College Times

Issue date: 4/26/07 Section: Main Stories

Adil Rahee was one of the 528 lucky ones in 1997. He escaped Iraq.

For those that were left behind - his fellow citizens - a decade of tumultuous life would follow: oppression under the regime of Saddam Hussein, war and a security meltdown that left nearly every citizen at risk of death by suicide bombers or rogue bands of militants.

Simply put, Iraq is not a place many people want to be. Not before the war, and certainly not after.

Since Operation Iraqi Freedom began in March 2003, more than 2 million Iraqis - nearly 8 percent of the population - has fled their homeland, looking for refuge in other countries.

Rahee, now an Arizona State University graduate student, left before the flood. And even for him, getting into the United States was no easy task. The US accepts few refugees. Last year, it accepted 202.

"Nobody gets in the country without having been checked thoroughly," said Jamal Al-Fakhoury, finance manager at the International Rescue Committee, said.

RESETTLEMENT

Rahee's journey did not instantly take him to the US.

Three years before he came to Arizona as a refugee, Rahee lived in Iraq and was a teacher at the University of Babylon as a ceramic artist. But living in his country became life-threatening.

"If you don't say what they wanted," you're life was jeopardized, he said of living under Hussein's regime.

So, he along with his wife and two kids fled the degrading subservience and the oppressive climate to find safety in Jordan.

Jordan is a common place for Iraqi refugees. Since 2003, it has received about 700,000 Iraqis, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency.

But even Jordan wasn't safe. "I found that these people (Iraqi officials) were following me everywhere … then I apply to United Nations as a refugee," Rahee said.

Rahee wanted to go to the US, because, he said, "everybody wants to go to the US."

"I love Arizona; the weather is the same as in Iraq," Rahee said.

He is now working on his master's of fine arts in ceramic art and taking full advantage of the many opportunities he said this country has to offer.

THE COMING STORM

Many more like Rahee are about to come to Arizona.

Bending under significant pressure from the international community, the Bush administration has agreed to admit as many as 20,000 Iraqi refugees to the US this year. At least 200 will be resettled in Arizona.

Many of those refugees are now in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt.

According to Al-Fakhoury, the shear number of Iraqi refugees has become a problem, especially because Iraqis are settling elsewhere in the Middle East where resources are limited and no proper service is given to them.

In Syria, he noted that "the unemployment rate is 20 percent."

Only in February did the US commit to finding homes for those forced to leave their homeland.

"The US policy was that we're spending money to democratize the country so there (was) no need for resettlement," said Robin Dunn Marcos, regional director of the International Rescue Committee.

In the US, circumstances for refugees are different than in other places in the world. Once the refugees arrive, they're the responsibility of the Refugee Resettlement Program. The committee's programs provide them with five years of assistance with employment, health plans and financial support, according to Dunn Marcos.

ART AS RELEASE

Whenever life brings him down, especially in terms of his work, Rahee reminds himself of the great Babylonian culture he comes from and that he needs to work harder than everybody else if he wants to reach his dream of becoming a successful ceramic artist.

He is now far away from his homeland and his culture, but all Rahee wants is to pursue his dream.

He's accomplishing that every day.

Rahee's art is inspired by his Iraqi culture and background as well as his experience as a refugee.

Some of his work, which focuses mainly on hands, is highly influenced by the 2004 Iraqi elections. Seeing the pictures of people holding up their fingers as a sign of democracy, Rahee sculpted giant hands with purple fingers as a memory for the day "when the Iraqis voted."

As with Rahee, Arizona has played a pivotal role for many new refugees. "There are 10 organizations in the Valley and IRC is one of the organizations that will be receiving refugees this year," Dunn Marcos said.

Rahee received an apartment for his family and the organization that resettled him paid his rent for three months until he found a job. "I kept working … I pushed myself harder," Rahee said.

After a year, he was given a green card and four years later, he became an American citizen. However, he never forgot where he came from.

For Rahee, it was hard adapting to another culture, and his advice for those new Iraqis coming to the US this year is to take full advantage of the wealth of opportunities now afforded to them.

"I advise them (refugees) to work hard, now you have the opportunity," Rahee said. "And it's open for everyone."

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