Life as a Refugee

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It was November 1, 1996 when we arrived at Kansas City International airport where, Mong Lee, the Asian women, was waiting for us to get off the plane and take us to our place. When we arrived all you could hear was glass bottles breaking and people fighting. We had seen worse than beer bottles breaking, but this was not what we expected. We were in the ghetto. That night we had no food to eat and no heat in the house, all we had was two blankets for 5 people. We managed through that night, in the morning we were taken out to eat and taken to Don Bosco. Through Don Bosco we got clothes and help with transportation, medical, housing and all. Little by little we resettled, found a place that we liked and my dad had found a job. We were placed in school and adjusting to the life style.

It was nice adjusting to the life style, but there were many other obstacles we faced. There wasn’t a day I wouldn’t get laughed at because I didn’t speak English. I remember the students laughing at my batman shoes because I was a girl. My parents dressed me in what they could get at Don Bosco, that’s all we had, but that couldn’t bring me down, it actually motivated me. I learned English very fast because I was young, but I wasn’t happy. It devastated me to be independent because my parents could not be involved in my life like they would of, if we were in Iraq. Since I was the bilingual one I become everything to my parents. Even to this day I am my parent’s accountant, their interpreter, their transporter, and their guidance, which I am very happy that I have helped them. As time passed, I become more Americanized and nothing could stop me, from living the “American Dream”.

The “American Dream” is what every refugee who escapes their land due to war, persecution and/or natural disasters will accomplish at the end, which is a better life. I am proud to say that I have sacrificed a lot and managed to go through many obstacles and that is why I respect refugees so much. Just remember that refugees are very powerful people who have experienced the worse possible and are just searching for a better and safer environment to live in. So with this said, please don’t under estimate refugees, respect them because they are humans just like you!

Work Cited

“Middle Eastern Parents vs. American Parents. Perf. Wessam Aljundi and Sheriff. Arabfunnys. YouTube, n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2014.

Said, Omar. Personal Interview. 14 Sept. 2014.

“U.S. Refugees Admissions Program”. U.S. Department of State. Management Bureau of Public Affairs. Web. 15 Sept. 2014.