination. Abu Salah knows this; his family left their home in Ghouta Al Sharqiyah, an eastern suburb of Damascus, after the death of his only son during an attack. Like other refugees, he is registered with UN agencies. It took him an entire year to complete the required paperwork and another year to get to Maryland.
His wife and 5 daughters grabbed what they could and left for Lebanon, he says recalling the exact day. I needed to get my girls to safety, he said. A hundred tanks would surround our home my toddler could tell us the different weapons and tanks just like she could name her toys and Barbie dolls, he says. When asked to describe what it was like, Abu Salah says it was war, how do you describe war. Dead bodies in the streets, burning buildings, you never know where the next bomb would blast so you brace yourself.
The family spent two years in Lebanon, where they saw rents rise and food become increasingly expensive after the refugees kept coming from Syria. Abu Salah worked whenever he could find work, making $15 a day.
In August 2013, his neighborhood was the site of an alleged chemical weapon attack. Abu Salah misses his home, his neighbors, everything.
He shushes the children as they run around the masjids red prayer area. They have come to the Al Huda School to take placement tests. The public schools here [are] no good, he says.
His children are called ISIS terrorists everyday. Faizah, his 17-year-old daughter, says that they have not had an easy time after their move to the United States. We didnt come here to cause problems. We are not from ISIS! They ask me why are you here? A neighbor punched her in the face after a verbal altercation. After that my mother stopped us from playing outside; we stay inside our apartment. She says she doesnt have any friends and people hate her. Recently she was given a family project for school. I dont want to talk about my family at school; they dont know anything, says the feisty teenager.
We had a life in Syria. It is not like we didnt have Internet, or a school we loved or friends and cafes. Someone asked me if I take a shower with my scarf! They are so ignorant, she says rolling her eyes. She is facing anti-Muslim bigotry after all the trauma she has gone through since the war started in Syria.
Abu Salah was carpenter in Damascus making bedroom furniture. He now drives a truck for Under Armor, a freight shipping and trucking company from Baltimore, Maryland.
The family is grateful for the safety that they have in the US. People here have rights, Umm Salah chimes in. They also appreciated the people who came to visit and help them settle into their new life. One of Faizahs happiest moments was visiting an Arab supermarket in Northern Virginia because it smelt like home.
Their neighbor, Umm Adnans family, is from the city of Homs. Government forces have hit both areas hard and both families do not know how their relatives are doing.
She is pregnant with her 6th baby. A volunteer drives her to her prenatal appointment and she quietly thanks Allah for a life of peace.
Her son accompanies me into a 7-11. Proudly, he takes out a plastic wallet and insists on paying for his own drink.
An organic local Muslim effort has come together in anticipation of the Syrian that are expected to arrive in Maryland. From tutoring to doctor appointments and need assessments, volunteers have gathered funds and meet regularly to help the refugee families with employment and other financial, emotional and medical support. Khaled Balajem, one of the men who spearheaded the committee, says that they are trying to move all the Syrian refugee families together into one area near a large Islamic center, like Masjid Al Rahmah, so they feel more at home.
On the current families recommendation, the Baltimore Syrian Refugee Committee, planned to receive the new family that arrived on November 20 to Baltimore. They intend to help the International Rescue Committee settle the refugee by filling in the gaps such as interpreters and ethnic groceries that make this transition into a new home easier,
Unfounded fears that terrorists may infiltrate the refugee resettlement program have many Americans calling for a halt to their arrival or cuts to funding for refugee assistance. The United States denying refugees is exactly what Daesh wants. Their core recruitment message is that the West does not care about Muslims and that the West and Islam are incompatible. That is wrong, and we should not let Daesh dictate the narrative, said Congressman Keith Ellison.
Under the shade of Thurgood Marshall statue, almost a hundred supporters gathered at the Lawyers Mall in Annapolis on November 20, 2015 to show their support for Syrian refugees. Blue and red refugees welcome signs were held up and chants were echoed so the staff at the Governors House could hear them. There were retired teachers, college students, and local business owners. Let them in, was their call to Governor Hogan.
When refugees come to this country they help stimulate the economy, they are contributing members of society, said a supporter, as one by one a protester lead the rally, speaking from their hearts, evoking the constitution, the American spirit, the poem on the Statute of Liberty:
Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless; tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!
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