Making It...Nasser Nouri's Story

Yesterday, I attended a briefing by the House Oversight Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs which included special guests Jonathan Finer and Naseer Nouri. Jonathan Finer worked as a journalist covering the conflict in Iraq in 2003 and again in 2005, in addition to covering the refugee crisis in Syria and Jordan. Naseer Nouri, the briefing's most prominent speaker, worked as an Iraqi journalist and interpreter for the Washington Post from 2003 to 2008.

The Tulsa, Oklahoma (USA) graduate, former pilot and aircraft engineer fell into a job with the Washington Post after a chance encounter with Anthony Shadid, the Post's Pulitzer Prize-winning foreign correspondent who was covering the looting in Baghdad following the fall of the regime. After a number of meetings with Shadid, either at Nouri's house, where Shadid was welcomed by his family, or at the hotel where Shadid was staying, he introduced Nouri to Rajiv Chandrasekaran, the Washington Post Baghdad bureau chief, and then Nouri started working with him, which brought about his interest in journalism. The looters had broken into Nouri's travel agency and were hauling off anything of value. Shadid couldn't help but notice Nouri yelling at the looters, and they agreed to meet later to discuss the experience. When Shadid discovered Nouri's near-fluency in English, he offered Nouri a job as a translator for the Post's Baghdad bureau.

Nouri explains: "Until then, I had mostly used newspapers to clean windows. After a number of meetings with Shadid, either at my house, where he was welcomed by my family, or at the hotel where he was staying, I became very interested about journalism. With time, I moved from translation to writing."

Proud of his new career, in which he could ensure that the history of Iraq was written correctly, news of Nouri's career move spread throughout his neighborhood. Then, in the span of 15 days, events occurred that changed Nouri and his family's life forever. Twice, a group of men narrowly missed abducting his youngest daughter, while Al Qaeda succeeded in kidnapping his 15 year old nephew. In a separate incident, his nephue escaped his captors by claiming to use the restroom. Other family members were also targeted. His brother in-law was killed by men in police uniform when he was on his way to Baghdad from Kirkuk, at the north east of Baghdad. He came to bring Nouri's family some money so they could obtain passports and be able to travel to Amman.

Nouri took his family to Amman, Jordan to keep them safe. Facing numerous obstacles to a better life there, he knew he had to try to get his family to America. Applying to the UNHCR in February 2007, Nouri wasn't accepted until the 21rst of May 2008. In America, Nouri and his family still face tremendous challenges not unlike the other "lucky" refugees who make it to America, in a system not fully prepared to resettle families. Our Iraqi allies who make it to the United States have considerable talents, which if utilized contribute to society. Instead, many refugees are forced to take low paying jobs that don't match their professional skill sets and educational experience. According to Mr. Nouri, the best thing we can do is to set up a system that fully integrates Iraqi refugees into society, from getting them here to making sure that parents have proper jobs and their children are properly educated. Think about how frustrating it must be for an Iraqi teenager to have to start school many grade levels below their peers once they get to America.

Nouri and Finer agreed that, even if the U.S. meets its goal of admitting 12,000 Iraqi refugees for this fiscal year, in addition to admitting another 5,000 Iraqis through the Special Immigrant Visa program, the U.S. effort is a drop in the bucket considering both the scale of the crisis, over 2 million refugees and over 2.7 million internally displaced, and the U.S.'s moral obligation to its Iraqi allies. No matter you feel about the war, we can all agree that the U.S. must do more to raise its admittance goals and take care of vulnerable Iraqis, even once they make it to the United States. Vulnerable Iraqis should not be forced to choose between a life of poverty and mortal danger.

Photo Caption: A recent photograph of Nasser Nouri

HOPE

“If I had found a job here [in the US], a good job when I came, I would, probably….. I would not go back [to Iraq]”. These are the words of Jack (name changed), an Iraqi interpreter who had worked with the US military in Iraq from May 2004 until September 2007.

Like many Iraqi interpreters, Jack became a target of death threats because of his work with the US military; and did not have an option but to flee Iraq after surviving an assassination attempt. The journey to safety was not a smooth one, though. After waiting for more than two years for a US visa, Jack arrived in the US with hopes of being a contributor to his adopted country. After trying, Jack could not find a job that matches his qualifications. He again had no option and had to go back to the all familiar (yet unwanted) dangerous environment.

Read entire story.

The story seems to be common with US-resettled Iraqis.

We bring this up today with a glimpse of a hopeful beginning. There is, gladly, a realization in Congress that Iraqis resettled in the US are talented individuals; ready to be utilized for the benefit of this nation. To that end, last week, Representative Steve Israel (D-NY) sponsored an amendment that calls on the Secretaries of both the Defense and State departments to establish and operate a program that will offer employment for US-resettled Iraqis within the federal agencies. EPIC was one of several organizations that endorsed the amendment and we are pleased to report that the amendment passed. Representative Israel’s amendment is to be applauded and we are proud to have endorsed it. Such amendments are necessary to keep Jack and people with similar backgrounds out of danger. Two of those people have written statements in support of the amendment that are worth-sharing.

A statement from “Harry” who worked with the U.S. Army in Civil Affairs Units and other units in Iraq for four years, and relocated with the help of a humanitarian friend to the US in 2007:

“My family and I have come to this wonderful welcoming community with many supportive and helpful people, but few jobs. We have found it terribly difficult to find work in the United States. I have only managed to find a very part-time job grading papers and giving lectures in Arabic classes, but it only pays $1,500 per semester. We love it here and would like to stay here. My experiences, I think, are valuable. My fellow translators and I have so much to contribute to the United States, working for local, state, or federal agencies within this country. I hope you will pass this bill to help enable us to find viable work and make a great contribution to our new adopted country, which we love. Thank you.”

A Statement from “Andy” who worked with the U.S. Army in several units in Iraq for almost four years, and now lives in the US:

“We are so glad to be in the United States, out of danger. My wife and little daughter love it here. The biggest problem we have is employment for me. I have only been able to find part-time work that pays $10,000 a year, and social services have been very difficult to obtain. We thought that we would be entitled to some governmental assistance, but our American friends here have been having to fight on our behalf to get any services. My abilities in Arabic-English translation and vice versa, and my abilities and eagerness to be a cultural ambassador, would serve the United States well. We could work locally, or at the state or national level to give language and cultural instruction or to be translators and interpreters. I hope that you will make it easier for us to support our families and at the same time contribute as residents of this great country. Thank you for your consideration.”

Given the positive impact the program will make, we urge both the State and Defense departments to quickly establish and start it.

Note: names of interpreters have been changed to protect their identities.