My Story As A Refugee

My name is Sajjad Jawad and in my third visit to the U.S. on January 2010 I intended to make the U.S. my final destination to resettle in this new community for myself , my wife and my two kids.

Despite that I visited the U.S. twice on September 2004 and February 2008, it was hard for me to adjust with this huge transition to live in the U.S.

Through my work with the Civil Affairs American Army deployed in Iraq, I got the required documents to travel to the U.S. as a Special Immigrant.

Also, I worked in the United States Institute of Peace as the Senior Training Program Specialist and I started to train the senior Iraqi officials on the concept of peaceful conflict management.

Through my two jobs I was supporting a huge number of Iraqis and became famous as the guy who is helping the Americans to establish a new free democratic Iraq and finally I became part of the sacrifices to establish democracy in Iraq. 

The procedures in the Iraqi Embassy in Baghdad were smooth and well organized and I was able to travel to the U.S. within a few months after submitting my documents to the U.S. Embassy that coordinated with the International Migration Organization (IOM) too.

The IOM explained that they will allocate my family in Indianapolis and not in Virginia as I was originally planning for considering the high cost of living in Virginia.

Seeking advice from my friends in Virginia, I had been told that Indianapolis is a wonderful city and the cost of living is cheaper comparing to Virginia.

Upon my arrival to Indianapolis it was clear that I will smoothly adjust to the nice community here in the city of Indianapolis, one of the most beautiful cities that I ever saw in my life where the green spots are everywhere.

After two months I received a car from the teacher of my son in Nora Elementary School as appreciation for my volunteer activities to help the students speaking Arabic in this school.

Later on, I received another car from the mosque that noticed my volunteer help to my neighbor refugees and the mosque informed me that they will give a car as a gift for helping all refuges around me.

So in five months I received three cars where I use two of them and the third one was a permanent gift that I am keeping to this moment. The nice thing that very time the donor was filling the car with the fuel to show complete appreciation for complete volunteer support to others.

The leader of Catholic Charities, Gabrielle Neal, offered all support to find me a suitable administrative job, but most of the jobs were variable jobs and finally Gabrielle offered me the full time in the unique Catholic Charities as an Employment Assistant.

Through Gabrielle I was connected to a special program that allows refugees to buy their houses regardless of their credit history and I purchased a nice house and moved to it on December 2012.

Many other refugees adjusted in the community of Indianapolis and they started to buy their houses.

The refugees expressed their admiration for the standards of living dominating the community of Indianapolis and in the great nation of the U.S. where all laws decreed to support all categories of community starting from children, women and old people.

I am an optimistic person, but after living in Indianapolis I became more optimistic and I feel that I can be a good source to help all people.

Iraqis are not experts to live abroad or in exile, but the U.S. became a real home of peace for me and for my entire family.

  *Sajjad currently serves as Manager of Employment Services.

U.S. Dept. of State PRM and UN Refugee Agency visit Indy

Yesterday, we had the honor of meeting with Lawrence Bartlett, Director of the Refugee Admissions Office of the U.S Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration and Shelley Pitterman, Regional Representative of the UN Refugee Agency. Our staff joined Exodus Refugee and Immigration Inc. in the meeting. There, staff had the opportunity to learn more about the enormous effort and worldwide teamwork needed to help refugees. Amid the constant news of a world in turmoil, hearing about the global effort of so many entities to identify and resettle refugees was truly a ray of hope. Sitting in the meeting, with staff from across the world (some of them resettled refugees themselves) one was aware of a common bond between all men, a good will uniting us in the belief that we are all called to look out for one another, especially the most vulnerable. As all parties became more familar with each others' particular roles, we also discussed the future of resettlement and who the U.S. will be welcoming in the months to come. While the majority of our clients in Indianapolis have been Burmese in recent years, that will begin to change in 2013, with an increase of arrivals from Iraq. Also looking forward to a new life in our community will be the Congolese people. When you find yourself discouraged, wondering if there is any goodness left in the world, remember the kindness being extended by our country and so many others in an effort to care for the most vulnerable and invite them to a new home.

While State Department and UN officials were in town, they visited a company in Indianapolis making efforts to hire from among the Burmese population. Indy Star covered the story.

*Mike has been working with the Refugee Program since January of 2011. He currently serves as Outreach Coordinator.

Rewarding Work

Working with refugees is some of the most rewarding work. The staff and I get the opportunity to actively work at improving the quality of one’s life. We get the chance to change lives and impact others for a living; however, as much as we give to the refugee community, it is often us who are blessed. The refugee population at Catholic Charities comes from many different countries and even more different languages. They come to the United States not only looking for a better life but often times to stay alive. They have traveled by foot, boat, car, bus, and airplane. They have lost loved ones, seen horrific events take place before their eyes, and have spent years living in continual fear. Yet, they are resilient. They have shown so many resiliencies in the face of so much adversity. They are so eager to learn and then return the gift of learning to those coming behind them. They are excited about life in the United States. They are willing to work in factories even if they were doctors in their home country. They are facing life head on with a determination exhibited by few others. Although each refugee story is unique, each story tells a tale of hope, courage, and strength.

As Americans, I think we so often take for granted the free country that we live in. We have a home to live in, food to eat, and are not running in fear for our lives, and yet we often fail to remember that this is not a guarantee for many others scattered throughout the world. We could all learn a thing or two from the refugees. We can learn about hope, gratefulness, joy, and resiliency.

Catholic Charities Refugee and Immigrant Services invites you to be changed and impacted by the journey of a refugee. Whether that is volunteering with our agency or simply becoming more familiar with the refugees who live in your community and across the world. If everyone could stop for a moment, take a step back, and try to see this life through the eyes of refugee I believe we would all live life a little better. 

*Michele has been working with the Refugee Program since August of 2009. She currently serves as the Supervisor of Resettlement Services.